The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

My parents who live near the Irving's on Mount Pleasant claim one of the Irving grandson is building on the property beside the park (Charlie Denton's former house). Mr Denton was owner of Charlie's Chicken in Brunswick Square years ago where the tunnel to City Market now is.

This is accurate, they have been prepping the area for a few months with new fencing, etc..

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by Peter_johnns

The pipeline will be a significant source of jobs with or without a second refinery. But this only tightens the stranglehold Irving has on the city. Not sure if we could expect anything else in this backwards and regressive province.

The pipeline will indeed lead to a number of high paying jobs. A second refinery continues to be a possibility and would lead to a very significant number of jobs. These jobs are high paying and cannot be compared to call center or retail jobs that we typically see in NB.

Lets not forget all the other significant projects in the works for the city right now. Things are looking extremely positive for the city right now. The next ten years has the potential to really move the city forward.

[Peter_johnns]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

The pipeline will indeed lead to a number of high paying jobs. A second refinery continues to be a possibility and would lead to a very significant number of jobs. These jobs are high paying and cannot be compared to call center or retail jobs that we typically see in NB.

Lets not forget all the other significant projects in the works for the city right now. Things are looking extremely positive for the city right now. The next ten years has the potential to really move the city forward.

I agree SJ is poised for large growth in the next decade but I can't stress enough the importance of diversifying. I realize the potash plant along with the continued growth of the port will be significant, but I would like to see SJ move towards true innovation— renewable energy (tidal power), research and education etc..

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by Peter_johnns

I agree SJ is poised for large growth in the next decade but I can't stress enough the importance of diversifying. I realize the potash plant along with the continued growth of the port will be significant, but I would like to see SJ move towards true innovation— renewable energy (tidal power), research and education etc..

No question that diversification is important.

We are already seeing significant growth in the IT sector and that will continue. IBM is heavily investing in the Q1 Labs technology in Saint john, and the majority of Radian6 and Q1 Labs money is in Saint John. Over the next 2-3 years expect to see a number of new startups in the city from this money.

[Whaler]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

The Old Liquor Store is moving into the space vacated by NB Liquor on September 1? - sic - you were being asked who the new tenant is that is moving into the space.

I will not say at this point. Keep your eye on the paper!

[michael_d40]

Things are going well these days at Saint John Airport which is reporting a ten per cent increase in passenger traffic for the first half of the year. That represents the highest rate of growth of any airport in the Atlantic region.

The airport also announcing Sunwing is planning its seventh season with direct flights and vacation packages next year from Saint John to Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic starting in February.

The economic impact of the Airport on the Saint John economy is estimated at 66 million dollars as well as the creation, directly and indirectly, of 570 jobs. Posted by CHSJ News at 5:25 AM

[hebertovich]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

Things are going well these days at Saint John Airport which is reporting a ten per cent increase in passenger traffic for the first half of the year. That represents the highest rate of growth of any airport in the Atlantic region.

The airport also announcing Sunwing is planning its seventh season with direct flights and vacation packages next year from Saint John to Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic starting in February.

The economic impact of the Airport on the Saint John economy is estimated at 66 million dollars as well as the creation, directly and indirectly, of 570 jobs. Posted by CHSJ News at 5:25 AM

Now if they could just pick up a European carrier it would be the cats.A... butt!

[DreDay]

YSJ is also expanding their longterm parking lot by cutting into the short term parking. Good news for people leaving their car long term, bad news for people picking up family/friends, especially on Sunwing days..

[homebody]

I happened to check Sunwing's website this morning. Not only do they list Mexico, Cuba and D.R. as destinations they also offer St. Petersburg, FL as a destination

[Fischbob]

Last night, PAC approved a 25-unit residential development in a stacked townhouse format at the corner of Waterloo and Golding. I was pleased to note that the proposal has been amended since we last saw it to remove the garage entrances along Waterloo. This is some much-needed infill that will hopefully catalyze further investment in the area!

Some visuals from the PAC report:










Also on last night's agenda was the subdivision of the lot at the corner of Millidge and University to cleave off the former training facility from the Millidgeville fire station. According to the report, this is in response to "a number of unsolicited inquiries from private developers concerning the future development potential of the site". Sounds like something might be in the works here soon!

[philster]

Originally Posted by Whaler

I will not say at this point. Keep your eye on the paper!

Here it is:
Announced today on the Better By Sports Saint John Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/BetterBuySportsSaintJohn

"Ok here is the HUGE news, I cant hold it in any longer! We at Better Buy Sports Saint John ARE MOVING!!!!!!!!!!! (opening date TBA)

SHARE AND LIKE THIS PHOTO until our grand opening to help spread the word, and be entered into our moving sale draw!
First prize $500 gift card!
Second Prize $200 Gift card!!
Third prize $100 gift card!!!

New location at 800 Fairvale Blvd (formerly the NB liq. location) 9000sq feet to serve you better! Indoor/in store fully equipped archery range, gun smith on site, community room for day and weekend courses to be held, FIRST of its kind in Southern NB HISTORY!

Stay tuned on our Facebook page for all updates, moving sales, and opening dates, remember you hear it first on Facebook!"

They also had a small photo, I'm going to guess that Signage went up today or yesterday.

[Peter_johnns]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

Last night, PAC approved a 25-unit residential development in a stacked townhouse format at the corner of Waterloo and Golding. I was pleased to note that the proposal has been amended since we last saw it to remove the garage entrances along Waterloo. This is some much-needed infill that will hopefully catalyze further investment in the area!

Some visuals from the PAC report:










Also on last night's agenda was the subdivision of the lot at the corner of Millidge and University to cleave off the former training facility from the Millidgeville fire station. According to the report, this is in response to "a number of unsolicited inquiries from private developers concerning the future development potential of the site". Sounds like something might be in the works here soon!

This looks phenomenal!! Thanks for sharing! Quality urban developments— that's what I like to see. Uniquely SJ

[flwright]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

Last night, PAC approved a 25-unit residential development in a stacked townhouse format at the corner of Waterloo and Golding. I was pleased to note that the proposal has been amended since we last saw it to remove the garage entrances along Waterloo. This is some much-needed infill that will hopefully catalyze further investment in the area!

The applicant also successfully negotiated a substantial 84% reduction in parking; just 4 parking spaces for 25 units. City staff had recommended a 50% reduction as being acceptable but the PAC sided with the developer. This should maximize tax revenue on the site, reduce "infrastructurally coerced car ownership," and increase transit usage. This is a great prototype and a big success for PlanSJ.

[thefishingnut]

Originally Posted by flwright

reduce "infrastructurally coerced car ownership,

Not sure I understand this - are you saying you believe (some) people who have no need for a car buy them solely to fill up parking spaces?

It'll be very interesting to see how their sales are with 21 units with no parking.

[Fischbob]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

Not sure I understand this - are you saying you believe (some) people who have no need for a car buy them solely to fill up parking spaces?

It'll be very interesting to see how their sales are with 21 units with no parking.

"Infrastructurally coerced car ownership" refers to a multitude of elements in the built environment that make the expense of car ownership more necessary and more difficult to live without. It is "a direct by-product of an infrastructure network that limits available mode or route choice." Low-density, segregated use, unwalkable environments are the primary things at play, and the article that introduced me to the term was written in the context of highway renewal, but other things such as minimum parking requirements and bundling the cost of parking and housing are also supporting factors.

I think this particular variance is an important first step in creating a more walkable and vibrant urban neighbourhood. The original proposal for this site in March had 16 townhouse units and 13 parking spaces, including four garage entrances on the Waterloo street side - by radically reducing the minimum parking requirements, we've increased the number of units the developer is willing to build, and improved the urban design side of things as well. I'm certainly supportive of the trade-off.

[Fischbob]

In other news, there's been an intriguing update about the Centenary-Queen Square property on the former real estate agent's Facebook page:

Watch CTV News tonight for an update on the development plans for Gothic Arches/Centenary Queen Square Church.

I understand that the new owner of this one has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes - hopefully tonight we'll get some interesting info on what's to come!

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

I think this particular variance is an important first step in creating a more walkable and vibrant urban neighbourhood. The original proposal for this site in March had 16 townhouse units and 13 parking spaces, including four garage entrances on the Waterloo street side - by radically reducing the minimum parking requirements, we've increased the number of units the developer is willing to build, and improved the urban design side of things as well. I'm certainly supportive of the trade-off.

Same here. This is exactly the direction we need to be going.

[Gnarly]

I'm a little surprised, that people think this is a good idea.
"infrastructurally coerced car ownership" is social engineering at it's worst.
I don't know what it is with the anti car nuts,....In this vast country, a car is a necessity....period! If you want a vibrant downtown, you need to encourage people to live downtown, but this is possibly the worst way to do it.....it's all pie in the sky, wishful thinking nonsense. It's easy for all the environmental and anti car nuts to wish the car away, but it's not going to happen.

Pity the poor builder and his investors who have to pay for this crazy idea. Selling these condos, without parking, will be a very tough sell indeed!

My rant is not a personal attack on anybody, just on the thinking behind ideas like this.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Gnarly

Pity the poor builder and his investors who have to pay for this crazy idea. Selling these condos, without parking, will be a very tough sell indeed!

I would be concerned about this as well. Downtown Saint John is not the same as downtown Toronto. The core is not as self sufficient as in TO and entertainment options (eg movies), education (university) and even basic shopping would require transportation to the suburbs. Transit in most areas in the Maritimes is spotty at best. It's not like you can hop on the subway anytime you want! How late do busses run in SJ? What is the service frequency? Also, it would be difficult to market these units to newcomers to the city. Most newcomers would have cars, and would want to maintain their personal transportation so they could visit their hometowns. There is no train service to SJ and even though Maritime Bus is doing it's best, intercity bus service is nowhere what it should be......

Until the city and provincial governments become serious about establishing sustainable municipal and intercity transportation options, car free developments like this will be a tough sell......

[thefishingnut]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

In other news, there's been an intriguing update about the Centenary-Queen Square property on the former real estate agent's Facebook page:


I understand that the new owner of this one has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes - hopefully tonight we'll get some interesting info on what's to come!

Potential condo development (I say potential because of the stage it's at).

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/saint-joh...ndos-1.1373241