[Moncton] Northwest/Magnetic Hill Developments

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Whitites

Today they removed the top soil.

Lots of activity on site today. The top soil is being carted away, and they have staked out the footprint for the new apartment building.

[MonctonRad]

Proposal before Moncton PAC for their April meeting:

From Amico Construction on behalf of Mountain Equities Limited a conditional use to have a multiple unit dwelling in the R3 Zone and to have more than one main building on a lot and variances to: (1) not have a public entrance facing the street for each of the three buildings; (2) increase the permitted height of the building from 18m to 21m; (3) vary the jigs and jogs design requirement; (4) vary the requirement for the façade to be finished with traditional materials to construct three six- storey apartment buildings as part of a phased development (File: 21-43591 & 21-43592)

Location map


Site plan


Sample render of one of the proposed buildings (2223 Mountain Road)

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Note that these proposed three six storey apartment buildings will be built immediately next to the current two six storey apartment buildings under construction at 2265 Mountain Road.



That will make five six storey apartment buildings with a very similar architectural style all lined up in a row on the northern part of Mountain Road. I think that is a bit much. I don't have a problem with the density so much as I do with the lack of variety and the uniformity of visual appeal. Certainly we could do better in terms of creating a lively architectural environment! Too many of the same type of buildings clustered together gives a kind of "tenement" vibe to the neighbourhood. I think this should be avoided if possible...........

[Nashe]

I don't know what the allure is if buildings that are so far out at the edges of the city yet still "dense" in some aspects.

"I want to live in an area where I can SEE a bunch of large grassy yards that I don't own."

Why not plop the same buildings downtown?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Why not plop the same buildings downtown?

Hopefully not. These are purely suburban builds by the looks of it.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Hopefully not. These are purely suburban builds by the looks of it.

Right or wrong aesthetics aside, they're not THAT different looking from the ones being built downtown right now. Just bigger and... farther.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Right or wrong aesthetics aside, they're not THAT different looking from the ones being built downtown right now. Just bigger and... farther.

The ones downtown aren't great, either, and could surely be improved upon in future developments. If Moncton wants a vibrant, urban downtown core it'll need to stop building suburban apartment blocks in the core to get there.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by JHikka

The ones downtown aren't great, either, and could surely be improved upon in future developments. If Moncton wants a vibrant, urban downtown core it'll need to stop building suburban apartment blocks in the core to get there.

I think we can agree on that much, at least. I don't LOVE some of the new building getting built (though 55 Queen was nice and the St. Bernard's thing looks OK), but they're arguably in the right places, at least.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

I think we can agree on that much, at least. I don't LOVE some of the new building getting built (though 55 Queen was nice and the St. Bernard's thing looks OK), but they're arguably in the right places, at least.

FiveFive Queen and the upcoming St. Bernard Square are two examples of thoughtful high density well designed downtown developments that bring a lot of value to the core. Sadly, most other developments that are ongoing are much more mediocre, and I am distressed by the apparent "hard ceiling" of six storeys in most new buildings being proposed.

Not all new proposed buildings have to be architectural masterpieces, but is it too much to ask to have some variety in architectural style in the city? This is currently lacking in most proposals before PAC. We are ending up with a litany of bland elongate six storey tenement style apartment buildings, designed without imagination and on the cheap. This is very frustrating.

I hope that whatever gets built on the Co-op lands will make up for the visual blight of other developments on the go in the city...........

[BlackYear]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

FiveFive Queen and the upcoming St. Bernard Square are two examples of thoughtful high density well designed downtown developments that bring a lot of value to the core. Sadly, most other developments that are ongoing are much more mediocre, and I am distressed by the apparent "hard ceiling" of six storeys in most new buildings being proposed.

Not all new proposed buildings have to be architectural masterpieces, but is it too much to ask to have some variety in architectural style in the city? This is currently lacking in most proposals before PAC. We are ending up with a litany of bland elongate six storey tenement style apartment buildings, designed without imagination and on the cheap. This is very frustrating.

I hope that whatever gets built on the Co-op lands will make up for the visual blight of other developments on the go in the city...........

With the current price of lumber these days, maybe it's time for developers to look at building with cement & metal and go vertical? Or has that tripled in price as well?

[MonctonRad]

I understand the reason for the size and orientation of these apartment buildings on Mountain Road. They are oriented this way because the Hall's Creek floodplain is immediately behind this development. Nothing will ever be built behind them. It might have been nice though to mix things up - perhaps make one building eight storeys, or vary their length a bit. Perhaps they could have stepped back the middle building from the roadway a bit, making it less elongate, and adding a garden patio in front. Some visual variety would make this project much less mundane...……..

[mylesmalley]

The reason we're seeing the shift in designs is because the economics have changed. A wood frame building isn't cheaper at the scale builders are looking at now, unlike even a few years ago. The size of the market coupled with demand also has an impact on how big a project is worth taking the risk on. A hundred-unit tower is a safer bet in a hot market of 150,000 than a tepid market of 125,000.

Why do they all look the same? $$$. Why is little attention paid to aesthetics or breaking up lines? $$$.

I'd prefer to see more height and variety too. But let's not lose sight of the fact that this is still a big improvement over even three years ago. There was about a 15-year stretch where the tallest construction in the city was the two 6-storey apartment buildings on Gauvin Rd. In the past three years we've had Promenade Neuf, Horizon Place, 55 Queen, and a dozen 5-6 floor buildings pop up, with a dozen more along the way.

My biggest wish is that the density was more concentrated at the core. Even there though, we've seen a huge improvement especially in the last three years. The area around Highfield, Gordon and Weldon is basically unrecognizable from just a few years ago.

[MonctonRad]

I agree with pretty much everything you have said.

15-20 years ago, virtually any residential apartment building built in Moncton was four storey, particle board construction, vinyl clad and had an exterior parking lot.

Now, the standard seems to be six storey, concrete base and podium, brick and composite clad with enclosed parking garages. This is an infinite improvement.

Still, there is a discomforting lack of imagination in the architectural style of many of these new buildings. Not to pick on Spitfire, but they seem to have a basic template for their building designs, that they will modify and tweak a bit if the occasion calls for it. This tweaking is evident with the three apartment buildings currently under construction in the Weldon and Cameron Street neighbourhood. These buidings are just different enough to break up the monotony and provide for some visual appeal. Perhaps the fact these building are downtown prodded them into a little more effort.

This cluster on Mountain Road however has no such imagination. This development will be the epitome of cookie cutter design. They look like fine buildings, and undoubtedly will provide excellent quality accommodations for their tenants. I have no problem with this. I just wish for a little more flair (and most importantly diversity) in their style...…...

[Ammn_guy]

I dont understand the allure of this area.. sandwiched between the end of busy mountain rd, with little to no sidewalk and the noisey TCH i feel like this land would have been better for grocery stores and such. I guess if vacancy is truly that low poeple will pay to live anywhere. These would have been great along west main in the old car lot areas close to amenties, i have to wonder, in the future when there more apartment options built,if people will truly want to be in these buildings.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by Ammn_guy

I dont understand the allure of this area.. sandwiched between the end of busy mountain rd, with little to no sidewalk and the noisey TCH i feel like this land would have been better for grocery stores and such. I guess if vacancy is truly that low poeple will pay to live anywhere. These would have been great along west main in the old car lot areas close to amenties, i have to wonder, in the future when there more apartment options built,if people will truly want to be in these buildings.

Getting into the city core using Mountain Road is a nightmare. And it's getting worse all the time. I have a friend who bought a house out there several years ago and works downtown. She's regretting it now as it's taking her longer and longer to get to work. Even living in Riverview would be much closer and a time saver for her. Could never see myself living in that area, way too busy.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

Getting into the city core using Mountain Road is a nightmare. And it's getting worse all the time. I have a friend who bought a house out there several years ago and works downtown. She's regretting it now as it's taking her longer and longer to get to work. Even living in Riverview would be much closer and a time saver for her. Could never see myself living in that area, way too busy.

It depends. If your job is not downtown, then the northwest end can be convenient. It's easy to get onto the TCH, and even Wheeler Blvd. Personally, if I have to go to downtown, I will avoid Mountain Road and take the back route down Horsman to Berry Mills and then Millenium Blvd. There are very few traffic lights that way, but Berry Mills can be very busy during rush hour.

[mctnguy]

Speaking of drab and boring Apartment Buildings, Cheddar just put out a video on why this style of building is becoming more common:

• Video Link

[Philbilly]

Originally Posted by Philbilly

Drove by this project today and seems they are pouring concrete for the tower crane. Construction should begin soon or the following weeks .

Tower crane went up today ....

[MonctonRad]

Indeed:





Eight storeys tall, and one of the nicer apartment projects active in greater Moncton. This is the second of an expected three tower cranes in northwest Moncton to be operating this summer.

[Philbilly]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Indeed:





Eight storeys tall, and one of the nicer apartment projects active in greater Moncton. This is the second of an expected three tower cranes in northwest Moncton to be operating this summer.

It very nice building, to bad it not downtown.... A 8 story would look good there

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mctnguy

Speaking of drab and boring Apartment Buildings, Cheddar just put out a video on why this style of building is becoming more common:

• Video Link

Very informative video. It explains a lot.

So, there is a definite reason for the formulaic design that Spitfire employs. I may not like it much, but I now understand the full reasoning behind it.