The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonGoldenTri]

They could start by using the old rendering proposed for downing street. I know a lot has changed but I like the pedestrian vibe this has, especially with the Market moving there eventually.

Having a permanent stage oriented towards Downing street opens up the possibility for some significant events as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPFPMMnq4Lw

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by MonctonGoldenTri

They could start by using the old rendering proposed for downing street. I know a lot has changed but I like the pedestrian vibe this has, especially with the Market moving there eventually.

Having a permanent stage oriented towards Downing street opens up the possibility for some significant events as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPFPMMnq4Lw

Have they changed the design of downing? It’s been so delayed after they did the first section.

[riverviewer]

Originally Posted by lirette

I'm too young to have any awareness of how people felt when these decisions were made.

For example when the Rogers Call Centre was built in the middle of Downtown Moncton was there any pushback? .

There was hope not pushback because there were a lot of promises and it was better than an abandoned lumber yard.

Moncton's core gets urban facelift
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
JULY 30, 2002

Work is also under way at the former Beaver Lumber Co. Ltd. site nearby. A 55,000-square-foot call centre will open there next month, providing 700 new jobs on land purchased from the city by Verdiroc Development Corp. of Toronto. The tenant is Rogers Communications Inc., also of Toronto.

Verdiroc, which develops and manages institutional, commercial and residential properties in Ontario, Quebec and Florida, has also proposed more than $100-million worth of building projects -- including a convention centre, a hotel, office space, an entertainment and parking facility, an aquatic centre, a casino and a courthouse -- for the remaining property that is still owned by the city.

A casino, says Kevin Green, Verdiroc's president, would "encourage tourism, conferences, hotel and restaurant uses. A casino can make the difference between a good development and a great development."

Ron Gaudet, president of the Greater Moncton Economic Commission, describes the proposed courthouse as a "huge priority" in a public-private partnership that involves the New Brunswick government.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...+Article+Links

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by riverviewer

There was hope not pushback because there were a lot of promises and it was better than an abandoned lumber yard.

Moncton's core gets urban facelift
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
JULY 30, 2002

Work is also under way at the former Beaver Lumber Co. Ltd. site nearby. A 55,000-square-foot call centre will open there next month, providing 700 new jobs on land purchased from the city by Verdiroc Development Corp. of Toronto. The tenant is Rogers Communications Inc., also of Toronto.

Verdiroc, which develops and manages institutional, commercial and residential properties in Ontario, Quebec and Florida, has also proposed more than $100-million worth of building projects -- including a convention centre, a hotel, office space, an entertainment and parking facility, an aquatic centre, a casino and a courthouse -- for the remaining property that is still owned by the city.

A casino, says Kevin Green, Verdiroc's president, would "encourage tourism, conferences, hotel and restaurant uses. A casino can make the difference between a good development and a great development."

Ron Gaudet, president of the Greater Moncton Economic Commission, describes the proposed courthouse as a "huge priority" in a public-private partnership that involves the New Brunswick government.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...+Article+Links

This is something that I remember and being pretty excited about all the plans they had for downtown. This is what concerns me about Ashford and their plans. We continue to hear about their plans and their ideas, but yet we have you to see what they have planned. Are they waiting for the city to finally work on and finish the reconnecting of roads and the second half of Downing Street? It just seems very similar to Verdiroc and what they did.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by riverviewer

There was hope not pushback because there were a lot of promises and it was better than an abandoned lumber yard.

Moncton's core gets urban facelift
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
JULY 30, 2002

Work is also under way at the former Beaver Lumber Co. Ltd. site nearby. A 55,000-square-foot call centre will open there next month, providing 700 new jobs on land purchased from the city by Verdiroc Development Corp. of Toronto. The tenant is Rogers Communications Inc., also of Toronto.

Verdiroc, which develops and manages institutional, commercial and residential properties in Ontario, Quebec and Florida, has also proposed more than $100-million worth of building projects -- including a convention centre, a hotel, office space, an entertainment and parking facility, an aquatic centre, a casino and a courthouse -- for the remaining property that is still owned by the city.

A casino, says Kevin Green, Verdiroc's president, would "encourage tourism, conferences, hotel and restaurant uses. A casino can make the difference between a good development and a great development."

Ron Gaudet, president of the Greater Moncton Economic Commission, describes the proposed courthouse as a "huge priority" in a public-private partnership that involves the New Brunswick government.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...+Article+Links

Interesting article to read all these years later. I moved here in 2003 and had no idea about the ghost town from 14 years prior. The population part was interesting too with 4000 people in 6 years being good growth. We gained 21k people from 2017-2022.

[adamuptownsj]

Has Moncton ever considered connecting Grand Trunk/Millennium Boulevard to Centennial Park Road? It wouldn't take much, and would improve north/south connectivity.

[riverviewer]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Has Moncton ever considered connecting Grand Trunk/Millennium Boulevard to Centennial Park Road? It wouldn't take much, and would improve north/south connectivity.

That was the original idea, but it was vetoed by parents concerned with a major artery so close to the splshpad/playground and the safety fears of the increased traffic between the parking lot and the Rocky Stone Field football pitch.

[MonctonPerson]

Originally Posted by riverviewer

That was the original idea, but it was vetoed by parents concerned with a major artery so close to the splshpad/playground and the safety fears of the increased traffic between the parking lot and the Rocky Stone Field football pitch.

It came up again a few years ago when there was a developer pushing getting the new west end school built along Millennium but similar reasoning used to push back against the idea.

[benvui]

One thing they could do with the waterfront that could attract people is to build a botanical garden/biodome something educational they could even have a display with showing the species of animals that inhabit the marsh areas.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by benvui

One thing they could do with the waterfront that could attract people is to build a botanical garden/biodome something educational they could even have a display with showing the species of animals that inhabit the marsh areas.

Kingsbrae Garden is a wonderful attraction in St Andrews, something even a half or 3/4 on the scale of that would do wonders for the waterfront. Botanical Gardens are something lacking in the maritimes in general.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by lirette

Kingsbrae Garden is a wonderful attraction in St Andrews, something even a half or 3/4 on the scale of that would do wonders for the waterfront. Botanical Gardens are something lacking in the maritimes in general.

I always thought once the old RCMP building is demolished, they could take the whole area from that corner to the Rodd and enhance Bore Park into a nice downtown botanical garden. Even convert part of the Rodd into a Picaroons type destination for the Trail users.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by David_99

I always thought once the old RCMP building is demolished, they could take the whole area from that corner to the Rodd and enhance Bore Park into a nice downtown botanical garden. Even convert part of the Rodd into a Picaroons type destination for the Trail users.

There's a lot of potential once the RCMP leaves the current building. There's your typical downtown Moncton parking lots surrounding it, so lets hope that somebody comes up with a compelling vision for the area.

It's a prominent location that should eventually be home to something special, whatever that will be.

[habs33]

Wasn't sure where to post this but the Memramcook Institute has been sold with plans for housing, boutique hotel

Mayor Maxime Bourgeois said the province’s sale of the Memramcook Institute was finalized last week. Bourgeois said the new owner is Moncton-based development company Heritage Developments Ltd.

Bourgeois said the company’s vision for the five-storey building includes converting two floors into a boutique hotel.

[MonctonRad]

Good luck with that.

The Memramcook Institute is a heritage building, but, it's location makes it very difficult to meaningfully repurpose. I wish them well, but this could be a difficult project for them.

Heritage Developments also owns the old MHS. I wish they would just convert the building to loft apartments and be done with it. To see this grand building sitting empty year after year is just heartbreaking.......

[lirette]

Proximity to the golf course could give them some good synergies for both the rentals and hotel (stay & play). Outside of that perhaps you fill up the hotel for the odd event at dover park or for YQM, or hockey teams in the winter.

From a housing perspective you could have people working at the penitentiary who would enjoy a upscale housing option.

Other than the golf course though there is definitely a lack of attractions & shops in the immediate area compared to other boutique hotels & condos around Moncton. I agree if heritage cant seem to convert MHS properly to housing in the current crisis this is a potentially bigger challenge. Heritage has done very little to its signature property in heritage court in recent yhears to give me much confidence.

[Sandbagger]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Heritage Developments also owns the old MHS. I wish they would just convert the building to loft apartments and be done with it. To see this grand building sitting empty year after year is just heartbreaking.......

I was just at (new) MHS over the weekend for their drama production of Mama Mia. Phenomenal presentation for a high school production. They had sold out shows of 500+ all week. But they are performing in a boring, sterile, cafetorium with uncomfortable plastic chairs squeezed together with a half inch of space in between. It would have been amazing to see in the old auditorium.

[MonctonRad]

Here is the pdf for the April meeting of the PAC for the city of Moncton.

https://www5.moncton.ca/docs/pac/PAC...l_24_avril.pdf

Generally a nothingburger. There are a couple of applications. Planning documents are available online.

[Monctoncore]

It’s felt like the usually January quiet has been dragging into February, March and now April

[Riberview]

Originally Posted by habs33

Wasn't sure where to post this but the Memramcook Institute has been sold with plans for housing, boutique hotel

Well that's bad news for that building

[new kid in town]

Do we have the pop'n growth per city for NB yet? I know we had the provincial, but no further breakdown yet.