Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by Bishop2047

Looks like the former Frank's Finer Diner has been absorbed by the ever growing GO GO daycare empire.

That happened a little while ago already. I believe it is going to be their new headquarters / flagship facility. Kara has been very smart in building her business from nothing to 80+ staff and 18 or so locations. My daughter used to go to their programs when they were in their infancy. I am really happy to see them do well.

The Frank's Finer Diner build (and leaving Main St location) might have been one of the worst business decisions Marx Miles made in his professional career?

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Freddypop

There is also a build at the corner of Main and Sunset that is under construction. Not sure the number of units

From what I heard, it's supposed to be similar to the building next to it; so commercial/office on the first floor and a handful of apartments up top.

On the other hand, I can see it going up, and it does have a steel frame going up now. So we should have a good idea of how it will look in a few more weeks.

[balfozz]

Franks did well at the new location for many years but the last few times I was there it was horrible food and service. I dont think many gave the new ownership the chance to turn things around

[OliverD]

The Frank's move was ill timed. They probably expected more development in that area after Smart Centres opened but it never came. That was all during a time where development began shifting towards the core from the outskirts. I can point to new subdivisions from that time period that have basically gone nowhere because they're too far from any meaningful amenities to be appealing. Things might have worked out better if there had been any residential development in that area that could have spurred more growth.

[Matzel_27]

The location, business plan and design of the facility were all flawed, I think.

• from bustling Main St. to acres of bare land meant empty seats instead of line-ups out the door

• the drive through idea never took off

• a banquet facility in the basement but no liquor license

• a massive, rectangular building with the restaurant at one side and the kitchen at the other meant very poor efficiency, long(er) wait times, and often cold food

• gimmicks like the roller skates took precedence over food quality and value-for-money

• Having the property up for sale (and the associated carrying costs) for well over a year at a very high asking price and then selling at a much reduced price would have taken further money out of his pockets

[Tridus]

Originally Posted by balfozz

Franks did well at the new location for many years but the last few times I was there it was horrible food and service. I dont think many gave the new ownership the chance to turn things around

The new ownership didn't really signal that they did much of anything to turn it around. I didn't get any real advertisting talking about changes, or new menus, or such. Things that would have been needed to bring people back in who had stopped going because of the bad experiences over several years before.

Without any of that and without a name change, what reason did anyone have to go back in? The name had no value except for nostalgia at that point, having lost it over several years of declining food and service quality.

The move and new build certainly didn't work out for them at all. They had a good thing going in a busy area on Main Street and moved to a much larger space with worse access. Had the roundabout gone in a few years earlier it might have helped, but it was too late by time it did.

[OliverD]

The Centennial building redevelopment is on this month's PAC agenda including renderings and floorplans.

Some highlights:
- 4300 sq. ft. of ground floor retail space
- 2100 sq. ft. restaurant in the lobby
- fitness centre
- 87 hotel rooms
- 58 apartments, including a new penthouse addition

Most exciting it that the site plan includes a phase two addition on the corner of Brunswick and St. John which will have ground floor commercial space on the corner, parking on levels 1-3, and a hotel and/or residential units on floors 4-6.

[jonny golden]

Great plans for the Centennial building! Similar concept to the FiveFive building in downtown Moncton. And doing a phase two is excellent. Indoor parking creates better density on the property, which is exactly what the city wants downtown.

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by OliverD

The Centennial building redevelopment is on this month's PAC agenda including renderings and floorplans.

Some highlights:
- 21 sq. ft. restaurant in the lobby

Love the renderings! Thanks for sharing.

But a 21sqft restaurant? A single table for two?!

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Matzel_27

Love the renderings! Thanks for sharing.

But a 21sqft restaurant? A single table for two?!

Oops, fixed.

[jonny golden]

The view from those penthouse balconies is going to be awesome.

[OliverD]

In other PAC agenda news, Colpitts is asking to rezone some of its land along High Point Ridge for 48 more garden homes similar to the ones that already exist there. On the other side of the street they are rezoning to R1-N to create over 60 smaller single family lots. I'd suspect we'll see development of this land start in the spring, perhaps even some prep work this fall if it hasn't started already.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

The view from those penthouse balconies is going to be awesome.

Too bad they didn't put a roof top restaurant and patio there. That would be awesome.

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Too bad they didn't put a roof top restaurant and patio there. That would be awesome.

The pandemic has shown that requirements for elevator rides are not a plus for serving the public. A ground floor location is a lot easier to get into and out of...

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Matzel_27

The pandemic has shown that requirements for elevator rides are not a plus for serving the public. A ground floor location is a lot easier to get into and out of...

Sure, but hopefully the pandemic will eventually end.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Too bad they didn't put a roof top restaurant and patio there. That would be awesome.

It would be awesome, but I'm not sure if it would be successful. All in all, this whole project is a great thing for the city. This hotel/apartment/retail/restaurant model seems to be getting popular. There is a very nice 8 story $20 million building in downtown Moncton with a similar mix.
FiveFive Queen: https://www.fivefive.ca/

[Matzel_27]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Sure, but hopefully the pandemic will eventually end.

There is a good chance that there will not be a (single) vaccination that will deliver lifetime protection. There are already multiple strains of the Coronavirus. If they keep mutating, it might be around seasonally like the flu for a long, long time...

And experts say that the next pandemic will come much, much sooner than the ~100 years between the Spanish Flu and Covid 19.

I hope they are all wrong, but if I was putting my money on the line for a new development, I would want to be as prepared as possible to deal with this or other outbreaks/pandemics.

[OliverD]

Construction fencing is down and the sidewalk is open at 140 Carleton.

[MonctonRad]

Great photo!

[OliverD]

Thanks! I'll need to grab a shot of the new Service Canada building on Regent, it looks even better when lit up at night. I'm really impressed with how that building turned out.