Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[kirjtc2]

Since it's probably hurting Fredericton's psyche that Saint John and Moncton have threads and Fredericton doesn't, here we are. This is a work in progress, pictures and other projects will be updated as time permits.

(3 year out of date list removed)

[niko]

Nice to see Fredericton getting it's own thread.

[Smevo]

Nice work! There's also the countless 4-storey apartment and condo developments going on which aren't very easy to keep up with.

Anyway, keep it up, and I'll update when/where I can. If you want it "stickied", just send a pm to one of the mods requesting it.

[kirjtc2]

As if on cue...

Kent in works for north side

HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
hmclaugh@dailygleaner.com
Published Thursday May 17th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
SmartCentres shopping mall developers received planning advisory committee approval Wednesday night to subdivide two lots off their 20-hectare property at Two Nations Crossing to prepare for two new anchor tenants.

The co-applicant on the SmartCentres rezoning and subdivision is Kent Building Supplies.

J.D. Irving purchased the former northside Co-op store site recently. It is going to use part of that land and consolidate it with SmartCentres property in order to have enough room for both a building and outside storage area.

"I can't speak fully on their intentions," SmartCentres spokesman Jeff Lumsden said.

Unofficially, Canadian Tire and Marks Work Wearhouse are the expected second tenants for the shopping mall property anchored by a northside Wal-Mart store.

Marks Work Wearhouse is part of the Canadian Tire business family.

Meantime on the south side of Fredericton, businessman John Kileel is positioning Kileel Developments to be ready for a nine-storey office tower project to match the design of the Toronto Dominion Tower building.

In 1997, city zoning changes meant that Kileel was limited to a seven-storey office building, essentially a twin of the TD Tower at the corner of Westmorland and Queen streets.

His concept plan is for a nine-storey downtown building at King and Westmorland streets with a one-storey retail and corridor linking the two structures.

That proposal was approved by the planning advisory committee, but has to go to city council for a final vote.

"This is really just tidying up the development we had anticipated back in the '90s and just asking for the zoning to be re-established," Kileel said.

"I can't say at this time that we have any firm plans for a start date, but the market in Fredericton is as positive

as it's been for quite some time.

"The future looks good, so we wanted to be ready for that," Kileel said

Other development proposals approved by the planning and advisory committee Wednesday night

include:

- A convenience store and car wash for the corner of Lian Street and Bishop Drive.

- A 21-unit apartment building on Abbott Court from Colpitts Developments.

- A three-unit row housing development for Crerar Court, off Union Street from George Youssef.

- A new location for Craig Electric Co Ltd. on the south side of Two Nations Crossing.

- Rezoning of two city-owned parcels of land at Two Nations Crossing to be sold by the city to developers interested in office building projects.

[kirjtc2]

Man, is this going to be a nightmare....I work up the hill and Regent is bad enough during rush hour as it is...(and speaking of which, anyone know where I can find some decent traffic count data for New Brunswick?)

Gear up for traffic nightmares
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
Published Friday May 18th, 2007
Appeared on page A1
It's going to be the motorists' equivalent of the road to Hades this summer.

The two-lane, spaghetti-strip Highway 101 that takes all of New Maryland, Beaver Dam, Charters Settlement and Fredericton Junction traffic into the capital city is going to be squeezed into a single-lane in and out of Fredericton in June.

That's 18,000 vehicles per day coming in and out of Fredericton across the overpass. Further down Regent Street, traffic counts pick up to about 20,000 to 25,000 vehicle trips per day with easterly traffic from Oromocto and area hitting the Prospect-Regent street intersection.

The Department of Transportation is going to strip the old asphalt and waterproof decking off the Regent Street overpass near the Fredericton Inn. That means traffic will be reduced to one lane southbound and one lane northbound during the four-week project.

"It will have a significant impact," said Department of Transportation District 5 engineer Norman Clouston.

"We will anticipate delays with people both coming into and leaving the city as soon as the work begins. I would expect you will experience between 15 minutes and half-hour delays at that particular intersection."

The provincial civil servant briefed the city's transportation committee Thursday.

The repairs to the government-owned bridge, built in 1959, will cost about $110,000. Work will start June 25, the Monday after school closes for the summer and will take about four weeks, depending on the weather.

The province was going to do the work last year, but the city urged the department to wait until this year in order for the Hanwell ramps to be completed.

The Department of Transportation will do the work with its own workforce, putting in 12-hour days Monday to Friday and eight-hour days Saturday.

Southbound traffic will have to squeeze into a single lane near the Prospect Street Irving service station. Northbound traffic will be diverted into a single lane 140 metres back from the Regent Mall main entrance.

Clouston said there will be no left turns onto Prospect Street. Instead, traffic will have to make a right-hand turn beside the city motel, link with the old Trans-Canada Highway and exit back at Smythe and Prospect streets.

The province has to work out a plan for emergency vehicles to ensure that fire, police and ambulance services can get in and out of Fredericton with the minimum amount of lost time.

For workers who come in at peak times, Clouston said, they'll have to find alternate routes.

"Use carpooling, alter your work hours," he said.

"Have flexible work hours where you can avoid these peak periods between 7 in the morning and 9 and 4 and 6 in the afternoon."

Councillors are concerned.

"You can't underestimate how much traffic goes through these intersections," said deputy mayor Scott McConaghy.

Coun. Bruce Grandy wants to see a solid plan for emergency-vehicle response at an intersection that's already extremely busy.

"I'm very concerned with that aspect," Grandy said.

The councillor asked the province if it had considered doing the repairs during the overnight hours, but Clouston said with two nearby hotels, the department was loathe to make noise at night disturbing the sleep of tourists and business travellers.

Further, he said, some of the repair work has to be done in daylight.

Transit manager Sandy MacNeill said the city has four bus routes that cross the Regent Street overpass and two routes have no alternative but to use the street even while the repairs are ongoing.

"They will be delayed," MacNeill said. "We will try to mitigate the effects as best we can."

Passengers will be notified of the potential for delays, MacNeill said.

"This is a big issue. It's near the busiest intersection in the city," said engineering and public works director Murray Jamer. "It's going to have a significant impact on the way traffic flows over the city," he said.

Advertising will be undertaken to warn the public of traffic changes and the city will try to lengthen some signal light times to let traffic move as quickly as possible through alternate intersections, Jamer said.

[Smevo]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to that either. My commute to work (in the mall) is bad enough as it is without squeezing the traffic (and horrible drivers) into one lane going each direction.

[kirjtc2]

Yeah, I work at the forestry complex but live on the northside. Even now I take Bishop Drive and Hanwell Road half the time to avoid the traffic on Regent going home. I somehow see everyone else having the same idea.

[kirjtc2]

The last of the city's vintage 50s-60s era supermarkets has closed...back when this was Schriver's Save-Easy I knew the owners and out family did their shopping there....

Residents upset about store closure
By RICHARD DUPLAIN
duplain.richard@dailygleaner.com
Published Saturday May 19th, 2007
Appeared on page A3

Shoppers at the Devon Park Atlantic Save Easy are upset the store is closing for good this holiday weekend.

People said they're reluctant to shop elsewhere, but they have no choice.

The store's owner, Atlantic Wholesalers Ltd. in Halifax, says it's also saddened by the store's closure.

"You can't continue operating a business while losing money," said Derk Romain of Atlantic Wholesalers.

He said the store has been suffering a decline in sales.

Some store employees were offered alternative work while others were given severance packages, Romain said.

Store management wasn't able to re-negotiate a lease and the Devon Park Atlantic Save Easy was forced to close, he said.

"It's breaking my heart," said Cathie Hoben of Medley Street.

The housewife and grandmother said she believes the store couldn't survive due to stiff competition from St. Mary's Supermarket.

Hoben said loyalty to a strong community institution made her forget about the slightly higher prices.

"I used to go to the Save Easy about four times a week," Hoben said. "The staff was wonderful and we used to trade recipes."

Tammy Johnston lives on Gibson Street and is the president of South Devon Elementary School's home and school association. She said students benefited from Save Easy's community spirit.

She said the store donated a dollar for every $500 worth of store receipts collected by the school children.

"This amounted to about $150 per year and that helped purchase school prizes, gift bags, special lunches and snacks," Johnston said.

"I'm very disappointed about this closing. There's no one left in walking distance except St. Mary's Supermarket.

"This has really hit home."

Tamara White of Clark Street, a former president of the home and school association, said the Devon Park Atlantic Save-Easy went above and beyond a corporation's duty to the community.

"They have always been supportive of the community and they'd contribute whenever we needed a donation beyond what they were already doing," White said.

"I like to shop in my own community. Now I'll split my shopping between St. Mary's Supermarket and the (Atlantic) Superstore."

Store franchise owner Calvin Sorensen wouldn't make any comment on the Saturday 3 p.m. closure.

Trina MacDonald, general manager of Business Fredericton North, said the Save Easy isn't a member of the business organization.

"But we hate to see any type of business closure," she said. "The Devon Park Save Easy was a good community supporter."

The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce wasn't available for comment.

[Smevo]

There's also the new Water Treatment Plant at the Waterloo Row/Lincoln Rd intersection (where the old Esso station is). If you can find any info on that it would be great. The only thing I remember in the free online section was advertising the public information/consultation sessions that happened recently.

[kirjtc2]

City's role in subdivision project raises questions
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
Published Tuesday May 22nd, 2007
Appeared on page A1
Fredericton is becoming one of the city's hottest property developers in its own right.

And that, according to one local resident, could be putting the city in a conflict-of-interest situation.

Ian Robertson said the city should be held to the same standards as other developers.

But he said he's not certain that's happening when the city is the owner, the vendor, the subdivider and the approver of its own development projects.

Council will soon be receiving an application from real estate manager Calvin Thompson to start the first phase of developing a 4.2-hectare (10.5 acre) site at 353 Cliffe St.

The city has an agreement-in-principle with a buyer to purchase the entire package of land, but the deal allows the buyer to bite off chunks of land bit by bit and develop them over time.

The first phase of eight is a 16-unit apartment building.

When subdivisions are created in Fredericton, the city has the right to request a land dedication of eight per cent from the developer either as land or cash.

In this case, the city is prepared to "pay itself" cash into a subdivision land account. The funds from that account are used, over time, to buy other properties.

When council brought forward its first phase to the planning advisory committee, it submitted development plans for only the first part. It didn't prepare a detailed subdivision plan for the remainder of the land, merely an outline of its future intent.

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services, said that practice is not unusual when compared to the city's process with other projects, but Robertson said the city should have done more homework to show the roads and future intended uses within the subdivision.

Another sticking point for Robertson is that the city isn't taking its eight-per-cent land dedication in the form of cash.

For future maximum use of the land, the city should require the equivalent of almost six standard single-family building lots for park space, Robertson said.

Instead, the municipality isn't allowing any park land within a subdivision.

While Thompson suggested that Killarney Lake Park, Fredericton's northside sports and leisure complex, and Leo Hayes High School properties are close enough to provide public park space, one planning advisory committee member raised his eyebrows.

Committee member Jim McElman said even a conservative calculation of the potential population to be housed on the 4.2 hectares at full development is 500 people.

Given that the high school is fenced - and isn't intended to be a public play or park space - McElman suggested the land dedication be reviewed.

"It might be something that deserves a second look," he said.

Robertson has other concerns, including the fact that land in the proposed first phase of development has been clear-cut.

"It appears that little or no consideration has been given to basic factors such as environmental assessment and site constraints."

Robertson is recommending that the city deny its own subdivision application until it does more homework.

Other applications headed for city council approval include subdivision and zoning changes that will cover the subdivision of two lots for office development on Two Nations Crossing, a third lot for Craig Electric Co. Ltd., which wants to relocate from its Union Street location, and the sale of two pieces of land to other developers.

[Smevo]

This is one problem I have with this city. They are very quick to approve these subdivisions and contribute to the "within city limit" sprawl because they have the excess land and want the tax money. The entire area around the proposed developments on Cliffe St and Two Nations Crossing is already clearcut, which is a practice I don't agree with. Piece by piece clearcutting has the same end result, but at least shows more of a commitment to due process, environmentally speaking.

The lack of park space is also a valid issue, considering Killarney Lake park is not walking distance to this subdivision. They're right about the high school being fenced and not intended as a public park, though the sports and leisure complex is nearby, but it shows poor vision of the municipal plan from a city that prides itself on it's "greenspaces" and the "smalltown feel".

Anyway, that's just imho.

[kirjtc2]

I thought they required all new subdivisions to have park/green space. When I was growing up in a subdivision in Marysville that was built in the late 70s/early 80s, there was (still is) a small playground that was run by the city's recreation department. It was eventually explained to me that all new subdivisions had something like that...apparently not anymore.

And you're right about Two Nations Crossing...that pre-emptive clearcutting was a travesty. Especially since they never bothered to clean up the brush, making it a massive eyesore. It's all eventually going to be filled in anyway, but what was the point of doing everything at once?

[Smevo]

Probably cheaper to do it all at once. It also has the effect of getting people thinking that they live in a rapidly growing city, which is usually good for the city psyche...at least until the coyotes start attacking the children...

[kirjtc2]

Unable to reach deal with landowners, city hall files expropriation notices
HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
Published Friday May 25th, 2007
Appeared on page A3

Fredericton has filed a notice of intent to expropriate parts of six pieces of property on Union Street for street upgrading.

The city has been trying to acquire both frontages and entire lots of land on Cliffe, Union and St. Mary's streets in order to reconfigure the street system to be ready for the province's plan to construct the missing northeast ramp on the Westmoreland Street Bridge.

The provincial government has pledged $1 million over three years toward the city's street upgrades.

The funding is in addition to the cost of constructing the missing section of the bridge.

Fredericton has spent $500,000 out of its own coffers on land acquisitions to restructure the connections to and from the bridge ramp.

"Expropriation is a last-ditch measure for us when we haven't had success negotiating," said Bruce Baird, assistant director of engineering and public works.

But the step doesn't preclude the city from reaching an agreement prior to a hearing before an expropriations advisory officer.

The formal expropriation procedure permits an independent property appraiser to examine the land to be expropriated and calculate its value.

Up until now, negotiations have been between the city's manager of real estate, Calvin Thompson, and the property owners.

Formalizing the expropriation process means that timelines are set in order to settle the talks, Baird said.

If there is disagreement with the third-party appraisal, the property owner may request adjudication by the Court of Queen's Bench.

The city can also abandon the expropriation process if a negotiated settlement with the property owner is reached, Baird said.

A contract for the bridge-ramp work is expected to be called this year, with construction starting this year and finishing in 2008.

[kirjtc2]

City to borrow $4 million to prepare for development

By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Published Saturday May 26th, 2007
Appeared on page A3

Fredericton is doing all it can to be ready to build a needed downtown convention centre and parking garage, says Mayor Brad Woodside.

While the city is still awaiting word from the federal government on co-funding of the $15-million project in partnership with the city and provincial Liberals, the city isn't sitting still.

"We are going to be in a state of readiness," said Woodside.

Earlier this week, city councillors directed finance staff to borrow $1 million for the east-end-development project. The money is to be used for site preparation and design work.

It is part of $4 million in funding that the city planned to spend this year on the development of the convention centre.

The city goes to the municipal capital borrowing board June 11 to seek permission to borrow its first $3 million for the project. That money goes toward buying land from the provincial government and from the DiGiacinto family needed for the convention-centre development.

The city will apply for the $1-million loan later this summer.

The city wants to build a convention centre attached to The Playhouse and construct a third parking structure downtown.

The provincial government is looking at the project's potential to include an office component, as it needs to look at a replacement for its Centennial Building offices.

ADI Ltd. has prepared a space-needs study for the convention centre.

"This downtown revitalization project is extremely important for the economic well-being and future of the community," Woodside said.

The mayor said local events are often sold out and space for larger conventions and events in the capital city doesn't exist.

"There's no doubt about the demand," the mayor said.

"We continue to pursue all avenues of funding, including the federal government, and we look forward to pursuing and delivering this project to the people of Fredericton."

Woodside said the business community is equally anxious to see the convention centre become a reality. They have written letters of support to government officials, endorsing the project, he said.

[kirjtc2]

Airport numbers climbing
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
dgleg@nb.aibn.com
Published Tuesday May 29th, 2007
Appeared on page A1

The Fredericton International Airport saw 247,426 passengers pass through the newly renovated terminal in 2006, an 8.3 per cent increase over the previous year.

"This is above the national average and it is good, strong passenger growth," said David Innes, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Fredericton Airport Authority at the annual meeting Monday.

Traffic at the airport is up 25 per cent in the past three years, he said.

"I think the growth in traffic is really related to the growth in the economy in the Fredericton area," said Innes. "Fredericton is booming.

"As long as the economy remains in good, solid shape, I think the air-traffic growth probably will continue."

Since 2001, there has been $30 million in investment in new infrastructure at the Fredericton International Airport.

That includes a new departure lounge that has reduced line ups at the security check because it's "so comfortable," said Innes.

Because of modern comfort levels, he said, people check in early and don't try to rush through security at the last minute.

That has reduced flight delays from late boarding, said Innes.

The multimillion dollar investment also includes the new 8,500-square foot Pavilion - which was finished in 2006 - and in which the annual meeting was held.

Innes said the airport welcomed two new air service providers recently, including the highly successful launch of Air Transat Vacation's direct winter flights to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, in 2006 and the Sunwing 2007 service to Holguin, Cuba.

"The planes basically operated full for the entire season," he said about the Air Transat flights.

That is reflected in airport travel statistics.

Passenger traffic in January 2006 was up 17 per cent compared to the same month in 2005, said Innes.

In February 2006, passenger traffic was up 24.3 per cent, he said.

"Our objective is to look for another (southern) destination next year," he said. "Certainly we have the facilities here now so that we can accommodate the big airplanes."

Financially, he said, 2006 was a good year for the airport.

"We ended up the year in the black," said Lyle Smith, chairman of the airport authority's board of directors.

It had a profit of $529,080 on revenues of $5,573,290.

In 2005, the airport had revenue of $5,445,422 and profits of $148,075.

According to the airport authority's financial statement, long-term debt fell from $264,638 in 2005 to $243,518 in 2006.

Innes said the two biggest challenges in the next few years will be attracting new domestic flights and developing the airport's aerospace and defence business park.

At the top of the airport wish list is a direct flight from Fredericton to Ottawa.

"We actively promote that on a fairly regular basis with anyone who has an airplane," said Innes.

He said he thinks that goal will be achieved in the next few years.

Innes also said that with billions of dollars in industrial regional benefits connected with defence, the time is right for the Fredericton International Airport's aerospace and defence business park to take off.

The airport has about 1,000 acres of space available for such development.

"I would hope and I sincerely believe that in the next 12 months we are going to see some development," he said.

"We are talking to a number of companies."

[kirjtc2]

City seeks convention-centre price tag

HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
Published Wednesday May 30th, 2007
Appeared on page A5
Negotiations are ongoing with a consortium of companies headed by ADI Ltd. to establish the scope of work and cost of designing a downtown convention centre for Fredericton.

City council has authorized its finance staff to seek permission from the municipal capital borrowing board to fund $1 million through its bankers to start the detailed work.

ADI won a call to do the spaces-needs analysis for the facility and the company has the option of negotiating to do the design work.

"We've finished the programming and master planning phase," said Team Fredericton executive director Don Fitzgerald.

Team Fredericton is the city's economic-development office.

"The next stage is the preliminary design," Fitzgerald said.

That means taking the concepts about meeting-room sizes, common areas, washroom and other amenities and fitting them into a design.

As well, the consultants will have to undertake technical analysis of the ground to determine its hydro geology and weight-bearing capacity to see if it will fit with the building's design concepts.

"We're negotiating with them for that scope of work," Fitzgerald said.

Cannon Design of Buffalo, N.Y., and Urban Strategies Inc. of Toronto are working with ADI on the convention-centre project.

Councillors want to develop the building as an add-on to The Playhouse, which is city-owned, and the city wants to construct another parking garage in the downtown east end.

The provincial government has expressed approval-in-principle to an office building component that would be a replacement for the aging Centennial Building, constructed in 1967.

The building's mechanical systems require significant upgrades.

[kirjtc2]

Business kicks up campaign

HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Published Thursday May 31st, 2007
Appeared on page A1

Fredericton's business community is going to step up the effort to lobby Ottawa for $8 million in funding for a downtown convention centre.

Frustrated by the lack of federal response to repeated requests for financial support for the multimillion-dollar project in the downtown east end, the business groups feel it's time to act.

Fredericton city councillors are getting equally anxious about the wall of silence from Ottawa.

At a recent closed-door meeting, councillors passed a resolution to proceed with the convention centre and negotiations have already started with ADI Ltd. and its partnership of companies in Ontario and New York to begin detailed design.

The resolution will move forward to the June 11 council meeting for ratification in the public forum.

Fredericton Chamber of Commerce general manager Anthony Knight said his group wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper last fall and to Greg Thompson, federal cabinet minister responsible for New Brunswick.

The letter was copied to federal Infrastructure, Transport and Communities Minister Lawrence Cannon.

"We expressed concern at the slow approach to moving on the project and how critically important it is for Fredericton," Knight said.

"We're missing out on opportunities related to events. We have long waiting lists, but we simply can't accommodate them. There's a great deal of opportunity that has presented itself. We need that convention centre now."

Knight said there are other actions that the business group can take to step up the lobbying effort.

"We're in the preliminary stages of advocacy to Ottawa," he said.

Downtown Fredericton general manager Bruce McCormack said his group is sending a letter to Mayor Brad Woodside, urging him to take a delegation to Ottawa to show the federal government how important the project is to Fredericton.

"The business community is driving this. We all feel -and we met with our presidents - that this is so important to our community and to all the operators, all the businesses in the community," McCormack said.

Ottawa is sitting on a $13-billion budget surplus and all Fredericton wants is $8 million, McCormack said.

"We want to make our point very clear to the people in charge that we need to have this," said Downtown Fredericton president Rob Jackson. "We want to do something that will make a positive impact."

The business community has the will, the desire and is assembling the cold hard facts to put before Ottawa to convince it of the merits of the project, Jackson said.

Woodside hasn't given up hope that Ottawa will play its role in the development.

"We're still negotiating and trying to get the federal government onside. The process is one that we had approved. We're in step with what our progress should have been at this particular point in time," Woodside said.

The mayor said the city can't sit back and wait for Ottawa to announce funding or the project will lose too much valuable time.

"We still have faith in (New Brunswick MPs) Greg Thompson and Mike Allen as supporters of the project," Woodside said. "I'm looking forward to and confident that the federal government will come to the table."

Other sources are telling The Daily Gleaner that the city had to move forward with the support of its stakeholders because of the unpredictably of the federal government.

The spirit of the council resolution approved last week means that the city will push forward despite how long Ottawa drags its feet, sources said.

[kirjtc2]

Delta adds second daily flight to Boston

By RICHARD DUPLAIN
duplain.richard@dailygleaner.com
Published Friday June 1st, 2007
Appeared on page D1

The addition of a second daily Delta Air lines flight to and from Boston is good news and the possibility of a third flight is even better news, says a local travel-company owner.

Marie Embleton, owner and manager of Embleton Travel, said the addition of a second Delta flight at the Fredericton International Airport compounded with the growing value of the Canadian dollar could mean large numbers of travellers to the U.S. from Canada.

On Thursday, Delta carrier Big Sky of Montana announced a second Delta flight will be added July 15.

Big Sky will assume carrier responsibilities for the Delta flights in Fredericton from Comair of Ohio on June 7.

"It's a good idea to have two flights and that could open up more opportunities for additional travel to the U.S., especially for through-fares (connecting flights)," Embleton said.

She doesn't expect fare prices to change, but there could be more sales and promotions.

She said a third flight could be supported during peak times.

Embleton said travellers could use the third flight during March break, Easter and other holidays.

The third flight could eventually become part of the full-time service, she said.

Big Sky's marketing director Scott Summerville said going to two smaller aircraft - the 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D turboprop - will enhance travellers' opportunities by allowing two daily flights.

He said Delta Air Lines enjoys a good working relationship with airport president and CEO David Innes.

"If we continue to do well here, there's no reason we couldn't add a (third) flight," he said.

Summerville said Delta is not looking at any other destinations in Atlantic Canada.

Airport board chairman Pat Bird said the second flight will benefit travellers.

"Convenience is the benefit," he said. "A third flight would even be better for Fredericton."

[kirjtc2]

32 jobs lost
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com
Published Wednesday June 6th, 2007
Appeared on page a1

Thirty-two people working at the MarketBridge tele-sales centre are losing their jobs.

Company officials handed out layoff notices to all of the employees Monday.

Half of them have been terminated immediately.

"As of the end of July, there will be none," said Bashar Mardam-Bey, vicepresident of operations for the company, from Bethesda, Md.

He said the company made the decision to close because it wasn't prepared to make a five-year lease commitment when its current lease expires at the end of July.

MarketBridge opened the tele-sales centre in November 2006.

The company builds and manages high-growth sales and marketing for Fortune 500 companies, focusing on IT, life sciences and telecommunications.

Business New Brunswick spokeswoman Sarah Ketcheson said the province didn't have any outstanding loans to the company.

"We didn't provide them with assistance.

There is no exposure for Business New Brunswick," she said.