[Moncton] Junction Urban Village | Mixed Residential Commercial Urban Development - Page 12

jonny golden · #**221** Posted **Apr 19, 2021, 7:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riberview

All very good thoughts. They make sense.

I am wondering a few things;

will they build these apartments similar to Tannery North & South.. or will they be the podium style like those found on Weldon etc. Podium being one or two floors of concrete followed by the rest of wood.. you could almost argue against wood now based on the astronomical cost increase.. but how does the price of concrete compare?

with them showing Ivan Rand East no longer in cul-de-sac form.. i am reminded that there had been an unofficial plan for future use of the land behind Rallye Motors.. does anyone remember this? Does anyone remember who owns this?

I think that Ivan Rand hasn't been connected yet because at this time there are no plans to develop the former auto haulaway land on west Main Street. There would have to be a bridge built over Jonathan Creek so I imagine the city would hold off on completing this work for now.

But that property is huge and a prime location for development. You would have to think that the people behind the Junction Urban Village know what great potential there is for this land. Especially since it's so close that it would pretty much be an extension of their existing development. However, they have a lot on their plate at the moment considering they now have plans for 7 buildings. They have enough construction projects ahead of them to keep them busy for several years.

acadieman · #**222** Posted **Apr 20, 2021, 10:52 AM**

MLA Greg Turner confirm that it is part of the plan to connect Ivan Rand drive , no date given.

MonctonRad · #**223** Posted **Apr 21, 2021, 5:53 PM**

They are busily installing the forms for the concrete base of the tower crane at Tannery Place North.

MonctonRad · #**224** Posted **Apr 26, 2021, 8:02 PM**

The base of the tower crane for Tannery Place North has now been installed. The rest of the crane should go up in the next few days.

BlackYear · #**225** Posted **May 10, 2021, 3:06 PM**

I came out of Sobeys Vaughn Harvey this morning and noticed some activity on the land between GoodLife Fitness and the street corner. Construction trailer on site, stake markers in the ground, dumptrucks moving earth.

MonctonRad · #**226** Posted **May 10, 2021, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackYear

I came out of Sobeys Vaughn Harvey this morning and noticed some activity on the land between GoodLife Fitness and the street corner. Construction trailer on site, stake markers in the ground, dumptrucks moving earth.

I noticed that too. The construction trailer and dump trucks could be related to Tannery Place North (a secondary area to dump dirt and put the trailer) but the stakes in the ground I found very interesting. We'll have to keep an eye on this.

jonny golden · #**227** Posted **May 10, 2021, 3:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I noticed that too. The construction trailer and dump trucks could be related to Tannery Place North (a secondary area to dump dirt and put the trailer) but the stakes in the ground I found very interesting. We'll have to keep an eye on this.

They could start some site preparation as there are now two buildings planned to go between Ivan Rand and Goodlife. It will indeed be interesting to keep an eye on this.

Riberview · #**228** Posted **May 14, 2021, 1:01 AM**

For sale or Lease signs are up on Ivan Rand East @ Vaughn Harvey.. southwest corner of intersection, opposite Tannery South. Hmmmmm??

Philbilly · #**229** Posted **May 14, 2021, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riberview

For sale or Lease signs are up on Ivan Rand East @ Vaughn Harvey.. southwest corner of intersection, opposite Tannery South. Hmmmmm??

Yeah just seen that .... I’m no expert but that doesn’t sound like good news for future development on the junction.

jonny golden · #**230** Posted **May 14, 2021, 2:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philbilly

Yeah just seen that .... I’m no expert but that doesn’t sound like good news for future development on the junction.

It's a piece of land on west Main street at the other end of Ivan Rand. Eventually the street will connect, and this land will be 2 minutes from the Junction along a joined Ivan Rand. This could actually be a golden opportunity for the developers if they ever thought of doing a Junction phase two down the road.

MonctonRad · #**231** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:24 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonny golden

It's a piece of land on west Main street at the other end of Ivan Rand. Eventually the street will connect, and this land will be 2 minutes from the Junction along a joined Ivan Rand. This could actually be a golden opportunity for the developers if they ever thought of doing a Junction phase two down the road.

I'm not so sure about this. Here's a photo from Retail Talk & Share quite clearly showing the sign on the lot where they had most recently been planning to build the "Junction Hall"

In the original plans, Westmount Developments had wanted to build a Home 2 Suites by Hilton on this parcel, then swapped the plans to put the hotel on the corner of Main & Vaughan Harvey, replacing it with an office building in this location. Just recently, plans had changed again, with this parcel to host the "Junction Hall" and another apartment building.

Have the plans changed yet again? Both the hotel and commercial real estate markets are currently in the toilet because of the pandemic. Has Westmount decided to cut its losses? Is the hotel a no go? An office building is almost certainly out of the question. Are they also concerned about the rental apartment market in the city now too? After all, there are now four apartment buildings between 12-15 storeys tall planned in the downtown, with numerous other buildings scattered throughout the city between 6-8 storeys tall. Do they feel that the rental market is about to get flooded? Has Westmount's investment partners decided that the risk is too great to continue with their previous plans???

I personally view this development with alarm. Tannery Place North is proceeding as planned (already preleased), but I am very concerned that we may not see anything else built in the Junction Urban Village development for a very long time........

jonny golden · #**232** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:51 AM**

Well the realtor is Cushman & Wakefield. Checking their site, I don't see anything specifically pertaining to the Junction property. However, the listing repeatedly mentions the Junction and the future connection of Ivan Rand. Also the lot for sale is listed as a paved parking lot, and is 17 acres which is bigger than the entire Junction land. It doesn't surprise me that they'd put a sign in that location to create interest.

Unless this is separate and just hasn't hit their web site yet.

You do make some good points about the Junction. The pandemic has drastically changed this development.

MonctonRad · #**233** Posted **May 14, 2021, 2:15 PM**

I took a look around the Junction Urban Village this morning.

Not only is there a "for sale or lease" sign up on the lot that would've accommodated the "Junction Hall", there is a second such sign up across Ivan Rand Drive where you can see "future building" listed on the site plan below:

Again, what does this mean? At the very least, it means that Westmount is out of ideas as to what to do with this land given the current pandemic situation. Certainly any sort of commercial or retail development would be a very tough sell at the moment. They may still have a commitment to the Home 2 Suites Hotel facing Main Street, but there has been very little news on that front for at least a couple of years now, and it is hard to imagine construction for at least another 2-3 years.

I still think that there is an opportunity for a third apartment building on the "Junction Hall" lot. Both Tannery Place North and South have been extremely successful, having been completely preleased well before construction started. The entire Junction Urban Village is very well placed WRT the Avenir Centre, and the Sobeys plaza immediately across the street. This enviable co-location would likely make a third apartment building equally as successful. I find it perplexing therefore that the developers would opt for a "build to lease or own" strategy rather than just going ahead and building a third apartment building.

There is work ongoing on the "Junction Hall" site, which I think is fill dumping using the dirt being scooped up from the Tannery Place North construction site. It would appear to me that they are using this fill to level the land out to make the lot construction ready once they come up with a plan.

tmacdougall · #**234** Posted **May 14, 2021, 2:23 PM**

There is A LOT of earth being moved on the SW lot (Tannery Hall) this morning. The lot is also surveyed and and newly staked. New construction?

David_99 · #**235** Posted **May 14, 2021, 2:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmacdougall

There is A LOT of earth being moved on the SW lot (Tannery Hall) this morning. The lot is also surveyed and and newly staked. New construction?

They are digging at Tannery North and filling dump trucks. Maybe they are just moving the earth to that lot for now.

adamuptownsj · #**236** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:00 PM**

Is there a reason the streets to the north of Ivan Rand weren't connected to the development? Prince/Fownes/Stewart aren't integrated at all. Was this traffic related or just poor planning?

And the more I look at that Sobeys... man. It should have been aligned to Main or at least VH.

jonny golden · #**237** Posted **May 14, 2021, 3:06 PM**

The good thing about the Junction is that Westmount developments has time on their side. By the time Tannery north is completed, the pandemic situation should hopefully be improved. If travel makes a come back, building the the Home 2 Suites hotel would make a lot of sense.

However, the office space market is a different story. We met a couple of people in the mall this morning who are now working from home and love it. They said they'd never go back to the office, and I'm sure there would be a lot of others who think the same way. I believe that replacing the office building with a 3rd apartment building will be how Westmount proceeds down the road.

I'll keep an eye on the Cushman & Wakefield site to see if something pops up pertaining specifically to the Junction.

Their current listing: https://cwatlantic.com/listings/ivan-rand-drive/

MonctonRad · #**238** Posted **May 14, 2021, 6:52 PM**

I hope Westmount is at least a little picky regarding any third party proposals for the lot next to GoodLife. After all, this is called the Junction Urban Village. The last thing we would want seen built in this space is a bland suburban style single level strip mall!

jonny golden · #**239** Posted **May 15, 2021, 1:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I hope Westmount is at least a little picky regarding any third party proposals for the lot next to GoodLife. After all, this is called the Junction Urban Village. The last thing we would want seen built in this space is a bland suburban style single level strip mall!

Very true - A single level strip mall would absolutely change the whole vibe of the development, and NOT for the better. If they are looking to share with another developer, let's hope that something appropriate gets built there. Something even better than Westmount's latest proposal would really move things along for the Junction!

Philbilly · #**240** Posted **May 16, 2021, 8:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riberview

For sale or Lease signs are up on Ivan Rand East @ Vaughn Harvey.. southwest corner of intersection, opposite Tannery South. Hmmmmm??

Seems that both sigh (for sale and leases) are gone now .... wte that means ...