[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[BlackYear]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

More on the (ex) Adriaan's Cycle building. According to the T&T, it was bought by the owners of Zio's Pizza and they plan on building a small commercial building there.

Yep, see page 7 of this thread.

[MonctonRad]

Touche......I forgot about your post.

You scooped the T&T by 5 months. As usual, if you want the most up to date news in Greater Moncton, check out the SSP Forums!

[David_99]

Moncton busy developing convention centre plans

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc says the city is busy working on a plan to see the Highfield Square Mall property turned into a new multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre.

The mall will close its doors in less than two weeks, but the city has been sorting out the details on a new complex that may replace the shopping centre.

Moncton announced in March that it had worked out an agreement that could see a new entertainment centre situated on the property.

The city paid $25,000 to acquire an option to purchase the land. The land sale could cost Moncton $6 million.

"I believe the option has to be exercised by the end of this year and a closing by March of next year. So, time is moving along,” LeBlanc said.

But the city’s mayor said there is more to do than just buy the land.

He said the city is working to come up with a comprehensive plan for the development, which includes financing the infrastructure project.

"You know the cost has been estimated to be something in the range of a $100 million. We started out at about $75 million,” he said.

“It's possible and I'm hopeful we'll be able to bring the higher number down find a way to get this done within our means."

www.cbc.ca

[MonctonRad]

I hope this means that they aren't planning on doing this thing on the cheap, or reducing the seating to something ridiculous like 7,000.

This has to be done right. We won't have another kick at this can for at least a half century.

The future of the downtown core is riding on this project. Hopeful they can get significant private involvement and maintain the quality necessary to keep this a signature development.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I hope this means that they aren't planning on doing this thing on the cheap, or reducing the seating to something ridiculous like 7,000.

It totally sounds like it's going to be scaled back to remain within a certain amount of $$.

[BlackYear]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I hope this means that they aren't planning on doing this thing on the cheap, or reducing the seating to something ridiculous like 7,000.

That is my biggest fear.

Cheap seats, cheap design, cheap lighting, cheap air conditioning, cheap windows & doors, squished seats with no leg room, poor concession area, poor bathrooms with Made in China toilets, cheap roof with predicated leaks in 5 years, and the list goes on and on and on!!!!

[MonctonRad]

From today's T&T
Read more:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=9847

Discovery Centre tender awarded
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Times & Transcript
By: Brent Mazerolle

Expansion also spawns upgrades to existing museum; about $1M more than anticipated will be needed for $10M project

Moncton City Council last night awarded Dora Construction the $5.4-million tender for Phase 2 of the Transportation Discovery Centre at the Moncton Museum.

Phase 1 of the project, the installation of the foundation and the structural steel, is now complete and Phase 2 includes all the remaining construction of the addition and some renovations to the existing museum building.

The design and construction of the exhibits is being handled under a separate contract.

Phase 2 has come in at about $150,000 more than originally estimated and other costs that hadn't fully been taken into account, such as extra parking and the installation of fire sprinklers to the existing museum to meet more modern building codes. As well, council will be asked to set another $1 million aside in the 2013 capital works budget when city budget deliberations begin next month.

Just as it makes sense to add sprinklers to the museum while they are being installed in the addition, repairs to the museum's roof will also be done at this time while the museum is closed for construction anyway.

As well, replacement of the museum's 30-year-old light fixtures for more energy efficient models will be done now, since they have to be taken down at any rate to make way for installation of the sprinkler systems.

Another cost that hadn't been fully accounted for was an estimated $60,000 that must be spent - by the city's own policy - on a piece of public art to be installed at the building.

Bruce Tait, director of facilities for the City of Moncton, explained there had been some discussion previously that the building addition itself, an eye-catching homage to a cattle catcher of the sort seen on old steam-powered railroad locomotives, might be considered the public art.

The new Transportation Discovery Centre will be integrated with the existing Moncton Museum. The centre will provide an interactive experience for visitors that offers an interpretation of the history of all forms of transportation in the Greater Moncton area and the role that transportation has played in shaping the history and growth of the community. The TDC is aimed squarely at the educational and tourism markets engaging transportation enthusiasts and employing transportation themes as a springboard for historical and educational discovery.

[OUIR@random]

What is getting built next to Rallye Motors Hyundai and CAT Rental Store; apartments or a hotel?

[mylesmalley]

The first of two 100-unit apartment buildings.

[OUIR@random]

Ugh! What an awful place to live... next to a machine rental store and a car dealership, suburban living at its best!
A hotel ok, but an actual place to call home, just a poor location in my opinion.

[mmmatt]

- KFC has finished a reno at their location on Mountain rd...looks 100% better...I hope the location in Riverview will follow suit!

- Better Buy Sports has moved into the former DirectBuy store on Mountain Rd

- Add the Aliant building (attached to the tower) on Alma st. to the long list of facelifts going on downtown

- The last lot on Flanders ct. (off VH where Oultons relocated) has been sold. The land has been cleared already...could this be the rumored residence for Oultons? Or perhaps just more parking...went by there today and all the streets were lined solid with cars!

- Dominion Tile will decamp their store/warehouse on High/Dominion...they will move into a much larger, newer building in the Victory Ind. Park.

- On High st. next door to Dominion Tile there is a building that was home to "Moncton Family Service" or something like that...they moved into the Peace Center. That building has now been fully leased out. It appears, at least anecdotially, that the hole the Peace Center made in our office market is being filled in quite quickly.

- Another facelift that seems to be underway albeit slow and steady is the (currently) cruddy 4 floor building next to Speedy Glass on Botsford st. It also seems to me that an art gallery is now occupying the first floor.

- A new store (didn't catch the name) has taken up residence in the former Acadian bus terminal on Main st.

- The facelift of 1234 Main (former CN bldg) appears to be underway...they have removed the large smokestack for the boiler, and are doing some other demo work in the rear of the building. They have ads up all over town showing the renders...Here's hoping they land a major new tenant!

[Lrdevlop]

Good to hear that the facelift at 1234 Main St. is finally underway. Should look awesome when finished... looking forward to this one.

The new "store" that moved in the old Acadian Bus terminal, is actually a circus school named Atlantic Cirque. I find it nice to have something very different from other activities in the city.

[MonctonRad]

The Red Leaf Grill & Lounge on Mountain Road, next to the NBLC and Fairlanes, is finally going to open on Monday.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I hope this means that they aren't planning on doing this thing on the cheap, or reducing the seating to something ridiculous like 7,000.

This has to be done right. We won't have another kick at this can for at least a half century.

The future of the downtown core is riding on this project. Hopeful they can get significant private involvement and maintain the quality necessary to keep this a signature development.

We shouldn't assume the federal government will commit to funding this proposal. Ottawa has previously criticised this development as lacking the foundational support it needs to generate a profit.

Essentially, Moncton is going about this proposal backwards. Typically an events centre of this magnitude would be proposed for a downtown that already has a well-established residential population, with promising growth.

Ottawa is concerned that Moncton's downtown is not yet dense enough to support this facility -- nor does Moncton have frequent enough public transit options to more easily connect the city's sprawled population to it.

And considering MHS will soon be relocated, the downtown is likely going to experience further stagnation, both commercially and residentially, as the city's infrastructure debt rises and the government cripples itself for future investments.

If the municipal and provincial goverments are not focused on making downtown Moncton sustainable, then why on earth would the federal government give Moncton free money to build this event centre...only to have to give Moncton more free money years down the road in order to keep the facility open?

This proposal isn't necessarily smart economics.

To place the future of the downtown on this single project is melodramatic and untrue.

The future of the downtown rests on our urban planning practices.

I certainly hope this proposal receives the federal funding, but I will completely understand if Ottawa declines. And rationally so.

[mylesmalley]

Welcome back, RyeJay

[MonctonRad]

[BlackYear]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

We shouldn't assume the federal government will commit to funding this proposal. Ottawa has previously criticised this development as lacking the foundational support it needs to generate a profit.

Essentially, Moncton is going about this proposal backwards. Typically an events centre of this magnitude would be proposed for a downtown that already has a well-established residential population, with promising growth.

Ottawa is concerned that Moncton's downtown is not yet dense enough to support this facility -- nor does Moncton have frequent enough public transit options to more easily connect the city's sprawled population to it.

And considering MHS will soon be relocated, the downtown is likely going to experience further stagnation, both commercially and residentially, as the city's infrastructure debt rises and the government cripples itself for future investments.

If the municipal and provincial goverments are not focused on making downtown Moncton sustainable, then why on earth would the federal government give Moncton free money to build this event centre...only to have to give Moncton more free money years down the road in order to keep the facility open?

This proposal isn't necessarily smart economics.

To place the future of the downtown on this single project is melodramatic and untrue.

The future of the downtown rests on our urban planning practices.

I certainly hope this proposal receives the federal funding, but I will completely understand if Ottawa declines. And rationally so.

The federal government has already declined the application several months ago. The city has already moved on to plan B.

We are looking at replacing a 40 year old, 6500 seat facility to a newer 10,000 seat facility in the downtown core. We're not looking at building a 60,000 seat venue here.

Greater Moncton/Dieppe/Riverview population is around 170,000. A downtown 10,000 seat facility doesn't require a full blown downtown residential population, a strong commercial downtown presence and an award winning transit system. It will survive perfectly fine with what we have downtown now. Building the new facility will only promote growth within the core.

Whether we build it within downtown or within the outskirts of town, the cost is the same, and the old Coliseum needs to be replaced as the city's entertainment centre no matter what.

I'm sure your comments were also said back in 1972 before they built the Coliseum in '73.

[Resurgo]

[MonctonRad]

The T&T reported today that the O2 complex downtown has been sold to the group that owns the Club Cosmopolitan. There will be extensive renovations with the Cosmo moving, and the (ample) space in the new venue subdivided with new themed clubs and bars occupying the remaining space.

They plan on resurrecting a number of names for the new clubs that will be familiar to club goers from Moncton in the 1990's. In addition to the Club Cosmopolitan, look forward to Ziggy's, Spanky's and the Rockin' Rodeo all being brought back to life.

[David_99]

New Cosmo


Spanky's Logo
Ziggy's Logo
Rodeo Logo

Does this mean the end of Manhattan and Overtime?

Will some of these revised clubs be targeted at different age groups?