[Moncton] Downtown Developments - Page 54

David_99 · #**1061** Posted **Feb 13, 2014, 5:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budyser

Is it possible the Roy's convenience store owner from across the street bought these two extra parcel of land, because he did/does own the corner lot at Robinson & MtRd, the location of his former store.

He just said a couple weeks ago that it wasn't worth building an apt complex because of the vacancy rates. Maybe he sold the land? I'll ask him next time I see him.

BlackYear · #**1062** Posted **Feb 13, 2014, 5:45 PM**

And today I'm a little bit more angrier than normal. Forum member Porchmouse posted some videos/pics of inside the Moncton High School on her Facebook page. When I watched one of the videos, I was "Where the heck is this place? Looks amazing".

It was of course the hallways of Moncton High. This is when I got angry.

To the NB Government Education Board, you folks are [enter nasty words here].

David_99 · #**1063** Posted **Feb 13, 2014, 5:54 PM**

Agreed. When I saw in the paper that they wanted to send MHS off with a big celebration, I was just deflated. They're treating it like a retirement party when it's more like a funeral.

swish · #**1064** Posted **Feb 13, 2014, 10:23 PM**

So what exactly are the plans for that magnificent building that i have never been inside of?

mylesmalley · #**1065** Posted **Feb 14, 2014, 1:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swish

So what exactly are the plans for that magnificent building that i have never been inside of?

http://carolparafenko.com/You%20thin...0a%20field.jpg

in-city · #**1066** Posted **Feb 15, 2014, 12:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by David_99

He just said a couple weeks ago that it wasn't worth building an apt complex because of the vacancy rates. Maybe he sold the land? I'll ask him next time I see him.

He should hire an architect to design his building if he wants to beat the vacancy issue. I really hope he doesn’t build another vinyl box... and convince council to overlook the by-law once again. These large vinyl buildings such as the one on Archibald that turns his back to the street is another culprit in the undervalued properties we have downtown. Notice all the people walking on the side-walk

Projects such as 55 and 83 Botsford don't have an issue with the vacancy rate. 55 at record high prices are already over 25% sold! 83 Botsford is 38% rented... still under construction!

MonctonRad · #**1067** Posted **Feb 16, 2014, 3:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budyser

The church house at the corner of Lutz & MtRD has been demolished and so has the first house on Robinson. Leaving this area flatten. I'm not sure what's planned for this piece of land. Is it possible the Roy's convenience store owner from across the street bought these two extra parcel of land, because he did/does own the corner lot at Robinson & MtRd, the location of his former store.

Two blocks over, Zio's new restaurant project is ready to go.

Google maps image

It was in the newspaper yesterday that the Roy's Convenience Store owner has demolished the old gospel hall (the ??? in Budyser's image above) and is planning on building a new 48 unit apartment complex on the site.

He claims it will be a "high end" development with the units having hardwood floors and granite counter tops and underground parking is also planned.

No word yet if he is planning on vinyl siding though…….

Also, construction of this apartment building is not imminent. The owner is complaining about the current high vacancy rates in the city. The lot therefore may lie fallow for a few years……..

Quote:

Originally Posted by in-city

Projects such as 55 and 83 Botsford don't have an issue with the vacancy rate. 55 at record high prices are already over 25% sold! 83 Botsford is 38% rented... still under construction!

Glad to here that quality construction practices can pay off in this city!!

in-city · #**1068** Posted **Feb 16, 2014, 6:40 PM**

My market feel is that it’s better to have fewer units, phase the project or only release them a few at a time. This way, you’re not putting 48 of the same thing on the market at the same time. This approach is commonly used in larger cities when developing condos. Developers, building 50 to 100 units, sometime become their own worst enemy.

porchmouse · #**1069** Posted **Feb 16, 2014, 11:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swish

So what exactly are the plans for that magnificent building that i have never been inside of?

I'm working on a post regarding this as I attended a meeting last Wednesday re: organizing a farewell for MHS. I'd be happy to post some pics and info once I have it all organized, although I fear a little it will be ripped apart. I also saw many inside pics of the new school being built. Stay tuned.

Class of '91.

-Porchmouse (OldMouse)

MonctonRad · #**1070** Posted **Feb 17, 2014, 1:51 AM**

Looking forward to seeing your updates.

MonctonRad · #**1071** Posted **Feb 19, 2014, 2:55 AM**

Capitol Theatre renovation project gets $345K investment

Historic building celebrates 20th anniversary of its grand restoration
CBC News Posted: Feb 18, 2014 8:55 PM AT Last Updated: Feb 18, 2014 8:55 PM AT
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...ment-1.2542595

The Capitol Theatre in Moncton has announced a major investment in renovations to the historic building.

The theatre has received $245,000 from the federal government and $100,000 from the City of Moncton. The theatre itself will invest $155,000.

The money will allow for upgrades, including a variable height orchestra pit and LED lettering for the marquees.

The investments will make the building easier to run, according to the theatre’s director Marc Chouinard.

“The better we're equipped, the faster the work goes [to] keep the cost affordable, the better we'll do through the years,” he said.

2014 marks the theatre's 20th anniversary of its grand restoration.

So, including the theatre's own contribution to the project, this will be a $500k upgrade to the Capitol Theatre……..

MonctonRad · #**1072** Posted **Feb 20, 2014, 3:49 AM**

So, reading other news items about the upgrades to the Capitol Theatre, it would seem that the variable height orchestra pit will be a major addition to the facility. This will bring the Capitol up to the same standards as the Playhouse in Fredericton and the Imperial in Saint John.

With the ability to raise the orchestra pit to the same elevation as the stage, this effectively increases the size of the stage and gives the theatre increased flexibility in producing theatrical and dance performances.

I have long noticed that certain performances will include Freddy and SJ on their itinerary, but not the Capitol Theatre. Perhaps this is why. Hopefully the new upgrades will rectify this situation……..

David_99 · #**1073** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 12:17 AM**

Even the puck dropping on the Olympic men’s hockey semi-final couldn’t keep roughly 100 community-minded citizens from gathering at Moncton city hall at noon Friday to have their say on a project to link Main Street and the Petitcodiac River.

And though he still has lots of new feedback to ponder, landscape architect Jim Scott shared some concepts for what the revitalized downtown core could look like.

The crowd who gathered even gamely donned plastic hard hats to get into the spirit of creating a new north-south corridor and people place along the long-neglected Downing Street.

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Robert Goguen, Mayor George LeBlanc and numerous city councillors were also on-hand to talk about a project that at its base is intended to celebrate Moncton’s 125th birthday in 2015, but has the potential to be so much more.

The deadline to get all of this done is short, but the mayor said he was confident meaningful changes can be done in time for Moncton’s anniversary.

“I think we can have things done by 2015,” LeBlanc said.

Times & Transcript

MonctonRad · #**1074** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 1:49 AM**

Wonderful!! - I think though that when Mayor LeBlanc says that "we can have things done by 2015", he is just referring to the refurbishment of the street itself. The buildings will be added later; perhaps much later……

Also, we have to remember that this is only an artistic impression of what might be. We are still early in the consultative phase of this project. I would doubt that we will end up with a streetscape quite this grand anytime soon, but it is nice to dream.

Notes:

- I don't really like the idea of a roundabout on Assumption at the foot of Downing. Roundabouts in many ways are pedestrian unfriendly. This might actually impede pedestrian access to the riverfront.

- There has been chatter about including a new permanent farmers market as part of this proposal. I don't necessarily see anything here that looks like a market - unless the market were built on Assumption Boulevard itself where the old fire station was.

- A trolley?!? I wonder where this trolley is supposed to go to, unless it heads west towards the new events centre. Come to think of it, this actually might not be a bad idea. There probably is some way to put a trolley line in through here, heading back towards the VIA rail station.

There used to me a rail spur along here in the distant past servicing the riverfront back when it was lined by warehouses and working wharves. Perhaps this old railway spur could be reactivated for a downtown trolley line. This could help make the events centre more accessible to parking options throughout the downtown core, and could help to integrate the development nodes in both the east and west ends of the downtown core.

Monctoncore · #**1075** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 3:59 AM**

It says on the trolly cafe and magazines... so im assuming they are just looking at the idea of putting the fake line in there to give it the look of how it used to be. with that as a cafe...

As for the look I love all of it except the roundabout, but I like the idea of it getting wider like that, it leads to the river and is very pedestrian friendly.

Monctoncore · #**1076** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 4:00 AM**

Also... I like how the bus is going the wrong way on a one way street.....

haligonia · #**1077** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 2:53 PM**

The tallest building in that rendering is a direct copy of one currently under construction on Queen Street in Halifax.

Monctoncore · #**1078** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 3:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by haligonia

The tallest building in that rendering is a direct copy of one currently under construction on Queen Street in Halifax.

Very interesting its a beautiful looking building!

NBNYer · #**1079** Posted **Feb 22, 2014, 4:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by haligonia

The tallest building in that rendering is a direct copy of one currently under construction on Queen Street in Halifax.

Yes, I noticed that too. The buildings are just place holders, what's being proposed is just the street realignment and park. Which I think looks great btw!

MonctonRad · #**1080** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 3:26 PM**

Downing Street project, events centre complementary
Monday, February 24, 2014
Times & Transcript
By: Alec Bruce

If a city measures its civic ambitions by the plans it makes for its downtown areas, then is Moncton poised for a new age of urban renewal?

We can boost and boast till all the pigeons fly their concrete coops along Main Street, but we must admit that the business core – stretching west to Vaughan Harvey Boulevard,east to King Street,north to St.George and south to Assumption Boulevard – has not always reflected the broader community’s tough, entrepreneurial, sophisticated, technologically savvy, and culturally rich attitudes and endowments.

Too many store fronts remain shuttered, too many office spaces are begging for tenants, too many edifices exude that unpleasant aura of dissolution so familiar to urban planners the world over.

And that’s a problem because while other parts of the city can periodically languish without compromising the social and economic integrity of the whole, the downtown is the community’s commons. Its vibrancy electrifies the neighborhoods that surround it, just as its rot eventually spreads throughout the civic body.

Fortunately, we are in no immediate threat of contracting such municipal gangrene. A few years ago, Mayor George LeBlanc offered me a vigorous defence of Moncton’s progress.“Look at what has been happening in just the past five or 10 years,”he said.“In 1996, we had 8,000 people working in the downtown area. Today, we have 15,000.We’ve opened up a public Wi-Fi network, and we’ve seen quite a few high-tech companies doing big things locate in the downtown”

read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=12465

Personal note - Alec Bruce is indeed correct. The events centre and the Downing Street revitalization projects are indeed complementary, and would nicely frame both the western and eastern extremes of the downtown core, providing boundaries to the area south of Main Street that should undergo extensive urban renewal. It might seem very ambitious to expect both projects to proceed concurrently, and to be equally successful - but nobody has ever accused Moncton of being unambitious…...