The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[ell]

Originally Posted by bingun

Funds are moving around to progress the roundabout, but the west side harbour passage extension isn't happening this year anymore.

I don't see anything about this in recent council agendas, do you have a source for the quote you included? Thanks!

[bingun]

Originally Posted by ell

I don't see anything about this in recent council agendas, do you have a source for the quote you included? Thanks!

Finance Committee this evening. Here is the link, although these sometimes break.

https://pub-saintjohn.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=25318

[DyAm00394]

The mayor posted posted this on FB:

"Saint John’s momentum is real, and the numbers back it up.
Residential development remains strong, with record-level housing starts and more permits being issued year over year. That’s growth you can see, and growth that matters.

Thank you to JDI for their Next Gen investment and continued belief in our region. Saint John is leading the province in capital investment, and there’s more good news on the horizon".

[Ire Narissis]

I'd wager the pulp mill project is singlehandedly responsible for the big jump in Saint John's line on that chart. With which I don't mean to say that one big investment is a bad thing, but it'd be great to see some diversity as well!

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

This is seriously the worst logo I've ever seen for an "upscale" housing development. It's like they heard us mock it for looking like the Vape King logo, and they doubled down and made the logo look even more like a vape shop, and added an entirely mockable motto in "99 King: A Regal Lifestyle"

... and don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see this project is finally getting built, as it's certainly an improvement over what was there previous 30 years. Nonetheless, 99 King is a terrible kaleidoscope of design styles and "unique" features that just don't work. They've chosen the most ridiculous ways to try and make this place seem upscale and luxurious, but the end result is something that looks incredible cheap, or even gaudy.

David Hickey, NB's Minister of Housing and Saint John Harbour MLA posted this video and caption on his socials about 99 King:
• Video Link


32 new affordable units isn't much of a crowning achievement, pardon the pun, and I hope our housing minister has much bigger projects to post on his socials into the future.

With the announcement of up to $300 million in funding for affordable housing, I hope minister Hickey and Susan Holt can get the funding for some far more impactful high rise projects in Canada's first city than these 32 units in 99 King.


It would be great to see some very ambitious mass timber high rise projects funded here in the Port City, as the government program prioritizes projects utilizing modern methods of construction, like mass timber. BC already has allowed 18 storey mass timber builds, so there's really no good reason NB couldn't green light similarly ambitious mass timber proposals.

Yet, from what I understand, there's almost no mass timber industry in NB, one of Canada's most heavily forested provinces. Would sure be nice to see the government fund some really ambitious high rise, mass timber projects in the urban cores of NB's "big three"... high rise projects would not only be considered affordable rental housing, but desirable rental housing.

Wouldn't posting a sizzle reels of 10-15 storey publicly owned, affordable, and desirable housing project be a far more effective advertisements for the government's housing strategy than all these tiny 4-6 storey that our politicians take photo ops in front of on a regular basis?

So far, the only high rise projects that I've seen our housing minister post on social media are privately owned projects. I think the government could get a lot more bang for their buck, and much better long term investments, if they built far more publicly owned rental housing. I think most people would rather pay their rent to the public, which would be re-invested in maintaining publicly owned housing and building new housing to keep up with population growth.

[cdnguys]

This talk of a munitions plant, people pretty much assume Belledune area will get it. But I have to wonder if Saint John is under consideration. Belledune I think meets all the core requirements, except a large skilled workforce. And apparently enterprise Saint John talking to defence contractors. Politically I don’t think Spruce Lake would work, but thinking of all the land on Bayside Dr out to Canaport. 500 jobs may be a tall order for Belledune area since a sizeable portion of populace moved to Moncton area.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

32 new affordable units isn't much of a crowning achievement, pardon the pun, and I hope our housing minister has much bigger projects to post on his socials into the future.

With the announcement of up to $300 million in funding for affordable housing, I hope minister Hickey and Susan Holt can get the funding for some far more impactful high rise projects in Canada's first city than these 32 units in 99 King.


It would be great to see some very ambitious mass timber high rise projects funded here in the Port City, as the government program prioritizes projects utilizing modern methods of construction, like mass timber. BC already has allowed 18 storey mass timber builds, so there's really no good reason NB couldn't green light similarly ambitious mass timber proposals.

Yet, from what I understand, there's almost no mass timber industry in NB, one of Canada's most heavily forested provinces. Would sure be nice to see the government fund some really ambitious high rise, mass timber projects in the urban cores of NB's "big three"... high rise projects would not only be considered affordable rental housing, but desirable rental housing.

Wouldn't posting a sizzle reels of 10-15 storey publicly owned, affordable, and desirable housing project be a far more effective advertisements for the government's housing strategy than all these tiny 4-6 storey that our politicians take photo ops in front of on a regular basis?

So far, the only high rise projects that I've seen our housing minister post on social media are privately owned projects. I think the government could get a lot more bang for their buck, and much better long term investments, if they built far more publicly owned rental housing. I think most people would rather pay their rent to the public, which would be re-invested in maintaining publicly owned housing and building new housing to keep up with population growth.

Keep in mind that the $300M isn't for public housing, it's for nonprofit community housing.

[bingun]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

This talk of a munitions plant, people pretty much assume Belledune area will get it. But I have to wonder if Saint John is under consideration. Belledune I think meets all the core requirements, except a large skilled workforce. And apparently enterprise Saint John talking to defence contractors. Politically I don’t think Spruce Lake would work, but thinking of all the land on Bayside Dr out to Canaport. 500 jobs may be a tall order for Belledune area since a sizeable portion of populace moved to Moncton area.

Yes, I think many people underestimate how difficult finding 500 local workers may be. The demographics in Belledune and other northern towns are poor bordering on dire. I was reading something the other day that said over 50% of the population of certain towns will be 65+ in the coming decade or two. While I don’t want to discourage northern development, this one might have a workforce component they simply cannot satisfy.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yes, I think many people underestimate how difficult finding 500 local workers may be. The demographics in Belledune and other northern towns are poor bordering on dire. I was reading something the other day that said over 50% of the population of certain towns will be 65+ in the coming decade or two. While I don’t want to discourage northern development, this one might have a workforce component they simply cannot satisfy.

The port of Belledune is equiped to handle bulk cargo and forest products AFAIK. I'd assume munitions shipments would be containerized. Not sure how much of a issue that might be in choosing a plant location.....

[cdnguys]

Shade darker for 10th and above???

[NewIreland]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Shade darker for 10th and above???

Please tell me that they are going to at least paint or EIFS the plain concrete exterior. Please, for the love of God. This can't be the final look, can it?

[DyAm00394]

Land Sale Announcement | West Side Saint John
1857 Manawagonish Road, Saint John, New Brunswick

https://sjcommercialre.com/2026/04/02/land-sale-announcement-west-side-saint-john/

"PMK Holdings Limited is proud to announce the sale of a 19.94-acre development parcel on the west side of Saint John.

Ideally situated, the property boasts sweeping views of Irving Nature Park and the unspoiled 49-acre Saints Rest Marsh–F. Gordon Carvell Nature Preserve. A remarkable natural setting defined by forest, beach, and salt marsh ecosystems.

Spanning more than 19 acres, the site presents significant development potential for its new owner, Island View Village Inc. planning on building roughly 1,580+ apartment units.

The vendors, Larry Kingston and Gail Kingston, are longtime residents of the surrounding area and played a key role in developing several homes along Manawagonish Road. They look forward to seeing how the new ownership will bring this highly desirable, water-view property to life.

This sale represents another positive milestone in the ongoing growth and transformation of Saint John’s west side".

[paperplane]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

Land Sale Announcement | West Side Saint John
1857 Manawagonish Road, Saint John, New Brunswick

https://sjcommercialre.com/2026/04/02/land-sale-announcement-west-side-saint-john/

That's a lot of units and a massive development!

[dhottawa729]

Originally Posted by paperplane

That's a lot of units and a massive development!

Unsustainable….Equivalent to four 40-storey buildings if you were to locate all that housing in an area with walkable amenities like Uptown SJ. Instead, will generate 656 and 572 car trips during the weekday morning and afternoon peak hours, respectively, at full build-out. Source: ITE Trip Generation Manual.
Why is nobody taking advantage of the high-rise incentive uptown? This suburban stock will satisfy the housing demands for a long time leaving no residual demand for increased density in the core.

[sailor734]

I'd say we are sparsely populated and land is (relatively) cheap. Little incentive for urban density with highrise towers.

[adamuptownsj]

Gonna assume this is never going to happen. These aren't even real renders, just AI slop that magics away the highway and the gradient. What properties is it, anyway? These?

https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v=1.0.94&lang=en&pan=06093970
https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v=1.0.94&lang=en&pan=01711769

EDIT: This is like the third insane moonshot someone's cooked up for the west side/GBW, after the golf course neighbourhood by Martinon and the apartment plan on Colonel Nase. I don't know what prompts this, besides cheap(ish) land. North and East seem to get plans that look ambitious but vaguely plausible.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Gonna assume this is never going to happen. These aren't even real renders, just AI slop that magics away the highway and the gradient. What properties is it, anyway? These?

https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v=1.0.94&lang=en&pan=06093970
https://paol-efel.snb.ca/paol.html?v=1.0.94&lang=en&pan=01711769

EDIT: This is like the third insane moonshot someone's cooked up for the west side/GBW, after the golf course neighbourhood by Martinon and the apartment plan on Colonel Nase. I don't know what prompts this, besides cheap(ish) land. North and East seem to get plans that look ambitious but vaguely plausible.

Talk about Mr. Positivity!

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Talk about Mr. Positivity!

I’d say more like Mr Reality but everyone has their own POV

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I’d say more like Mr Reality but everyone has their own POV

There’s quite a difference between being realistic and being cynical... Adam, unfortunately, is often the latter, but to each their own. lol

Sure, this proposal is absolutely “AI slop”, but the general idea isn’t that unrealistic.

It would be great to see more proposals like this put forward for the West Side. If we continue to grow the population of the city on this side of the river, we’ll eventually have a bigger impact on the electoral outcome of the Saint John—St. Croix riding, which remains dominated by mostly rural voters.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by paperplane

That's a lot of units and a massive development!

Going off the image I thought this was at the Musquash. The lack of elevation confused me for a bit.
but I agree with the poster above. Imagine if this was at the tip of the south end of uptown. But I will always prefer building up than out.