Official Fredericton, NB projects thread [Archive] - Page 17

cl812

Apr 17, 2010, 10:37 AM

City buys small parcel of land
Published Saturday April 17th, 2010
A3
By The Daily Gleaner

The City of Fredericton will buy a 10.38-square-metre portion of property at 620 Queen St. from Gardiner Properties Ltd. for $2,905 plus taxes and adjustments.

The small parcel of land is needed in order for the city's existing downtown parking structure property to conform to the National Building Code of Canada.

The parking structure is part of the city's multimillion-dollar convention centre, government-office building and parking complex adjacent to the city-owned Playhouse Theatre property.

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Looks like property was for garage and not the hotel, unless this a different plot of land.

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Feds pitch in for new turf field
Published Saturday April 17th, 2010
B1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Word that Fredericton is getting a new artificial turf field is music to the ears of local sporting enthusiasts.

The $1.8-million state-of-the-art field being built next to the Grant*Harvey Centre on Knowledge Park Drive is expected to give soccer, football, rugby and ultimate Frisbee more game time and a longer season.

"This is going to be a big thing," said Mike Gagnon, president of the 1,800-member Fredericton District Soccer Association.

"We're thrilled," he said. "This fills a need."

Gagnon also said that the promise of the new field has helped the city nab the 2011 under-18 national club soccer championships.

"It also opens the door for other tournaments where infrastructure issues might have been there," he said. "We're starting to minimize those and we think there's no end to what we can do."

Gagnon said that when the city hosted the tournament in 2007, it had a successful event with close to 1,000 people visiting the city, including players, parents and scouts.

"At that time we used UNB's turf field - at the very last minute it was just ready, we're talking the night before - and two fields at the racetrack. That wasn't ideal, but it did the job and we had a successful tournament.

"Having another turf field available to us made our application," Gagnon said.

He said the 2007 event helped showcase the city and even led to some students from elsewhere in Canada opting to attend the University of New Brunswick to play soccer.

The artificial turf field will be ready in time for the October 2011 event.

Andrew Allaby, president of the Capital Area Minor Football, said the field expected to open in 2011 will be a welcome addition to the city's recreation infrastructure.

For him, having an artificial field means important games can go on in bad weather without the worry that playing will ruin the field for the next group of players.

He still remembers the toll a game in wet weather took on the field when he was a player.

"On the natural grass turf, it was pretty muddy by the end of it," Allaby said.

"With a turf field it allows us to play turf games rain or shine, snow or sleet."

Word that the new field will be built is already netting the city some success in attracting national competitions.

Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield announced Friday that the federal government is chipping in $500,000 through the Recreation Infrastructure Canada Program to help see the field built.

Deputy Mayor Bruce Grandy said the city is working on additional initiatives to help fund the field. To date the provincial government hasn't offered funding.

Grandy said safety is an important factor.

"The idea is to create fields like this that are safe for our citizens and the players to play on. And when you build quality things like this, it exposes you to more talk about the community and what Fredericton can do and what tournaments we can host."

Three of the city's 17 other fields are expected to close when the artificial turf field opens.

Wayne Tallon, the city's director of community services, said the city hasn't pinpointed which fields will be closed.

"We're just going to go through the inventory. We need to do a little bit more work as to an analysis of the conditions of the field. It would most likely be the smaller fields that serve only a certain level of players.

"We'd like to move them over to bigger fields and put our attention and resources in those larger fields," Tallon said.

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cl812

Apr 19, 2010, 2:52 PM

City prepares for busy construction season
Published Monday April 19th, 2010
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The City of Fredericton will do what it can to keep construction work off the major feeder routes that lead to the Westmorland Street Bridge during the Princess Margaret Bridge closure this summer.

But the city is still ready to embark on one of its busiest capital construction programs ever, said Coun. Tony Whalen, chairman of the city's transportation committee.

"We are going to do whatever we can to minimize disruptions while we complete this necessary work," Whalen said in a news release.

The Princess Margaret Bridge will be closed from June 19 to Aug. 8 while the provincial government undertakes a two-year, $73-million modernization of the 50-year-old structure.

The province will also continue to work on the Marysville bypass and plans to pave sections of the Westmorland Street Bridge in late May and early June.

The province is aiming to have the resurfacing of the Westmorland Street Bridge done before the Princess Margaret Bridge closes.

Included in the list of municipal projects planned for 2010 are major upgrades to Queen, King and St. John streets around the new conference centre to accommodate changing traffic patterns associated with the complex.

Recommendations of the capital city traffic study to be implemented this year include:

* installing traffic lights at the intersection of Forest Hill Road and the Princess Margaret Bridge ramp;

* continued upgrading of Hanwell Road;

* median closure on Regent Street at Albert Street;

* and new traffic lights on Union Street, near the Devon Plaza.

Major city infrastructure rebuilding projects involving road closures include a six-week shutdown of Brookside Drive and a three-week closure of St. Mary's Street beyond Two Nations Crossing.

A water and sewer main replacement project will close Longwood Drive for six weeks from Fulton Avenue to Lilac Crescent.

Victoria Street from Westmorland to Smythe streets will be closed for two months while the city reconstructs a trunk sewer line.

Traffic lights will be upgraded at the intersections of York and Montgomery streets, York and Priestman streets and Regent and Arnold streets.

Beginning in the 2010 budget year, the city kicks off a 20-year strategy to sustain roads, streets and sidewalks, as well as its water and sewer systems.

"This strategy enables us to ensure sustainability of services by maintaining and replacing core capital infrastructure in a planned, financially responsible manner by tackling the core capital infrastructure deficit over time," said Whalen.

Meanwhile, a new information feature will be launched by the city this year on its www.fredericton.ca website.

A Google Map showing the this year's construction projects will be posted in time for the construction season.

The construction zones are colour-coded based on whether or not the work will involve street closures, minor delays or reduced speed.

Public service advisories will be issued as projects are unveiled.

Road resurfacing

The following is a list of roads that will be resurfaced in Fredericton this summer:

* Canada Street from Mason Avenue to Daulphin Drive, and from Irvine to Gilbert streets;

* Douglas Avenue from Brookside Drive to the Tim Horton's entrance;

* Dedham Street from St. Mary's to Cliffe streets;

* Hanwell Road from Waggoners Lane to Castleton Court;

* Prospect Street from Civic No. 787 to Wendy's, and from Cleve's Source for Sports to McDonald's, which will include street widening;

* Royal Road from Main Street to Primrose Avenue;

* St. Mary's Street from Union to Dedham streets;

* Gibson Street to the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge area;

* Woodstock Road from Haviland Street to Brookmount Court, and from Golf Club Road to Angelview Court;

* Aberdeen Street from Westmorland to Smythe streets;

* Argyle Street from Northmberland to York streets.

* Brookmount Street;

* Burpee Street between Civic No. 155 and Sunset Drive.

* Churchill Row from Regent to St. John streets;

* Eglington Street from Smythe to Oxford streets;

* Emmerson Street from Tilley to Hatheway streets;

* Flemming Road from Wetmore Road to Tilley Drive;

* George Street from Northumberland to Smythe streets;

* Hughes Street from Union Street to MacLaren Avenue;

* King Street from Northumberland to Smythe streets;

* MacKnight Street from Barton Crescent to where it meets the newly paved section;

* McLeod Hill Road, selected sections;

* Northumberland Street from Queen to Brunswick streets;

* Park Street;

* Pepin Road from Vanier to Urquhart roads;

* Saunders Street from Smythe to Northumberland streets;

* Selkirk Crescent from Thorndale Court to Giles Street;

* Thorndale Court;

* Tweedsmuir Street;

* Wetmore Road from Pugsley to Chandler streets;

* and York Street from Lisgar to Priestman streets.

Major projects

The following are some of the other major projects slated for the 2010 construction season in Fredericton:

€¢ Bridge Street, storm sewer replacement;

€¢ Church Street from Charlotte to Brunswick streets, storm sewer replacement;

€¢ Lincoln Road and St. Mary's Street, culvert replacements;

€¢ Brookside Drive, reconstruction phase 4;

€¢ Hanwell Road, upgrade phase 2;

€¢ St. Mary's Street, reconstruction phase 1;

€¢ River Street, reconstruction;

€¢ Spencer Street, upgrade;

€¢ Sidewalks for Cliffe Street between Willie O'Ree Place to Two Nations Crossing, and for Woodside Lane from Hanwell Road to the proposed bus terminal;

€¢ Sewer upgrades to Clark Street, Edinburgh Street from York to Smythe streets, the Devon trunk line from Neill to Phillip streets, Friel Street, Longwood Drive from Fulton Avenue to Lilac Crescent, Smythe Street water trunk line and Victoria Street trunk sewer rebuilding;

€¢ Department of Transportation projects include more work on the Route 8 (Marysville) Bypass, paving sections of the Westmorland Street Bridge and replacement of the Penniac Bridge deck;

€¢ and the city also has sidewalk reconstruction work scattered around the city, along with traffic signal upgrades, additional crosswalks and school zone speed signs, and traffic-calming improvements.

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OliverD

Apr 19, 2010, 5:15 PM

I'm hoping the Clark Street sewer upgrades also result in resurfacing it from MacLaren to Union. That street is in terrible shape. Glad to see a sidewalk being added to Cliffe street as well.

cl812

Apr 20, 2010, 7:30 PM

looks as though construction has started on the Grant-Harvey Centre.

Im guessing the city will likely set up a webcam there eventually, since they have at all of their other construction sites.

cl812

Apr 21, 2010, 12:55 PM

heard on the radio this morning that construction totals are up noticably so far this year over last, not terrbily surprising given all the current activity around town. They did say however, commercial is down slightly, but that is expected to change as there are some larger projects expected later in the year. Costco is definately one of the large projects they are referring to, but I wonder what the others are, other anticipiated developments at the Corbett Centre maybe?

Freddypop

Apr 21, 2010, 3:43 PM

Freddypop

Apr 21, 2010, 7:16 PM

looks as though construction has started on the Grant-Harvey Centre.

Im guessing the city will likely set up a webcam there eventually, since they have at all of their other construction sites.

Yep....Full site preparation and heavy equipment crew are now onsite.

cl812

Apr 21, 2010, 7:38 PM

also, noticed today that construction site signs are now up at the Costco site, the construction should be starting very soon, I would assume (based on what has been mentioned on here atleast).

Freddypop

Apr 22, 2010, 10:45 AM

By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The construction of a Hilton hotel as part of the downtown convention centre development will begin as soon as city council gives final approval to the deal, says its proponent.

Enlarge Photo submitted graphicThe city’s planning advisory committee approved a development proposal Wednesday for an 11-storey, 36-metre-high downtown Hilton hotel development. The project now goes to city council for final approval. Martie Murphy of D.P. Murphy Inc. of Charlottetown has already selected Dora Construction of Dieppe as its contractor on the 11-storey downtown hotel project.

At a planning advisory committee meeting Wednesday night, the advisory group to city council approved the project.

The project requires a municipal plan and zoning bylaw amendment because its height at 36 metres, or 11 storeys, exceeds the 25-metre maximum in the downtown.

The Bank of Montreal building at nine storeys is the tallest in the downtown area.

City planners said a sun-shadow study of the 126-room hotel was conducted and the development won't have a negative impact on the provincial legislative buildings. Shading on Queen Street will be comparable to the conference centre.

While planners want more design work done on one side of the hotel, which is a solid wall, they suggested the

hotel will be the right scale for the convention centre, parking garage and government office building development.

"It will be a Hilton product, and Hilton is renowned for their quality and they're a very strong franchise ... We have had the opportunity of working with Hilton through the new construction of the Hampton Inn in Moncton, which is also a Hilton product, and our experience with them has been very, very good," Murphy said. "It will be an upscale Hilton brand."

The hotel will have a 60-seat restaurant and a 30-seat cocktail lounge. Parking isn't an issue, since the city had based its parking ratios on a 150-room hotel and 120-seat restaurant associated with it.

"The footprint there is quite small as it sits and you have to be sensitive to adjacent buildings, and we do have some constraints with the high water table and different things that exist in the site as it sits," Murphy said.

"The best way to deal with that is to go up. To get the 126 rooms, we had to go a little bit higher."

Murphy said construction of the hotel will move ahead once all necessary approvals are granted by the city.

"We're full-steam ahead. Our Hampton Inn we built in record time in a little over a year," Murphy said.

"Fredericton is such a beautiful city and steeped in history. We just feel it's a very vibrant community and there's a lot of opportunity here to build a great brand and have a great business."

The typical construction timetable for the project is from 12-14 months, plus an allowance for design time, the committee was told.

D.P. Murphy Inc. has developed Holiday Inn Express hotels in Saint John and in Charlottetown, a Super 8 in Charlottetown, and a resort property in Stanhope Bay, P.E.I.

cl812

Apr 22, 2010, 11:28 AM

sounds like an interesting proposal, good to hear its going to be 11 stories, at 36 m I think it is still less than the NB Power Building (which I thought I saw mentioned a few posts back was around 40 m).

cl812

Apr 22, 2010, 11:35 AM

Construction off to booming start
Published Thursday April 22nd, 2010
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton is starting off the first quarter of its construction season in grand style.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=485784&size=265x0
Carpenters Steve Watson, left, and John Thorpe of M.P.M. Construction of Fredericton fasten drywall to studs at a new office for a dental clinic in the former Ponderosa Restaurant on Prospect Street.

Residential construction for Jan. 1 to the end of March was $7.6 million, the best start to the year since 2006.

Construction from January to March so far this year is at $13.1 million, up from $6.8 million for the first quarter of 2009.

"This last winter was great; builders built all winter," said Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services. "In 2009, we had a wicked winter and our numbers were down, in part due to the economic meltdown.

"I think we're on track for this year and we'll have a good year.

In contrast with the United States, which saw its housing sector walloped by the recession, housing in Canada held its own in the housing market.

"Housing has done very well across the country," Forbes said. "We've been, in Canada, somewhat spared that downturn in housing starts."

The downside for first-time homebuyers in Fredericton is that the average value of a single detached dwelling in Fredericton continues its year-over-year climb since 2005, when the price of a home was just less than $100,000.

The average price of a new single detached home in Fredericton is $168,553.

Construction in Fredericton remains almost evenly divided between the north and south sides of the city, with 21 units and 29 units respectively.

Slower off the mark this year is commercial construction at $1.2 million, which is the lowest level since 2005.

Building permits already issued in 2010 include a 14-unit apartment building from Skigin-Elnoog Housing Corp. at 14 Forest Hill Rd. and a nine-unit townhouse development at Huntingdon Circle from Colpitts Developments.

In the Hill Bros. strip mall at 1012 Prospect St., the former Ponderosa Restaurant property is being retrofitted for an expansion of the Fredericton Dental Centre.

Government and institutional projects include the second phase of the New Brunswick Community College on the University of New Brunswick campus. The provincial government is also renovating the Soldiers' Barracks on Queen Street.

The city is anticipating continued mixed housing growth this year and Forbes said about half of the projects already approved and ready to move into construction should materialize in 2010.

This following is a rundown of some of the projects that have received city approval and could move forward this construction season.

* Phase 5 of Brookside West development calls for 46 single detached dwelling lots.

* North Brook Subdivision off Brookside Drive has 43 single family lots ready for development, along with eight townhouse sites and an apartment lot.

* Rainsford Gardens off Sarah's Lane plans a 40-unit apartment building, 30 townhouses and four semi-detached units.

* Eighty townhouse units are planned for 850 Kimble Dr.

* The Meadows at Neill Farm continues to expand. There will be 48 single detached dwelling lots and two medium density lots available for construction in 2010.

* Gilridge Drive extension has another 35 residential building lots in the works.

* Morning Gate Drive has the potential for 30 single detached dwelling lots and 18 semi-detached lots.

* Lian Street extension has two 16-unit apartment buildings on its drawing board.

* In the downtown, a 44-unit apartment building at 362 Victoria St. has already been approved.

* A 92-lot mini-home park at 48 Sumac St. also has city approval to proceed.

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mylesmalley

Apr 22, 2010, 11:39 AM

Well. How about that eh haha.

This is turning out to be a lot more significant a project than I was expecting. And I guess I was way off with regards to the height limitations of the site and planning department. That's going to have a pretty dramatic effect on the city's skyline.

mylesmalley

Apr 22, 2010, 11:44 AM

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=485786&size=324x218

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/gallery/1025667,485786

OliverD

Apr 22, 2010, 12:53 PM

cl812

Apr 22, 2010, 1:11 PM

So it doesn't sound like the hotel will have any underground parking at all, but I guess it really doesn't need it if they parking plans for that area already take into account the presence of a hotel. I wonder when they will start building the parking garage. Presumably it would have to be completed before the hotel could open.

I think I recall something about the schedule for the Parking Garage. I thought I heard May for the date I think. Since it is all pre-fab concrete, I would assume it will go up quite quickly.

Smevo

Apr 22, 2010, 1:24 PM

I think I'm going to eat my former words on this one. With it being less than 40m, I'm guessing council will approve it, especially since it's tied in with the city's own development. BMO will still be taller technically (as will Carleton Place at 38m), but we'll probably hear this one referred to as "tallest" quite a bit because of the 11 storeys. I'm excited to see the impact of this whole development on the skyline since I haven't been back to Fredericton since August, and likely won't be back until Christmas 2011.

fredfan

Apr 22, 2010, 6:47 PM

Wow that is really great for Fredericton! I could have sworn that they had started the parking garage when I was in town back in January.

cl812

Apr 22, 2010, 7:30 PM

They have the underground level started, but they havent started the structure itself yet

Freddypop

Apr 22, 2010, 11:13 PM

Came across the updated plans for the West Hills Village commercial development at 500 Brookside Drive. Would appear they will add a 3rd building and gas bar this year with the final building slated for 2012.

Details here:

http://www.hillbros.nb.ca/cadfiles/West%20Hills%20Village_Overall%20March%202010.pdf

cl812

Apr 23, 2010, 11:27 AM

Committee denies Lincoln Road subdivision application
Published Friday April 23rd, 2010
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The proponent of a six-lot Lincoln Road subdivision could be on his way to New Brunswick's provincial planning appeal board after the city's planning advisory committee bowed to neighbourhood pressure and refused to approve his subdivision application.

Edouard Gebrael wants to redevelop 1530 Lincoln Rd. into a single-family R-2 subdivision. He was back before the committee this week after an earlier attempt to have a seven-lot development failed to clear city council March 8.

Unlike the application that was rejected by council last month, Gebrael doesn't need a rezoning to turn his property into six lots because the subdivision meets all of the city's rules.

His application died at the committee level with no avenue of appeal to council at this week's meeting.

In anticipation that Gebrael could go to the provincial planning appeal board, planning advisory committee chairman Dan Koncz asked committee members to be specific about the reasons for their vote. He has had to testify in the past in appeal board cases where the committee's decision has been challenged.

Gebrael couldn't be reached for comment Thursday on whether he'll pursue that appeal route on his project.

Planning advisory committee member Jim McElman said despite residents' concerns about intersection safety and traffic, he couldn't find fault with the subdivision application.

"When a developer arrives with a piece of property that meets all the criteria of the zoning, all the criteria of public works and engineering, all the tax standards for the roads and streets, grades on the roads, sight lines, I find it difficult not to support that and I will be supporting the motion for approval," McElman said prior to the vote on Gebrael's application.

Committee member Alan Rayner said the issue of safety at Lincoln Road and Adams Street pre-dates the subdivision application and that may be the bigger issue the city needs to address.

"This development does meet the criteria. We have to accept our professionals here that they've done their due diligence," Rayner said.

James Morrison of Lincoln Road, speaking on behalf of residents of Lincoln Heights, said there's no substantive change in Gebrael's request from his earlier application, which was rejected by city council.

A delegation of residents and a number of letters of protest were handed to the committee this month, arguing the same points that prompted council to turn down the request in March.

The crux of the argument from the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood is that Gebrael's land is close to an already dangerous intersection at Adams Street and Lincoln Road and putting four additional driveways on Adams Street close to the intersection will exacerbate the safety issue.

The driveways for the remaining proposed two lots would be fronted on Lincoln Road.

Basement apartments are permitted in a residence in the R-2 zone, Morrison said, so hypothetically the number of vehicles and residents in the six-lot subdivision could double.

"There's certainly a concern of the citizens of Lincoln Heights with regard to the safety of this place," Morrison said.

"It will worsen a congested intersection. It creates a danger for pedestrians and certainly for the kids in the area. It is inappropriate for the site."

Sean Lee, the manager of engineering services for the city, told the planning advisory committee adding four driveways to Adams Street won't decrease the safety of the intersection.

Also, due to a street-fronting utility line easement, the homes will have longer driveways than others in the neighbourhood, allowing for more off-street vehicle parking.

Lee said the city could review parking close to the Adams Street-Lincoln Road intersection and consider an on-street parking ban if warranted.

Gebrael has said he won't compromise his plan because it meets all the city's planning rules.

"If the city felt there was something in regards to safety, we would not be here today. Engineering put their input in it. We've met everything they've recommended," Gebrael said.

"We live in the city and the city is bound to grow ... I don't see why I should cut my losses just because everybody wants me to cut my losses. It's a piece of land; I met all the requirements."

Coun. Scott McConaghy, who represents the ward, said adding four extra driveways to Adams Street is still an issue for him.

"I can't live with the fact that I believe that that's still not as safe as I would like to see it," McConaghy said.

"If only there was a way that an application came forward that didn't add so many darn driveways to Adams Street, because that's essentially the problem right there."

"This is just taking a bad situation and potentially making it worse and I'm not comfortable with it," said Coun. Steven Hicks.

Coun. Marilyn Kerton said the option of developing a court off Lincoln Road should be considered, even if the number of lots has to be reduced.

"The grade and the curve is setting us up for disaster and I wouldn't want to have that on my conscience," Kerton said.

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Village OK's its first 5-year strategic plan
Published Friday April 23rd, 2010
A10
By GLENNA HANLEY
For the Daily Gleaner

New Maryland residents who use private wells won't have to abandon them in favour of a municipal water system any time soon.

Village council gave final approval to the municipality's first five-year strategic plan this week.

Started more than two years ago, the plan sets out a vision and direction to grow the village and for municipal services for the next five years.

Although early versions called for moving towards a public water system with all homes and businesses connected to it, that goal was considered premature, said Coun. Gisele McCaie-Burke.

As chairwoman of the human resources and administration committee, she made the motion to approve the plan.

"After some discussion and consultation, we felt it was really premature to add it to the strategic plan," said McCaie-Burke.

The village will still go ahead and work on getting more water to service the village. A water tower is being built and should be completed at the end of the year.

"Even with the water tower, there is still not enough water to provide the whole village right now. And also we would have to consult with the public to see if people on private wells would like to be on the public system," McCaie-Burke said.

A majority of homes, 800 out of 1,400, are using private wells. McCaie-Burke said there have been no complaints about water quality.

A full public system was a top priority for Mayor Frank Dunn when he spoke at a previous public meeting on the strategic plan.

Dunn said then it was necessary for the continued growth of the village.

However, the mayor and councillors all voted for the revised plan without comment this week.

The village is also going to apply for heritage funding for upgrades to Victoria Hall.

Council approved an application for Built Heritage funding from the heritage branch of the provincial Wellness, Culture and Sport Department.

If the funding is approved, more details of what will be done with the money will come back to council for a vote, said deputy mayor Judy Wilson-Shee.

The landmark Victoria Hall was built in 1917-18 by the Women's Institute for meetings. The village purchased the hall from the group in 2003.

It's used for many community functions, including dances, receptions, auctions, quilt fairs and country suppers.

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cl812

Apr 24, 2010, 1:43 PM

Facebook group creator says she's tired of waiting for Costco to be built in city
Published Saturday April 24th, 2010
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Are they ever gonna open a Costco in Fredericton?

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=486925&size=0x400

The lament has become so discouraging that the creator of the above-named Costco Facebook group said she's just about ready to pull down the site in despair.

"The coming of Costco has almost become a joke," said Facebook group creator Claudie Cote of New Maryland.

"Costco and I go way back. I used to work there from 1989 to 1993 in Quebec City. It was called Price Club then. I had so much fun working there. They were good employers with good conditions and it was good money too," Cote said.

"I started the page because I was bored and annoyed because I ran out of something that I could only find at Costco ... I am actually out of their best-ever caesar salad dressing, so believe me, I am so tempted to stop by the bulldozers to yell at them to hurry up and get going," said Cote, who keeps an eye on the Costco site at the top of Regent Street on her commutes into Fredericton.

Cote said she has been waiting for a Costco to open in Fredericton ever since rumours surfaced about it in 1997.

She said she often tells her children to wave to Costco as they pass by the proposed location.

Site clearing has begun at the Corbett Brook retail centre, alongside Home Depot.

The grocery chain has all the appropriate zoning approvals in place from city hall to go ahead, but there has been no official word on a construction date.

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services, said there's no requirement from city hall to obtain a permit to clear land and no other building permits have been applied for by Costco.

Several calls to Costco's Canadian and eastern regional office in Toronto made by The Daily Gleaner over the past few months have gone unanswered by the company's spokesman Ron Damiani.

The chain has locations in Moncton and a new Saint John store is due to open this spring.

The Moncton store regularly draws Fredericton customers there to shop.

Cote said she usually makes the trip to Moncton every four to six weeks to stock up on her favourite Costco items.

"In the last few years, we like to go on and joke about Costco, saying that we might be tempted to retire here, if they ever build one here," Cote said.

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Group wants wetland protection at Costco site
Published Saturday April 24th, 2010
A3
By The Daily Gleaner

Friends of the UNB Woodlot are planning a noon hour event to pace off a perimeter it says is needed for wetland protection.

The public is invited to join students, professors and alumni on Monday at 12:15 p.m. at the site of the Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale in the UNB woodlot.

Trees have been removed over the past week as a site for a proposed Costco. No construction date for the store has been announced.

The group holding the Monday event has protested the need for a big box store and an associated gas bar.

"The recent cutting of every tree by heavy equipment on the proposed Costco site is unacceptable," the group said in a news release Friday. "Costco is being allowed to destroy two more wetlands. UNB must take responsibility for wetland protection of its lands."

The citizens say UNB promised an 80-metre buffer zone around any ecologically sensitive areas up for development. The provincial government requires a 30-metre setback from watercourses.

In October, a similar 'flagging' of the 80-metre buffer zone was held by about 40 students, professors, alumni and concerned citizens.

The Friends of the UNB Woodlot outline their concerns on their website www.smartgrowthUNB.ca and they have a Facebook group called "I don't want the UNB woodlot turned into Big-Box Strip Malls."

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The last time they had something similar at the site, they left a bunch of garbage littered all over the place (which is still lying around up there).

Taeolas

Apr 24, 2010, 10:01 PM

cl812

Apr 24, 2010, 11:39 PM

Just got back from Gamezilla. Noticed that next to TD, a Telus store seems to be about to go in.

And it's hard to be certain, but it does seem like there's a little (very little) work going on in the last slot in Uptown Centre. Maybe I just haven't peaked in lately, but all the support poles are now sheathed in plywood cubes.

I guess the last spot in the fredericton mall/uptown centre is a Everything for a Dollar Store according to the Crombie site:

http://www.crombiereit.ca/PDF/factsheet_44.pdf

Not sure we need any more dollar stores but oh well.

cl812

Apr 25, 2010, 9:09 PM

Noticed today some construction appears to have started at the city depot on St Mary's St., wonder if it is the new transit garage?

OliverD

Apr 26, 2010, 1:11 PM

Couple of articles in the Gleaner today regarding the widening of Regent Street:

City will face battle over widening issue

Regent Street-area property owners, the Fredericton Heritage Trust and the Queen's Square Neighbourhood Association are sending a strong message to city hall not to widen Regent Street.

The prospect of widening the arterial roadway is recommended in an update to a city traffic study recently completed by ADI Ltd.

The traffic consultant is suggesting that Regent Street be widened to four lanes from Scully Street, which faces the entrance to the downtown Sobeys store to Brunswick Street.

City councillors haven't had an in-depth discussion or even approved the street widening plan yet, but a subdivision application approved last week has already sent warning signals out to area residents.

The city's planning advisory committee has approved an application at 271 Regent St. that would allow the city to acquire 46-square-metres of street frontage in exchange for the city paying the cost to jack up the 100-year-old home at that address, shove it three metres back onto the lot and put a new foundation under it.

A delegation of citizens made it clear to the planning advisory committee that widening Regent Street should never be considered.

Local architect Jon Oliver, vice-president of the Fredericton Heritage Trust, said the Regent Street subdivision should serve as a red flag to downtown residents.

"This application is the canary in the coal mine, the continuation of a process that creates an asphalt wilderness through the downtown much as we have seen with the fateful and engineered alterations at my end of the city on Westmorland Street," Oliver said.

Worrying about moving vehicles to the exclusion of people-friendly planning doesn't make sense, Oliver said.

"Moving this building to begin a process that is not planning, not the comprehensive view of the city we imagined, is wrong-headed," he said.

"We need more thought and more meaningful analysis. We citizens expect more. The generations that follow deserve more and we want more than a repeat of errors recognized almost everywhere else in the world where perceived traffic problems were pursued and built and people environments were despoiled."

Queen's Square Neighbourhood Association spokesman Don Dennison said the residents of that area east of Regent Street have been consistent over the past 15 years in opposition to any widening of the lower part of Regent Street.

"We haven't changed our view," Dennison said.

"Our view is that improving Regent Street does not necessitate widening the road."

Since the city so far has been talking only about widening parts of the bottom end of Regent Street, it makes even less sense, he said.

"We see little purpose in proceeding with this piecemeal supposition that Regent Street is going to be widened. We don't believe that this decision has ever been taken with full public involvement. It seems to proceed by incremental pieces and supposition," Dennison said.

"Traffic issues on Regent Street won't be solved by widening. Widening is not the answer."

Churchill Row resident David Coombs said there are many cities with older historic areas that have resisted street widening.

"If old Montreal or old Quebec City had allowed a giant three- or four-lane road to be put through that old district, you wouldn't have an old Montreal, you wouldn't have an old Quebec City," Coombs told the city's planning advisory committee recently.

"Environment has to be our first thought," said area resident Margaret Trahms.

"Street widening degrades residential areas, quality of life and property values drop. This is not environment first, and in all our decisions, environment must come first.

"Leave Regent Street at the width it is... We can't let traffic rule."

Traffic-management methods, perhaps making Regent and Smythe streets one-way routes in either direction would be a solution, she suggested.

John Antworth and his wife Monica, whose family owns a heritage home at the corner of Regent and Needham streets, said the city could still obtain four lanes on Regent Street without widening it.

One of the big traffic tie-ups on the route is the Tim Hortons drive-thru at the lower end of Regent Street.

Coffee seekers often back up into the driving lanes waiting to turn into the drive-thru lane, Antworth said.

Monica Antworth said until the city has a definite proposal for Regent Street and all the property owners from Needham down to Queen streets can be informed, the city shouldn't be taking a piecemeal approach.

"Do it with reason, with empathy and care," she said.

From the Sobeys grocery store going up Regent Street, traffic speeds are already faster because the road is wider there.

"I'm asking that reason prevail," she told the committee members.

The city's real-estate manager Calvin Thompson said council hasn't approved any plans for the widening of Regent Street, but it's the policy of the real-estate division to acquire land for possible street widening all across the city, not just on Regent Street.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1029294

Regent Street home move leads to controversy
A city real-estate division recommendation to jack up and move a Regent Street home three metres back from the street has touched off a firestorm of protests about the future widening of the key city arterial.

Last week, the city's planning advisory committee approved a subdivision application for 271 Regent St. that would allow the city to add 46-square-metres to the public right-of-way.

In exchange for the land, the city would pay the bills to move the house back from Regent Street and set it on a new foundation.

The owner of the house Patrick Watt plans to extensively rehabilitate the three-unit apartment house while opening his street level scuba diving shop.

Calvin Thompson, the city's real-estate manager, said a public tender for the foundation work has already been called.

But Ward 11 Coun. Jordan Graham, who represents the downtown east end, said city hall is going about the process of preparing for future Regent Street widening in an entirely wrong way.

Even though ADI Ltd., the city's traffic consultant, has advised city hall that Regent Street will have to be widened in the future, councillors haven't had a debate about the merits of widening, nor has council approved the widening of the street.

Before it does, it should consult with the public, Graham said.

"We're trying to expedite a portion of a process that hasn't been given due diligence. It's scaring constituents," Graham said.

"City hall has to decide when they're going to consider the residents serious stakeholders and release the information that's been done to date to fairly inform the residents of the area of what's coming their way."

He said the most important stakeholders in this discussion - the residents of the corridor that might be widened - haven't been consulted.

"We're not looking at this with a 21st century lens," Graham said.

"There are so many more issues to be brought into this that just simply haven't made it to the table yet. A public discussion is the only way to begin this. A public discussion has to be the way you start something and not finish it."

He said he'll be raising the issue when the tender for building the new foundation under the home comes to city council for a financial decision.

A neighbour is already worried about the direction of the city's thinking.

Linda D'Arcy lives in the D'Arcy family-owned, bright red, Gothic revival heritage home at the corner of Regent and Needham streets.

The house, which was granted city heritage designation in 2009, has been in the D'Arcy family since 1959 when it was purchased from the Fowlers.

It's surrounded by a 150-year-old black decorative iron fence and a huge elm tree hugs its boundary with the Watt property next door.

"Recent articles in The Daily Gleaner mentioning the possible widening of Regent Street bring uncertainty of what impact it will have on our home," D'Arcy told the city's planning advisory committee after getting notification about the Watt home subdivision application.

The city has already asked D'Arcy if she would grant permission to contractors to step onto her family's property in order to place steel girders under the Watt house to slide it back on its lot away from the front of Regent Street.

D'Arcy isn't anxious to accommodate the city because moving Watt's house back from the street would line up the windows of the two homes, robbing her of privacy, and it could damage trees and shrubs.

She's also worried about damage to her fence.

Beyond the short-term issue of whether she'll accommodate her neighbour on the foundation project, D'Arcy said, the bigger concern is that she could be next on the city's list for acquiring street frontage at the lower end of Regent Street.

While the city hasn't asked D'Arcy for frontage or any change in her property, the homeowner said she's worried that this is just the trigger on a series of worrisome steps by city hall.

"We don't want our home to lose half of its front yard. Besides being impossible to move a 150-year-old heritage house of this shape, we don't have the room on the property to move it back 10 feet in order to maintain our front yard," she said.

"The presence of the house and its corner lot property is a contributing unit to the historical character of the city."

Thompson said even though city council hasn't approved an official widening plan for Regent Street, it's standard practice for the real-estate division to acquire strips of land to be added to the public right-of-way for future street widening.

"We have long known this property's proximity to the existing right-of-way and should at any point, Regent Street require to be widened, three metres into the house would be right into the middle of the living room of the house," Thompson said.

Since Watt has already applied for a building permit to renovate his property, Thompson said, it was the perfect opportunity to approach the property owner.

City council authorized the real-estate division to negotiate with Watt.

Moving the house prior to any renovations would minimize damage to the property.

Thompson said the city also feels that if the house is fully restored, its value would substantially increase and that could cost the city more down the road if it had to acquire the property for street widening.

"It would be our first option to make sure a house doesn't end up in a landfill site, particularly a house of that age and quality. The house is structurally sound," Thompson said. "It's the opportune time. The due diligence is to save the city money in the future."

If the widening of Regent Street doesn't go ahead, nothing is lost and a 100-year-old home is spared, Thompson said.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1029293

I can understand the concern that people in that area have. That said, Fredericton lacks a good north-side arterial road on the southside and I think that widening all of Regent to four lanes is inevitable. The recommendation that Smythe and Regent should be converted to one way streets isn't realistic. They're too far apart to make that work, and it would make access to many businesses very difficult.

One thing that makes Regent messier than it should be is that people don't use all the lanes properly. For example, northbound between George and Brunswick it changes from one lane to two, but people avoid the left lane. When it's busy, this backs traffic up because the left lane sits unused while traffic backs up across the George Street intersection in the right lane.

Taeolas

Apr 26, 2010, 1:25 PM

Yeah, we need a good arterial, and Regent and Smythe are the two best contenders. Smythe is almost there, but needs to get across the old TCH. Regent would be better overall though since it already has the New Maryland traffic. (If Smythe can get over the old TCH, maybe some decade it can be extended out to the new TCH and beyond; doubtful but...).

The main issue with Regent (aside from Timmys) is that its lanes don't make much sense. You're swerving left and right as you go up/down the road because one lane turns into a Turn Only lane. (which generally means one lane never gets used because the locals who know know to stay out of it). Making it 5 lanes (2 travel with a mixed turning lane in the middle) is probably the best thing that could happen to that street.

OliverD

Apr 26, 2010, 3:52 PM

cl812

Apr 26, 2010, 6:31 PM

Library upgrade could cost city thousands in lost lease revenue
Published Monday April 26th, 2010
Regional | Service operates in part of downtown building
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton's finance committee will meet May 5 to talk about the possible cancellation of a lease with the York Regional Library that rents a portion of space in the Fredericton Public Library on Carleton Street.

The regional library office also runs the York County bookmobile service.

Cathy MacLaggan, chairwoman of the Fredericton Public Library Board, said the 900 square metres (10,000 square feet) occupied by the York Regional Library is needed if the public library is going to move ahead on its $1.2-million renovation plan.

Architectural renderings and a space reconfiguration plan have already been drawn up for the three-year renovation and capital funding for the project has been approved-in-principle by city council.

But The Daily Gleaner has learned that the city has been searching through its real-estate inventory to try to find alternative locations for the York Regional Library so it doesn't have to break the lucrative $191,000-a-year lease it has with the provincial government.

The York Regional Library occupies about 30 per cent of the space in the Carleton Street public library building.

Stephen Kelly, the city councillor who sits on the library board, said there's interest in growing the library's services, but the financial considerations can't be ignored.

"We are as cognizant of the financial toughness that we're in right now as we've ever been in, in a decade. That is why we've asked (finance) chairman Mike O'Brien to put on the agenda of the next finance committee meeting the issue of the library lease with the York Regional Library to see how we can deal with loss of that revenue stream," Kelly said.

"While we're extremely sympathetic to the needs of the library, we report to the taxpayer and we are facing some severe challenges. That is why we are starting the budget season much earlier this year to deal with these challenges as well as these major issues like dealing with the business plan of the library.''

But Kelly is optimistic.

"I think council is interested in the long overdue support needed for our very popular and growing library. Let's keep our fingers crossed that council will hear a favourable report from the finance committee."

MacLaggan said the library has already upgraded its Carleton Street facilities.

New signs have been put up and public washrooms have been rebuilt and made wheelchair accessible.

New public seating has been installed in the adult reading lounge and the building's elevator will be modernized to accommodate wheelchairs and scooters.

Furniture will be repaired, refinished or replaced during the year.

But once that work is done over the course of this year, the library board will be stalled on its proposed 2011 start to its major renovations unless the library lease question is settled.

MacLaggan said 2009 was a record year for library program participation. A total of 16,157 participants attended 652 programs.

The public library and the satellite public library at the Nashwaaksis Middle School saw a record year of use.

"Patrons at the Fredericton Public Library and Nashwaaksis Public School Library checked out 393,633 books, newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs and videos," MacLaggan said.

"This equates to 1,350 items being checked out and the same number returned for shelving each day the libraries were opened.''

The city pays the operating expenses for both the Fredericton public and Nashwaaksis libraries, for the Carleton Street building and for maintenance.

The salaries and benefits of the 20 staff members employed at the libraries and the maintenance on the school library are funded by the province.

The Fredericton Public Library was last expanded in 1992.

The shortage of space means that bookshelves have been crammed closer together and the book collection has been limited. There are waiting lists for programs.

With the expansion, the children's department would have double the space. Room would be created for a teen lounge and collection. More public meeting space would be provided and a small coffee shop area included.

The library renovation proposal would see the bank of windows facing the St. John River in the upstairs of the library made into a quiet reading area. More public access computer space could also be provided.

"We want the city to identify the library expansion and renovation as a priority to meet the community needs and make the decision that they're going to terminate the lease so that we can proceed with the expansion and renovation work by January 2011."

MacLaggan said Downtown Fredericton Inc. has given its blessing to a library expansion.

The business improvement association compares having a library that puts more than 700 people on downtown streets during the daytime as equivalent to having a large department store in the downtown.

People who visit the library often pursue other activities as part of their trip to the downtown, the group has noted.

As well, MacLaggan said the issue of extended library hours is being examined by the New Brunswick Public Library Service.

The provincial government has completed a survey of urban and rural residents to determine their preferences on opening and closing times.

Guidelines will be coming out in the fall that might allow for flexibility in library evening and weekend hours.

----

cl812

Apr 27, 2010, 2:49 AM

City Begins Process to Establish Fredericton Lands Commission

Fredericton (April 26, 2010) – Fredericton City Council has begun the process of establishing a Fredericton Lands Commission. The Commission will engage in strategic real estate development using municipally-owned land that has been declared surplus.

The goal of the Commission is to work with local developers to further commercial and residential development in the City. Many of the pieces of land declared as surplus by the City are of interest to private developers and adjacent land owners for redevelopment purposes. By bringing these land holdings into the market in a timely fashion, the Commission can optimize the financial and community value that comes from such properties.

Start up funding for the Commission will come from various City departments. These funds will help service the land and make it market ready. Any funds acquired from land sales will be re-invested back into the Commission for future development efforts.

The bylaw to form the Commission, which received first and second reading at the regular Council meeting on April 26, outlines the work of the Commission, names the board of directors, sets financial limits, and identifies the reporting process to City Council. Third and final reading for the formation of the Fredericton Lands Commission is scheduled for the regular Council meeting in two weeks.

To find out more about municipal land holdings currently for sale, contact Calvin Thompson, Real Estate Manager for the City of Fredericton at 506-460-2036.

-30-

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/NR2010Apr26LandsComm.asp

Media Contact: Wayne Knorr, Communication Manager, City of Fredericton, 506-460-2181

cl812

Apr 27, 2010, 12:05 PM

Council OK's Regent Street deal despite opposition
Published Tuesday April 27th, 2010
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

City councillors fast-tracked a controversial Regent Street property transaction Monday night that will see $123,000 of taxpayers' money used to jack and move a private home onto a new foundation.

City councillors met in a closed door meeting Monday night, prior to their open public session and emerged to hold an open vote awarding a contract to B.R. DeMerchant (2004) Ltd. to do the work on the Patrick Watt property at 271 Regent St.

Council further authorized a $2,500 payment to the homeowner for unspecified costs.

In exchange for allowing his home to be moved three metres toward the rear of the lot, Watt will sign over three metres of his property frontage to the city.

Acquiring the frontage will aid the city if it decides to follow through on its traffic consultant's advice to widen the lower end of Regent Street. But the notion of widening Regent Street has already raised red flags for the Fredericton Heritage Trust, the Queens Square Neighbourhood Association, other interest groups and a neighbour.

Linda D'Arcy, who lives in a house next to Watt's property, is opposed to widening Regent Street and may not allow the city-hired contractor onto her property to move her neighbour's house.

Other members of the D'Arcy family voiced opposition to the Regent Street widening and its potential to impact their familial home at the April 21 planning advisory committee session at which the subdivision of Watt's frontage was recommended.

Coun. Jordan Graham, who represents the downtown east end ward, was the lone vote of opposition to the house deal both at the planning advisory committee level and last night at city council.

"I think it's premature. This is a huge commitment. We're talking more than $100,000 here that needs to be vetted through the appropriate channels," he said. "The only reason we're buying this is because we're planning to widen Regent Street. That plan has not been approved."

Graham has argued that Fredericton needs to engage its citizens in a full public discussion about widening Regent Street.

"We haven't done the due diligence to take everything into account," he said.

Mayor Brad Woodside asked city staff Monday night to compile a report on the Regent Street widening - detailing its history, past public consultation (if any) and the cost.

"There's a lot of unanswered questions and in getting this information, we will be able to convey that to the public and have more information available," Woodside said.

As for spending public funds for a private home's foundation, Woodside said Watt has applied for a building permit to undertake major repairs to 271 Regent St.

City real estate manager Calvin Thompson has told council that if those repairs are done, the value of the three-storey downtown home is likely to rise, and if the city had to move the house after it's been rehabilitated, the cost to taxpayers would be far greater.

"All of the information that the city believes that they're making decisions on should be shared with the public and the public should have the opportunity to have input into that," said Don Dennison of the Queen's Square Neighbourhood Association. "That hasn't happened. There's never been a full-scale look and examination the need, the cost and what are the alternatives."

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Protesters continue to rail against Costco project
Published Tuesday April 27th, 2010
A6
By MOLLY CORMIER
cormier.molly@dailygleaner.com

The Friends of the UNB Woodlot were back at the future site of a Costco store Monday, once again delineating a buffer zone it feels should be observed to protect the local environment.

Members of the wetlands-protection organization were out in full force beside the recently graded Costco site Monday.

More than 20 protesters, including former and current faculty members of the University of New Brunswick, gathered to tape off an area with pink tape and wooden markers to demonstrate where they believe a buffer zone protecting the wetlands should be.

Monday's protest marked at least the third time protesters have marked off the 80-metre buffer zone they feel is required.

"This is to show people in Fredericton and UNB students, faculty and administration the size of the area that is being impacted, and what's being taken away from these two marshes," said Mark D'Arcy, spokesman for Friends of the UNB Woodlot, on Monday.

The environmental organization hoped Costco would be built 80 metres from Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale, two wetlands located south of the Vanier Highway.

"This includes a 30-metre regulatory buffer, an extra 30-metre buffer as a conservation area and an additional 20 metres," D'Arcy said.

The recent development in the area shows an 80-metre buffer hasn't been observed, he said.

"Eighty metres is the minimal distance you need for a proper catchment area around the wetland," D'Arcy said. "If you don't, you're actually diminishing the quality of the water in a wetland."

UNB spokeswoman Natasha Ashfield said the university hasn't changed its mind regarding zoning since environmental reviews were conducted of the land before development began.

"All of the consultation and municipal plan amendments have been completed for this area," Ashfield said.

"All lands within the current development have met or exceeded all environmental legislation as required by the provincial government."

D'Arcy said his organization is becoming increasingly concerned as construction of the gas bar moves forward, especially because of the potential for an oil spill, he said.

"The gas bar is a nonstarter. It can't be allowed to be built," he said.

Jonathan Burtt, project manager for the Department of Environment's project assessment section, said the department only mandates a 30-metre buffer.

The department is confident the gas bar won't become an issue in terms of water quality, Burtt said.

"Basically, we feel that safe guards are going to be in place to protect wetlands or groundwater from any impact on that site," he said.

----
Noticed yesterday when driving by they had security guard at the site most of the day. I find it surprising (not really i guess, based on their persistence) they are still protesting this (at least the second or third time they have been up there doing something similar) since it is already approved and the development is well within the environmental regulation. Also, I see they left a bunch of garbage up there again.

It looks as though the apartment building on Victoria street (near York at the former UAP/NAPA store site) will be starting soon, they look to be setting up a crane there in the near future (parts on the ground at the site). That must be the seven story building approved for that area, for some reason I thought it was on the corner (York and Victoria) behind the old shoe factory. Also keeping in that are of town, the apartment on the corner of York and George is coming along nicely as well, looks like the structure is pretty much all up (3-4 floors). It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it is finished. The design looked pretty good.

OliverD

Apr 27, 2010, 12:44 PM

The people protesting the development of the UNB woodlot really piss me off. While I can understand that people like to preach conservation, you have to balance that with reality. That area is prime for development, and it benefits not only the city but UNB itself. It's an excellent opportunity for UNB to bring in some additional revenue.

Also, I'm interested in seeing what the new apartment building on Victoria will look like. Given it's height, it's going to be a significant addition to the skyline. Hopefully it won't be ugly.

Speaking of residential developments, there's a big sign up at the corner of Cliffe and Sunny Brae indicating that a development called "Cliffbourne Heights" will be put there. No idea if this will be townhouses or an apartment building or what. The other developments further up Cliffe are progressing nicely as well.

cl812

Apr 27, 2010, 1:04 PM

The people protesting the development of the UNB woodlot really piss me off. While I can understand that people like to preach conservation, you have to balance that with reality. That area is prime for development, and it benefits not only the city but UNB itself. It's an excellent opportunity for UNB to bring in some additional revenue.

I agree completely, not to mention most of thier arguments have no scientific basis and some things they are trying to claim are completely bogus, like the replacement and relocation of the extremely small wetland with an engineered wetland, which is not even naturally occuring I might add, is going to increase flooding risk, even though it will be of essentially the same capacity of the existing wetland. I would be willing to bet that these same people would be the first to complain their tuition is going up. I think its definately a good thing that the University is seeking alternative revenue streams.

Pugsley

Apr 27, 2010, 7:12 PM

I agree completely, not to mention most of thier arguments have no scientific basis and some things they are trying to claim are completely bogus, like the replacement and relocation of the extremely small wetland with an engineered wetland, which is not even naturally occuring I might add, is going to increase flooding risk, even though it will be of essentially the same capacity of the existing wetland. I would be willing to bet that these same people would be the first to complain their tuition is going up. I think its definately a good thing that the University is seeking alternative revenue streams.

What these people do not understand is that it is actually a good thing to be developing this space. Fredericton does not have a "green belt" to protect the entire circumferance of the city from development. The UNB woodlot is also far to small depth-wise to act as a true green belt in any real capacity. That being said, the city is better off developing this space with tighter urban development adjacent to the city versus seeing it leap-frog (as it already has started to do) to the other side.

If these "friends of the woodlot" had any real interest in preserving sprawl and the natural beauty of the city/province, they would lobby to have the government create a REAL greenbelt around the city a bit further out with a deeper preservation boundary...to protect the natural environment and reduce pollution from sprawl commuting. The impact would be greater long-term.

cl812

Apr 27, 2010, 8:53 PM

Some very good points, I think part of the problem is these people dont have a real scientific basis for any of their arguments and the professors involved have a vested interest since they conduct much of their research in the woodlot and are not necessarily basing their opinions on scientific fact. Im convinced the other poeple involved in this group just like to complain and be the centre of attention. I guarantee these are the same people who complain when ever a building is proposed/constructed above 3-4 floors downtown and very likely the same bunch that complained the large flag that used to be at the smythe street Superstore was too loud. I know that Mark D'arcy guy complains about everything, he always seems to be in the news paper every so often complaining about something, but the gleaner is just as bad for putting them in the spotlight.

It is really getting a bit ridiculous they are still going on about this, if they wanted to protest they have should have done so when the University was initially calling for the development of the Woodlot, but instead they wait until the develpoment is already underway and leave a bunch of garbage around the site (for the third time!) having their waste of time protests.

Sorry for the rant, but Iam also very annoyed by these people

homebody

Apr 27, 2010, 11:48 PM

mylesmalley

Apr 28, 2010, 12:03 AM

This doesn't surprise me. The market for bulk goods has to be pretty close to saturated with WalMart and Costco with multiple locations across the province.

Freddypop

Apr 28, 2010, 12:57 AM

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. As I mentioned before a couple of pages back that I heard that Costco has put a stop on all future expansions. Hope its not true, but thats what I heard from a reliable source. Makes sense from a NB standpoint. They have 2 stores now in the 2 largest urban areas in the province. The new store in Saint John (opens May 27) Is now even closer than the store in Moncton as well as larger. I timed it last weekend. 1hr 5 min from the City Motel on Prospect St. They know you will drive to Moncton so why not to an even closer location in Saint John.

Not sure what to believe. I heard from "a reliable source" that the project manager for the Freddy Costco build has been chosen and is in town now preparing for the start of construction to begin "shortly". I also find it strange that they would move forward to clear the site over the past few weeks if there was no intent on moving forward. Guess time will tell how this unfolds....

Freddypop

Apr 28, 2010, 1:14 AM

New downtown Hilton set for public presentation at the City Council meeting sked for Monday, May 10. Should find out all details at that time. I believe they receive 1st and 2nd reading at that time. If so, 3rd and final reading likely to occur in June with construction to start shortly after.

Smevo

Apr 28, 2010, 2:19 AM

While I'm not a fan of the Corbett Centre Development, these protesters are getting very tiresome. And the fact that they're littering the site they're supposedly trying to protect completely undermines everything they're trying to do. I've also conceded the point that its happening so I might as well be happy that there's development and that there'll be a little more retail choice next time I visit my in-laws.

As for development leapfrogging the woodlot (imposed greenbelt or not), I haven't heard of a single greenbelt yet that hasn't been leapfrogged shortly after imposition. The fact of the matter is, people at large want to save on property tax and live on their quiet little cul-de-sacs, and as long as there's developers putting in the subdivisions to fullfill the peoples desires, there will always be sprawl, with or without greenbelts. Personally I'd rather live near the centre of a city, but I know I'm in the minority on that one.

As for the Victoria St apartment building making an impact on the skyline, I'd expect it would only be visible from a vantage point to the south, just look at that seniors apartment building on Regent by Sobey's. It would be nice if it made an impact from across the river though. :cheers:

Freddypop

Apr 28, 2010, 10:49 AM

Costco mum on plans for Fredericton
Published Wednesday April 28th, 2010
A5 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Costco Canada hasn't got any news to give on its possible Fredericton location at the Corbett Centre.

"We have absolutely nothing new to say," said Costco spokesman Ron Damiani of Ottawa.

"Whenever we do say something it's because a deal, regardless of where it is in the country, is signed, sealed and delivered, done."

Costco has been eyeing the University of New Brunswick and Trinity Development Group Inc.'s big-box shopping area Crobett Centre atop Regent Street.

Recently, the wooded area next to Home Depot, which is the identified location for a possible Costco location in Fredericton, has been cleared of trees, heightening interest in the development.

While fans of the Costco chain anxiously look for word that the store is coming here, a group of local environmentalists continue to condemn the project and it's proximity to Corbett Brook.

The Friends of the UNB Woodlot Monday staged a protest by marking off an 80-metre buffer which they say UNB agreed to maintain between the wetlands and its development site.

The group continues to oppose the university's plans to convert some of its land holdings into leased, income-producing lands.

Costco is due to open its new Saint John location this spring.

cl812

Apr 28, 2010, 11:38 AM

Currie Center one year behind schedule
Published Wednesday April 28th, 2010
A3
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

The Richard J. Currie Center under construction at the University of New Brunswick is beginning to take shape.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=488566&size=324x230
A worker installs a brace on one of the outside walls of the Richard J. Currie Center at the University of New Brunswick on Tuesday. Problems during construction have pushed the facility’s opening date to May 2011.

But the large, five-storey building at the bottom of the university's campus is almost a year behind schedule.

The original completion date was supposed to be next month.

But the rockiness of the parcel of land where the 12,927-square-metre (139,145-square-foot) building is being constructed and a harsh winter in 2009 at the beginning of the build has left the university no choice but to change its plans for the grand opening.

The building is expected to be completed in December and ready for occupancy in May 2011.

"Thankfully, we had a milder winter this year and progress was good over the winter and now into the spring," said Barbara Nicholson, the university's associate vice-president of capital planning and property development.

"The budget set for this project is $57.5 million, and despite the delay, we're still within that budget. Even with the difficult site, we're moving along and it's quite exciting to see it coming together."

The first events expected to be held in the Currie Center include the 80th Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which is the largest academic gathering in Canada that attracts up to 9,000 scholars.

It will be hosted by St. Thomas University and UNB from May 28-June 5, 2011.

UNB's basketball and volleyball teams will be housed in the centre for the 2011-12 season, and if the building is ready for early use, the teams may be able to finish the 2010-11 season there.

"Encaenia (graduation) in May 2011 will be held in the Currie Center, and that's exciting because this building will be so different from the Aitken University Centre where the ceremony is traditionally held," Nicholson said.

"The new centre will be a very open building with lots of light coming in and there will be a lot more exposed wood showing. It's going to be beautiful."

On Tuesday, the construction site was busy with activity despite looming dark clouds and the threat of rain.

Acadian Construction, the contractor, had dozens of workers on site operating boom trucks, a crane and forklifts.

Looking down at the site from further up on campus hill, workers in bright yellow jackets and neon-orange vests dotted the gravel and dirt around the building.

Their voices could be heard on occasion over the rumble of motors and the sound of saws slicing through bricks for the masons.

Workers manoeuvred large planks on the rooftop, while dust drifted from the second floor onto those surveying what's left to do on the retaining wall along the side of the structure.

On the front of the building, which faces downtown Fredericton, few spaces remain where onlookers can see into the building.

Reflective glass is being installed and workers have almost completed a wall of it.

Steel fencing surrounds the site, Nicholson said, but anyone passing through campus is welcome to pause for a moment to check out the progress.

"The unique architecture of the building is taking shape, so it's interesting to watch now as it's being worked on," she said.

"At this point, even though the construction part is exciting, I think what's most interesting and what we're most anxious to see complete is what's going to be in the building."

The Currie Center will include a human performance laboratory, the Sun Life Financial Fitness and Lifestyle Assessment Centre, the Quartermain Sport Medicine Centre, the Nancy Webster McFadyen Track, the Hatheway Family Fitness Studio and the Alberta Alumni Recreation Centre.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers and partners, which includes health-care organizations, will work in the building with a focus on fitness and lifestyle assessment and evaluation, pediatric weight management, cardiac rehabilitation, orthopedic surgery rehabilitation, clinical gait analysis and enhancement, workplace wellness and healthy aging.

The centre will also serve as a venue for UNB students, faculty and staff to pursue fitness and athletic goals.

For more information on the Richard J. Currie Center, visit www.unb.ca/currie or email rjcurriecenter@unb.ca.

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cl812

Apr 28, 2010, 11:40 AM

OliverD

Apr 28, 2010, 12:58 PM

corda

Apr 28, 2010, 1:07 PM

Regarding Costco, a friend of mine just told me that they have been communicating with the CoC and that the Fredericton store is on hold until they see how well the Saint John store performs.

Even if we don't get a Costco in Fredericton, having one down the road in SJ isn't bad at all.

That wouldn't surprise me. Saturating the NB market too quickly is just bad business.

JHikka

Apr 28, 2010, 1:27 PM

Regarding Costco, a friend of mine just told me that they have been communicating with the CoC and that the Fredericton store is on hold until they see how well the Saint John store performs.

Even if we don't get a Costco in Fredericton, having one down the road in SJ isn't bad at all.

The Costco in Saint John is going to do well regardless of outside influences. We have enough people here who seem like hellbent followers of the almighty Costco that i'm assuming it'll do just fine.

Freddypop

Apr 29, 2010, 10:39 AM

Courtyard | Area will be seen from hotel

A1By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

UpDowntown Fredericton Inc. is talking with the owners of several buildings on the same block as the city's new convention centre complex about the possibility of developing an inner courtyard.

Even though the proposed courtyard area sits at the back of the businesses, it's become a weedy mess and a magnet for people to abuse drugs, Downtown Fredericton Inc. general manager Bruce McCormack said.

"This is an opportunity to take a look at how we can upgrade that whole area because if you're in the conference centre parking garage or the new hotel, you're going to be looking down at a pretty unsightly mess.''

At the least, business owners are interested in cleaning up the area and improving the rear facades of their buildings. Over the long term, the courtyard concept is one that could take shape, McCormack said.

"The courtyard is a concept that we've looked at and beat around for awhile. You would find courtyards in Montreal and Old Montreal where restaurants have gotten together and fixed up a back area, lit it and landscaped it.''

But there are obstacles to its development. Alternative locations for tenant parking would have to be found and business owners who rent space in the buildings would still have to have access to garbage disposal bins.

"There's a ton of garbage receptacles in there.''

And who pays to create the courtyard concept?

"We've talked to the property owners ... They're all very, very positive. They would like to re-facade the backs of those properties," he said.

"It's not an overnight fix and we're still doing a lot of work as far as looking. The City of Fredericton is interested in being a partner. They've looked at the concept plan and they've supported it.

"It's a huge deal when you're talking about so many different property owners. If nothing else, we just clean up the mess. There are weeds 4-feet high and there's garbage. If we're bringing you to our downtown convention centre and you're staying in the hotel looking down at that, that's just disgusting," McCormack said.

Downtown Fredericton Inc. president Linda Dolan said cleaning up the area would be a good first step.

"If we can get all that garbage, all those bins out of there and just make it look more presentable, we'd be happy with that, but it would be nice to see the whole plan carried through to fruition, but that's a little ambitious. We realize that," Dolan said.

"We're not going to please everybody, but we have to all look at the big picture and it's a mess right now. At this point it's all conceptual.''

The next step will be to bring everyone who might be affected by the courtyard plan to the table, Dolan said Wednesday.

"I like the idea myself, if it's done right," said M and T Deli owner Derek Gallant. "I've been talking to a member of Downtown Fredericton. I thought it was a great idea,"

Gallant said he realizes he'd have to give up some parking, but anything that brings in more business is worth the trade-off.

Botinicals Gift Shop Inc. owner John Welling is against the project.

"I think it's a bad idea,'' Welling said. "I'm a business that rents. About 90 per cent of the parking would be gone. What are they going to do with us business owners? Where are we going to be allowed to park? I can't run a business with no parking.

"It's already a place for the hoodlums to hang out at night because you can't see it from King Street, Queen Street or Regent, and to turn it into a park, you're just inviting more of that, just so that the people in the convention centre can have a green space to look down on.''

He said clean up the dumpsters and repave the parking lot.

"People all over the world look out their office buildings in downtown cores and see parking lots and other buildings. I just don't see it," Welling said.

"I don't see it as a very practical thing."

And if the concept plan entails restaurant patios and rear-yard patio eating spots, he said, that might work for the restaurant trade, but it doesn't work for his retail gift shop.

"Our back doors and businesses aren't set up for that and it would just be more to have to watch," Welling said. "I dislike everything about it because I'm not interested in losing my parking space or turning it into a park for more people to hang out in."

cl812

Apr 29, 2010, 11:50 AM

Station Road project clears another hurdle
Published Thursday April 29th, 2010
A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Second reading has been given to a rezoning bylaw and subdivision plan for a Colpitts Developments project at Station Road.

The company wants to build two apartment buildings with 63 units, 52 townhouse units in nine buildings and 24 semi-detached homes.

As a result of a meeting with about 20 area residents, Colpitts was able to iron out concerns expressed about landscaping and fencing.

Ward 4 Coun. Eric Megarity, who represents South Devon, said the company's plan for the former construction work and storage yard is the perfect plan for the neighbourhood.

Megarity said the developer's proposal will put buildings on 40 per cent of the land, which will leave significant green space surrounding the housing development.

"It's a gem in the rough," Megarity said of the property.

He has asked the city's engineering department to prepare a report on traffic flow and access prior to third reading of the rezoning bylaw.

Residents expressed worries that Station Street and nearby Barker Street might not be able to handle the additional flow of vehicles onto an already heavily used Union Street.

Craig McElroy of Colpitts Developments said all of the housing will be for sale, rather than rental units and the development will be landscaped, lighted and paved.

"It's going to be a great improvement to the area when it's done," McElroy told city council recently.

McElroy said fences and hedges will be placed in a way to prevent people from short-cutting through the area, but he doesn't want to encase the development in a fence, which would make the housing development look like a jail.

Neighbour Bob Mabie said he was able to work out his concerns over the proximity of the development to his driveway and side lot with the developer.

Pugsley

Apr 29, 2010, 1:35 PM

Freddypop

Apr 29, 2010, 7:17 PM

Fredboy

Apr 29, 2010, 9:21 PM

Regarding Costco, a friend of mine just told me that they have been communicating with the CoC and that the Fredericton store is on hold until they see how well the Saint John store performs.

Even if we don't get a Costco in Fredericton, having one down the road in SJ isn't bad at all.

I'm hearing the outlook on Costco is way more encouraging than what you've been told. I hear contracts are signed. Shouldn't be long now......

Fredboy

Apr 29, 2010, 9:24 PM

Why don't we have a second set of Theaters in Fredericton? I think we should, and I think they would be supported. The Regent mall theaters are crazy most of the time.

Taeolas

Apr 29, 2010, 10:14 PM

We used to have a set on each side, but the Regent mall ones closed both down. A Northside set of theaters at 2 Nations or near Brookside would be fantastic.

Freddypop

Apr 29, 2010, 10:22 PM

Why don't we have a second set of Theaters in Fredericton? I think we should, and I think they would be supported. The Regent mall theaters are crazy most of the time.

Couldn't agree with you more. Let's imagine the following scenario: Walmart decides to build a stand-alone Super Walmart on Bishop leaving the Regent Mall location as there is no room to expand. This would allow Empire to expand and upgrade the current location. The only other scenario would be for Empire to decide to build on Bishop leaving the Walmart with the room to grow in their current space. Empire also comes to the realization that it would make sense to place a new theatre 8-screens on the Northside at Two Nations. In the perfect world they would also put a 4-cinema downtown near the new convention centre.

One can only dream!!!

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 12:04 AM

I'm hearing the outlook on Costco is way more encouraging than what you've been told. I hear contracts are signed. Shouldn't be long now......

good to hear!

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 12:05 AM

There definately should be a secnd theatre here for sure, 2 nations or brookside would be a good location for sure. A super walmart wouldnt be too bad to get either

fredfan

Apr 30, 2010, 12:38 AM

Yeah I really think that a set of theatres in the brookside mall might revitalize things over there.

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 1:32 AM

Yeah I really think that a set of theatres in the brookside mall might revitalize things over there.

Yeah it would be good for the mall, theres lots of free space there now since the call centre closed up. Although I thought I remembered hearing recently that some gov'nt dept was moving into part of it.

Freddypop

Apr 30, 2010, 1:53 AM

Yeah it would be good for the mall, theres lots of free space there now since the call centre closed up. Although I thought I remembered hearing recently that some gov'nt dept was moving into part of it.

There is room to expand a stand-alone cinema on the Brookside Mall properties and I think Empire/Sobeys would choose that option if they were to open a new unit. I base this on what they are doing in other parts of the country. Seems its the way to go.

Freddypop

Apr 30, 2010, 10:42 AM

Published Friday April 30th, 2010
A2 By The Daily Gleaner

A 64-square-metre portion of frontage will be acquired by the city from the federal government for $1.

The city needs the street frontage as part of planned improvements on Queen Street for the new downtown convention centre complex.

The Fredericton Service Canada building at 633 Queen St. is on the corner of Regent and Queen streets.

Freddypop

Apr 30, 2010, 10:45 AM

Published Friday April 30th, 2010

Big project | Costs estimated to be about $350,000

A1 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Downtown Fredericton Inc. will contribute $50,000 over two years toward the estimated $350,000 cost of downtown riverfront improvements, says Bruce McCormack, general manager of the organization.

The city has yet to call tenders, but it hopes to start the work the second or third week of August once repairs to the Princess Margaret Bridge are completed.

Work should be finished before winter sets in, said Wayne Tallon, the city's director of community services.

Included in the enhancements to the riverfront will be the creation of a mini-amphitheatre natural stone seating area and outdoor chess boards.

"We're going to enhance the lighting. It will be more of a decorative type of light and the standards will be built with a concrete pedestal so they can weather the spring flooding and any materials that float down the river," Tallon said.

The city will receive approximately $100,000 from the federal government to assist with the project through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, he said.

The first phase of the trail upgrade will be to pave the walking path between the pedway at Carleton Street to the city-owned Lighthouse on the Green at the foot of Regent Street.

Most of the downtown walkways are surfaced with a fine gravel that packs down, but paving the trail surface will allow in-line skaters, people in wheelchairs, skateboarders and cyclists to use the paths.

A tender will be called by the city for additional improvements, including the installation of benches and lighting.

"It's taking that trail to a different level. It's not changing the purpose by any means. It's not going commercial or to anything that people wouldn't be used to on our riverfront," said McCormack.

"It will be lit, so it will be safe. It will bring you closer to the river for seating areas so you can enjoy it more. It will be more comfortable.''

The plan calls for raising the grade of the slope near the lighthouse where the city runs its activity centre.

By creating a more level area, organizers of public events such as Canada Day will have a better area in which to host events, McCormack said.

The location of the walking path will also be shifted away from the edge of St. Anne Point Boulevard and landscaping will be established between the four-lane roadway and the walking path.

"We're not changing the world, but we are changing where the trail goes. It's too close to the riverfront drive. We're moving it down ... so you'll have that sense of safety," McCormack said. "We want to make it nicer and convenient for them."

Waterfront communities in Canada have all done beautiful jobs with walking paths by the river, he said.

"The city's done a great job providing the walking trails and putting those in, but we need to dress it up. Our waterfront is second to none.''

Freddypop

Apr 30, 2010, 10:48 AM

Published Friday April 30th, 2010

A3 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Hill Bros. Realty & Investments Ltd. is staying in communication with the Business Development Bank of Canada as it presses the federal investment banker to pursue the completion of Rebel Ridge Golf Course.

The family owned land development and property investment company established its West Hills housing development off Brookside Drive with the concept of a public golf course as the signature draw for its home buyers.

But the golf course project hit snags and was delayed when Fairways Design and Holdings Inc. and Rebel Ridge Golf Club Ltd. and its principal, David Loten, ran into financial difficulty with the project.

The lack of progress saw Hill Bros. Realty & Investments file a lawsuit against the company it hired to construct and operate the golf course, alleging contract breaches.

The course was supposed to be finished in 2007, but only part of the greens have been completed and a promised clubhouse hasn't been built.

The Business Development Bank of Canada foreclosed on the property and purchased it for $1 million in late April.

Hill Bros. vice-president Darren Hill said he's talking to golf course architects and consultants about the costs of completing the course, which remains a company objective.

The property is still protected by restrictive covenants that require that it be a golf course. Hill said if the Business Development Bank of Canada tried to thwart that purpose, he would go to court to protect the covenants and the interests of homeowners.

"I'm going to advise BDC to consider a golf-marketing guy to package it and market it properly around the Maritimes. Had they done that, they would have had the (golf course developer) bidders there last Friday," Hill said.

"I'm confident we can make a deal with a new golf guy. We have a mutual interest."

Hill Bros. Realty and Investments would be prepared to make substantial progress payments to a new golf course developer to ensure that the course is completed in a timely fashion, he said.

"I have much to offer. I have restaurant equipment to give. I have tonnes of topsoil to give. Things like that. I can offer engineering and construction services," Hill said.

Business Development Bank of Canada has agreed to appoint a property manager to ensure that the developed portion of the 18-hole golf course doesn't become weedy and unkempt.

"If BDC wants to minimize their loss, they'll look, as well as us, for a developer and see how it goes over the next three or four weeks. They're the ones that own it and if they want to minimize their loss ... they'll properly package and market it," Hill said.

Hill said his consultant has advised him that there's a price point where the golf course development can be a successful venture for a new operator.

Hill said Hill Bros. Realty & Investments is also weighing the possibility of making the bank a purchase offer on the golf course if that's what it's going to take to get the course finished.

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 11:33 AM

City 'is doing a lot of things right'
Published Friday April 30th, 2010
Kudos | Fredericton named top city in Atlantic Canada, fourth nationally
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Affordable housing, low unemployment and robust population growth all helped Fredericton earn the top spot among Atlantic Canadian municipalities in an annual list of Canada's Top 10 places to live.

MoneySense magazine ranked 179 Canadian towns and cities for the 2010 Canada's Best Places to Live list.

New Brunswick's capital city, which has consistently ranked in the Top 10, placed fourth nationally, behind Ottawa-Gatineau; Kingston, Ont.; and Burlington, Ont.

Moncton got fifth place.

Mayor Brad Woodside is heralding the recognition.

"This shows Fredericton is the place to live in Atlantic Canada," he said. "I think (this) ... is cause to celebrate and pat ourselves on the back."

The biggest strike against the city was the cold, wet weather.

"To knock us out of first place because of the weather, that really tells you something. The things we can impact, we do. The things we can't - like weather - we deal with," Woodside said.

Dan Bortolotti, a contributing editor for MoneySense, knows the average Canadian's list of the Top 10 places to live probably wouldn't look like the one the magazine came up with.

But he said it's looking at the numbers, not the mountains, trees and heritage buildings a community has to offer.

"To still come in fourth (nationally) means (Fredericton) is doing a lot of things right: the infrastructure is working, there's good quality health care and the city is prosperous with a low unemployment rate and the pollution levels are low. I think the city does a lot of things well."

Bortolotti said real estate prices make a lot of larger communities not competitive.

"Vancouver can be a great place to live, but if it costs $1 million to buy a house and you're 26 years old and just got your first job, that's really discouraging,'' he said. "That is not necessarily the place you ought to live, despite the vibrant culture and the beautiful weather.

"If you can be prosperous on a $60,000 income, you might be a lot happier."

Bortolotti said Fredericton usually scores well on the survey.

That's due in large part to the institutional nature of the economy, which has strong participation from universities and government. Ottawa, Winnipeg and Victoria were other capital cities on the list.

Other communities, dogged by the economic impact of the global recession, saw their scores slip.

Fredericton also fared well when its cultural vibrancy was taken into account.

Woodside said that speaks to the community's volunteers.

"For a long, long time Fredericton was viewed as a sleepy capital. That's totally changed. It's clear that we're vibrant and full of life. You just have to be here for Harvest Jazz and Blues, FredRock or Maritime Countryfest."

Susan Holt, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, said the magazine's ranking helps confirm what a lot of people already know.

"It validates some of the statements we make about Fredericton. For us, it doesn't come as a surprise. We know there is a high level of employment, we have a well-educated community, employers who are committed to the area, the beautiful scenery and trails for walking and biking.

"More and more, everyone in Fredericton is looking out for this community and helping it become a great city."

OliverD

Apr 30, 2010, 1:01 PM

Yeah I really think that a set of theatres in the brookside mall might revitalize things over there.

I think we would see a new theatre at Two Nations Crossing before Brookside.

Pugsley

Apr 30, 2010, 1:50 PM

There is room to expand a stand-alone cinema on the Brookside Mall properties and I think Empire/Sobeys would choose that option if they were to open a new unit. I base this on what they are doing in other parts of the country. Seems its the way to go.

I agree that a new set of cinemas is needed, but I really think they should go downtown. The barren and ugly lot where the old grocery store is (next to Westmorland bridge) would be a great space to build new cinemas, offices, and an entertainment strip to start a similar rennaissance to the west end as the CC is doing for the east end of downtown. Setting up at Brookside OR two nations will only create a donut of suburban entertainment and restaurants outside of downtown. Imagine if you could go downtown for the evening, walk along the river, have dinner, then see a movie...then maybe walk a block to the Garrison for a beer afterwards...that would be a great lifestyle enhancement for the city.

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 1:57 PM

I agree that a new set of cinemas is needed, but I really think they should go downtown. The barren and ugly lot where the old grocery store is (next to Westmorland bridge) would be a great space to build new cinemas, offices, and an entertainment strip to start a similar rennaissance to the west end as the CC is doing for the east end of downtown. Setting up at Brookside OR two nations will only create a donut of suburban entertainment and restaurants outside of downtown. Imagine if you could go downtown for the evening, walk along the river, have dinner, then see a movie...then maybe walk a block to the Garrison for a beer afterwards...that would be a great lifestyle enhancement for the city.

Downtown would be ideal, and it would be great if they would get rid of that eyesore on queen street in the process.

corda

Apr 30, 2010, 4:34 PM

Noticed that the Daily Gleaner referred to the hotel as a Hilton Garden Inn in the latest piece while the previous release was for a Hilton Hotel. Two very different categories of hotel by the same brand. The exterior design on the mock-ups look more like a Hilton Hotel branded property versus a Hilton Garden Inn. They might want to clarify this...I personally don't think that a Garden Inn franchice would work well, but the Hilton brand yes.

That caught my attention too. Hopefully it was a typo. A Hilton would work better considering it's downtown location catering to the convention centre and playhouse.

As for a second movie theatre. Yeah, it would be great... I'd love to see it downtown but considering the type of development the city has been experiencing and the type of big box developments around the Maritimes, imo Two Nations Crossing is the likely contender.

Speaking of what changes you'd like to see downtown. What's your thoughts on the old bus station location? I'd love to see it torn down and have mixed use buildings in it's place. Ground level business and upper floor apartment/condos is the best way to keep people living close to work. Isn't that what most downtowns want? While they're at it demolish Tim Hortons (drive-thru will be a bigger issue when the street is widened in a few years) and Centennial building (isn't it planned to be torn down anyway?) for the same type of development. Better yet NB's second casino! lol
Too big of a change for Fredericton?

Pugsley

Apr 30, 2010, 4:56 PM

That caught my attention too. Hopefully it was a typo. A Hilton would work better considering it's downtown location catering to the convention centre and playhouse.

As for a second movie theatre. Yeah, it would be great... I'd love to see it downtown but considering the type of development the city has been experiencing and the type of big box developments around the Maritimes, imo Two Nations Crossing is the likely contender.

Speaking of what changes you'd like to see downtown. What's your thoughts on the old bus station location? I'd love to see it torn down and have mixed use buildings in it's place. Ground level business and upper floor apartment/condos is the best way to keep people living close to work. Isn't that what most downtowns want? While they're at it demolish Tim Hortons (drive-thru will be a bigger issue when the street is widened in a few years) and Centennial building (isn't it planned to be torn down anyway?) for the same type of development. Better yet NB's second casino! lol
Too big of a change for Fredericton?

This piece of land is a perfect spot for development. I was dissapointed with the building across King Street they put up, looks like suburban office building and should be re-developed..anywhooo

For this space, I would suggest the King Street frontage be developed with a two floor of retail podium with streatscape-pleasing architecture. Make it look like individual buildings and store-fronts. Then, build a set-back office tower some 5-6 floors above the podium. Add a connection at the far west side of the complex with the existing garage and Carlton Place via skywalk and possibly run it into King's Place from there.

Back to King/Regent space...Have the podium wrap around the corner and down Regent with more street front retail and then condos above - again, set back and another 5-6 floors. The corner could be opened to have a nice public plaza or a feature retailer. If the market cannot support condos, suggest a developer do a condo/hotel concept with under 100 rooms and condos above. Very popular in other cities and helps to pay for the building and services.

For the Tim Horton's, buldoze it and create another street level retail corridor along King across the street from the new CC with 2-3 floors of office above it and connect to the Centennial Building. Run a skywalk or underground tunnel between this new development, the King/Regent property and the Centenial building AND new conference centre. If a skywalk, make second floor a themed food emporium for lunch-time crowd.

For the Centennial building, don't buldoze it, simply update it and possibly expand into the parking area on the east side. Add parking structure south of building across Brunswick and link via skywalk or tunnel to support employees and weekend market traffic.

FURTHER, I have tons of layouts I have created for these concepts but no idea how to post images...if someone knows how to help me, be happy o share.

OliverD

Apr 30, 2010, 5:11 PM

For this space, I would suggest the King Street frontage be developed with a two floor of retail podium with streatscape-pleasing architecture. Make it look like individual buildings and store-fronts. Then, build a set-back office tower some 5-6 floors above the podium. Add a connection at the far west side of the complex with the existing garage and Carlton Place via skywalk and possibly run it into King's Place from there.

Back to King/Regent space...Have the podium wrap around the corner and down Regent with more street front retail and then condos above - again, set back and another 5-6 floors.

Wow - that is pretty much exactly what I have been thinking as well, right down to the facade of individual-looking buildings with a set back tower on top. I was thinking basically a very large building taking up the majority of the footprint of the property with two towers on top (offices and condos). However I was thinking perhaps three levels for the streetscape - would look more consistent with the height of other older buildings on King and Queen streets. You could put underground parking under the entire thing but break it apart so the condo owners have their own secure area.

Back to the theatre thing, I agree that Two Nations is the most likely area for a second theatre, but I honestly wish that Empire Theatres would get some competition in the Maritimes. Would be nice to see a second theatre chain in the area.

OliverD

Apr 30, 2010, 5:11 PM

FURTHER, I have tons of layouts I have created for these concepts but no idea how to post images...if someone knows how to help me, be happy o share.

If you want to email me the images I would be happy to host them for you.

Pugsley

Apr 30, 2010, 6:40 PM

Hello Folks, as discussed, I have been playing around with some concepts for various spaces in Fredericton. Some are from when I was a student in Urban Planning and were actual projects I recently "refreshed". Still working on some. Anyhow, this one is called "West End Commons", an entertainment, big-box retail, office, and residential project using the vacant grocery store lot on Queen near the bridge and the now underused NBLC building and lots.

North - Phase 1

This phase would include a new retail corridor along Queen with a major anchor - such as an Old Navy to draw consumers further along the street and past Westmorland. It would also include a movie theatre, central open courtyard, and two office towers on the current grocery store area. A skywalk would link to the current Frederick Square Garage and be complimneted by an additional parking facility in he back of the complex with optional ramp access from St. Anne's Point Drive.

http://united-thinking.com/Images/West%20End%20Centre%20Phase%201.jpg

As you can see, the complex is linked to the south by a dedicated full-stop crosswalk AND a new set of lights where the current curve exists. This would be used to allow for traffic to move in and out of the laneway leading to the parking garage. The structure is a two-level podium design with additional structures built on top. All street level designs will use heritage features to blend in with the traditional brick and wood architecture of Queen Street. It includes two Class A office towers.

South - Phase 2

would involve demolishing the current structures west of the Frederick Square Garage and the development of another podium. This podium would again be used to house large scale big-box retail which could include a grocery, department, or specialty retailer. Above the podium is a multi-story condominium or apartment tower offering east and west views and balconies.

http://united-thinking.com/Images/West%20End%20Centre%20Phase%202.jpg

Across the laneway, a second retail strip would line the garage space to conceal it. Above the retail strip would be smaller scale professional offices.

The goal of phase two is to encourage a new North-South corridor to provide a formal anchor for circular pedestrian shopping between Queen, King and a western anchor, Regent.

Pugsley

Apr 30, 2010, 6:40 PM

If you want to email me the images I would be happy to host them for you.

I figured it out, but thanks...

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 7:19 PM

Great renderings, that would definately be a really good development for that area.

Smevo

Apr 30, 2010, 8:38 PM

Good to see someone thinking big for Fredericton. Looks like a decent proposal for the land. I'm not totally confident that the soil conditions could handle some of those buildings within an economically feasible limit, but that's something that would be looked at come formal proposal time anyway. Good work Pugsley. Just need a developer to pick up the concept and run with it now.

cl812

Apr 30, 2010, 9:58 PM

Yeah I remeber hearing that there is bunch of garbage buried under that site (former Lofood/TRA) which was one of the reasons for the development that was proposed there not moving forward because of the cost to clean up, but I think that was only on the north side of queen.

Freddypop

Apr 30, 2010, 11:34 PM

corda

May 1, 2010, 1:08 AM

Great ideas Pugsley.

corda

May 1, 2010, 1:09 AM

Great renderings. I suspect the Legion property could be included for a Phase III..including restaurants/bars? BTW....Expressions of Interest in developing the city owned land closed on April 6. We should hear soon if and what has been proposed.

I'm curious if the Korean businessmen's plan for an entertainment centre will get the green light. Sounds ambitious.

Freddypop

May 1, 2010, 12:53 PM

Published Saturday May 1st, 2010

A3 By SHAWN BERRY

berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

The federal cabinet has given formal approval for rehabilitation work to the former York Street train station. Before undertaking the work, the Fredericton Railway Company must submit final detailed plans to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for review and approval. In an authorization issued April 22 and obtained from the Privy Council Office in Ottawa, the government gave Fredericton Railway Company the go-ahead to proceed with work on the building that has languished for years.

The front portion of the historic station owned by J.D. Irving Ltd. is being refurbished as part of a commercial development for NB Liquor.

The federal cabinet approved the work under a number of conditions.

The rehabilitation work is to consist of the rehabilitation of the original 1923 railway station, the partial demolition of the 1940s baggage wing, and the construction of a new building attached to the original railway station.

But before undertaking the work, the company must submit final detailed plans to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for review and approval.

The rehabilitation work must also be completed in accordance with existing regulations for heritage sites.

"We have let the people in Fredericton know the request for modifications has been approved in principle, we still need to see their plans," said Julie Dompierre, executive secretary to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Dompierre said the board has been in contact with developers for months.

"There has been some back and forth and we haven't seen any final plans."

The company must obtain final approval from the board, Dompierre said.

"They can't move ahead until we have seen the final plans."

Emergency work to replace the federally designated landmark's roof was completed over the winter.

City council gave final approval in late January for zoning changes that will allow for the construction of an NB Liquor outlet as an annex to the refurbished York Street train station.

The annex is necessary to make the refurbishment of the train station financially viable, J.D. Irving Ltd. said.

NB Liquor is aiming to have the store open in late summer.

Heritage experts, engineers and architects with the federal government will review the final proposal for the building as part of the approval process.

Freddypop

May 1, 2010, 12:56 PM

To have the York Street Train Station open for late summer is wishful thinking IMHO. By the time the feds approve the final plans I would be surprised if this was open by Xmas.

cl812

May 1, 2010, 1:18 PM

Yeah I dont think there is any way they could have it open by late summer, especially with all the hurdles they have to get by with the federal government. Im beginning to see why the property sat for so long. It doesnt really make sense to me, it is definately a good thing the building is being refurbished, but some of the requirements for develpoment to proceed are a bit too stringent in my opinion and it makes the costs of redevelpoment signifiacntly higher. I can completely understand having the exterior of the building they way it was, but requiring specific building materials within the walls and ceilings that are never seen is a bit crazy.

Pugsley

May 1, 2010, 2:18 PM

This piece of land is a perfect spot for development. I was dissapointed with the building across King Street they put up, looks like suburban office building and should be re-developed..anywhooo

For this space, I would suggest the King Street frontage be developed with a two floor of retail podium with streatscape-pleasing architecture. Make it look like individual buildings and store-fronts. Then, build a set-back office tower some 5-6 floors above the podium. Add a connection at the far west side of the complex with the existing garage and Carlton Place via skywalk and possibly run it into King's Place from there.

Back to King/Regent space...Have the podium wrap around the corner and down Regent with more street front retail and then condos above - again, set back and another 5-6 floors. The corner could be opened to have a nice public plaza or a feature retailer. If the market cannot support condos, suggest a developer do a condo/hotel concept with under 100 rooms and condos above. Very popular in other cities and helps to pay for the building and services.

For the Tim Horton's, buldoze it and create another street level retail corridor along King across the street from the new CC with 2-3 floors of office above it and connect to the Centennial Building. Run a skywalk or underground tunnel between this new development, the King/Regent property and the Centenial building AND new conference centre. If a skywalk, make second floor a themed food emporium for lunch-time crowd.

For the Centennial building, don't buldoze it, simply update it and possibly expand into the parking area on the east side. Add parking structure south of building across Brunswick and link via skywalk or tunnel to support employees and weekend market traffic.

FURTHER, I have tons of layouts I have created for these concepts but no idea how to post images...if someone knows how to help me, be happy o share.

Here is a visual as promised...thoughts?

http://united-thinking.com/Images/West%20End%20Developments.jpg

Smevo

May 1, 2010, 6:34 PM

Looks good. With the new parkade, I'd suggest turning the St. Dunstan's parking lot into a courtyard, and since the parkade would likely be near empty on Sundays, make it free on Sundays for the church-going crowd.

cl812

May 3, 2010, 11:46 AM

Unless the gleaner is making an error here, it looks like it is a Garden Inn unforntunately.

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PAC backs exemption for hotel
Published Monday May 3rd, 2010
Hilton | Building to be located beside convention centre
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The approval process that will see a Hilton Garden Inn property developed beside the downtown convention centre is on track.

The planning advisory committee is recommending a height exemption to allow the 126-room hotel to reach 36 metres.

City council has set May 10 at 7:30 p.m. as the time to present the proposed zoning bylaw to allow for the height alteration.

At that meeting, council will then set a date to hold a public hearing of objections on the project and to proceed to first and second reading of the bylaw.

Dora Construction is the contractor on the project. The hotel builder is D.P. Murphy Inc. of Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The company most recently built the Hampton Inn in Moncton, which is a Hilton Hotel product.

It has developed the Charlottetown Super 8 Motel and two Holiday Inn Express hotels in Charlottetown and Saint John. The company also runs Tim Hortons and Wendy's franchises.

The 11-storey hotel will be of similar height to the Bank of Montreal building. Even though the Bank of Montreal only has nine storeys, the way it was built with allowance for servicing conduit space will make the two structures comparable in height.

The Hilton Garden Inn will have a 60-seat restaurant and 30-seat cocktail lounge. It's expected to take 12 to 14 months to build, plus an allowance for design time.

"I'm pretty excited to see this come forward," said Coun. Scott McConaghy.

Concerns raised at the planning advisory committee level about one wall of the hotel - which will have a solid face - will be addressed in concert with the city's planning department.

Assistant director of development services Alex Forbes said national building code issues are dictating some elements of the design.

Deputy mayor Bruce Grandy said the city needs to lobby airlines to increase capacity at Fredericton International Airport as the city opens its new downtown convention centre along with the Hilton hotel.

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PAC decision reviewed
Published Monday May 3rd, 2010
A3
By The Daily Gleaner

A planning advisory committee decision to reject a six-lot subdivision at 1530 Lincoln Rd. has been referred to the city's legal department for review.

Property owner Edouard Gebrael has the R-2 zoning needed to create the six lots, but a torrent of opposition from neighbours worried about more vehicle traffic on Lincoln Road and Adams Street prompted the planning advisory committee to vote down the application.

That leaves the door open for Gebrael to apply to the provincial planning appeal board if he so chooses since his application met all of the city's subdivision criteria.

City planners recommended approval of the application. Councillors declined to adopt the planning advisory committee recommendation at a recent meeting.

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City to form lands commission
Published Monday May 3rd, 2010
A6
By The Daily Gleaner

Fredericton city council has begun the process of establishing a Fredericton Lands Commission.

The commission will engage in strategic real estate development using municipally owned land that has been declared surplus.

The goal of the commission is to work with local developers to further commercial and residential development in the city.

Many of the pieces of land declared as surplus by the city are of interest to private developers and adjacent land owners for redevelopment purposes, said a news release issued by the city.

"By bringing these land holdings into the market in a timely fashion, the commission can optimize the financial and community value that comes from such properties," the news release stated.

Start-up funding for the commission will come from various city departments.

These funds will help service the land and make it market ready. Any funds acquired from land sales will be re-invested back into the commission for future development efforts.

The bylaw to form the commission, which received first and second reading at the regular council meeting April 26, outlines the work of the commission, names the board of directors, sets financial limits and identifies the reporting process to city council.

Transactions in excess of $500,000 require city council approval. Between $100,000 and $500,000, transactions need a resolution of the board.

Under $100,000, the signature of the assistant city administrator or the city treasurer and the president are sufficient to conduct a land deal.

The commission will meet monthly and with board approval can hire consultants on contract.

The commission may also borrow money against its assets up to $5 million or 50 per cent of the appraised value of the assets.

Third and final reading for the formation of the Fredericton Lands Commission is scheduled for the regular council meeting next week.

To find out more about municipal land holdings for sale, contact Calvin Thompson, real estate manager for the city, at 460-2036.

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Freddypop

May 3, 2010, 3:35 PM

Pugsley

May 3, 2010, 6:54 PM

Should have clarification next Monday, May 10 as the hotel proposal has its public presentation at city council that eve. Should have all the details made public at that time. It is broadcast on Rogers but will miss it as will be out of town that day

If it is a Hilton Garden Inn, I will be vocal, and I hope others will too. If they had a competition and the best submission was for a Hilton Garden Inn versus say a Marriott, Hilton (proper), or Sheraton, then the people making the decisions should get an earful from the local taxpayers. I have friends who book conferences and major trade shows across Canada and they have told me that they are looking at Fredericton's new facility..but here is the condition...ONLY if the accomodations can meet the standard they would find in other markets. Don't get me wrong, Hilton Garden Inns are nice...but they are near the airports and off-downtown for a reason, they are not destination hotels and certainly not attached to major convention centres. If the developer is going cheap because they want to pay a lower franchise fee, I would say hit the road.

michael_d40

May 3, 2010, 7:04 PM

If it is a Hilton Garden Inn, I will be vocal, and I hope others will too. If they had a competition and the best submission was for a Hilton Garden Inn versus say a Marriott, Hilton (proper), or Sheraton, then the people making the decisions should get an earful from the local taxpayers. I have friends who book conferences and major trade shows across Canada and they have told me that they are looking at Fredericton's new facility..but here is the condition...ONLY if the accomodations can meet the standard they would find in other markets. Don't get me wrong, Hilton Garden Inns are nice...but they are near the airports and off-downtown for a reason, they are not destination hotels and certainly not attached to major convention centres. If the developer is going cheap because they want to pay a lower franchise fee, I would say hit the road.

Guys.... Calm down the new Hilton Garden Inns are nice. Google Montreal Hilton Garden Inn Sherbrooke. it's the tallest building built in DOWNTOWN Montreal since 1992... And it's gorgeous. They used to be crap like the one built by Halifax airport. But after viewing the One just completed in Montreal you will be very impressed.

cl812

May 3, 2010, 7:19 PM

Pugsley

May 3, 2010, 7:21 PM

I guess my point was the fact that in the larger market for conventions, we have some pretty serious competition that planners look at and from what I have heard, the "grade" of the hotel brand is a major factor. Yes, they are nice, just not as nice as what other cities offer on a national level in terms of accomodation inventory to compete with Fredericton.

fredfan

May 3, 2010, 10:13 PM

Guys.... Calm down the new Hilton Garden Inns are nice. Google Montreal Hilton Garden Inn Sherbrooke. it's the tallest building built in DOWNTOWN Montreal since 1992... And it's gorgeous. They used to be crap like the one built by Halifax airport. But after viewing the One just completed in Montreal you will be very impressed.

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I saw the hilton garden inn in montreal last summer and it's REALLY nice. I would imagine that the fredericton garden inn will be a much smaller version of that one. No need to panic, I'm sure it will be very nice.

Taeolas

May 3, 2010, 11:52 PM

Someone mentioned that the dentist is moving from the back of the minimall to the old Ponderossa site. That just feels wierd to me; you would think the owner would want a more visible tenant in there than a dentist that is closed most of the time.

Then again, I wonder if they are anticipating having to tear down the back end of that building for the overpass. The way Smythe street is aligned currently, the water tower will be just in the way, not to mention they'll need room for the bridge somehow. The Gleaner building has no room to come down, but with the Dentist moved from the end there, they could chop the end of the building off (It'd look a little wierd) and not be too bad.

MonctonRad

May 4, 2010, 12:57 AM

Guys.... Calm down the new Hilton Garden Inns are nice. Google Montreal Hilton Garden Inn Sherbrooke. it's the tallest building built in DOWNTOWN Montreal since 1992... And it's gorgeous. They used to be crap like the one built by Halifax airport. But after viewing the One just completed in Montreal you will be very impressed.

I agree with michael_d40, just because it's a Hilton Garden Inn doesn't mean that it'll be a crappy hotel. You could argue that the Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Moncton is a disappointment compared to a full fledged Marriott but I can guarantee you that it is a very nice hotel. Packaged as it is with a Keg restaurant, it has definitely become a major anchor for the east end of downtown. I imagine that your new hotel will be likewise. :)

Freddypop

May 4, 2010, 10:45 AM

Published Tuesday May 4th, 2010

Convention centre | More people will be visiting Fredericton

A1 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

It's going to be one of the biggest conferences to hit Fredericton next spring, but the big question will be how to get as many as 8,000 scholars, researchers, graduate students and policy makers at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences into the capital city.

The opening of the downtown convention centre by the end of this year and all the ensuing business the city hopes to attract is going to put more pressure on the Fredericton International Airport Authority Inc. and the city's business community to try to attract more air service.

"We've been in discussions for the past couple of years with the airport, working in concert with them to increase our lift capacity,'' said David Seabrook, the city's tourism manager.

"The focus is on two ways. We need increased lift through the number of scheduled flights, but also working with providers like Air Canada for when we have big conventions.''

The humanities conference will bring delegates from around the world.

"They (Air Canada) seem willing to talk about increasing lift for conventions. They're taking a bit of a new approach and we're quite pleased with the response we've had from them.''

The topic is a regular one on the agenda of the city, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Fredericton, the city's executive director of strategic initiatives Don Fitzgerald and the airport.

"All the vested interests are at the table. We're all paddling in the same direction. It's very positive in that sense," Seabrook said.

As a community, there's a desire to see better pricing and more service at the airport, the tourism manager said.

"We've had some pretty good success with Air Canada in recent months," said airport authority president and CEO David Innes. "It seems that there's a new style of leadership in Air Canada and their approach to local markets is more engaged than we've seen in the past.

"They've (Air Canada) had people ... coming from headquarters to talk to the convention people and to sort of work with us."

Fredericton International Airport has about 5,000 seats per week.

During the winter, Fredericton has four daily flights to Toronto, but in the summer that increases to six daily flights.

"For instance, this year, we've noticed that the six flights a day to Toronto are staying on until after the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival (Sept. 14-19)," Innes said. "In fact, that by itself is a good addition in our capacity and gets us through one really busy period with Harvest Jazz and Blues."

Innes said the authority's first approach is to work with the carrier.

"We are aware and the organizers of the convention are in touch with our convention sales team to look at the travel at the time of the convention," said Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur on Monday.

With the convention still a year away, the schedules aren't yet in Air Canada's system.

"What we do is we monitor the travel demands as the bookings come in, so that we can look at adjusting the capacity into Fredericton accordingly," Arthur said.

"There are various ways passengers can fly into Fredericton, either through Montreal, Halifax or Toronto, so we have possibilities to add capacity either by adding flights or by using the same number of flights or by using bigger aircraft," Arthur said.

At the same time, the airport would be remiss not to keep communication lines open with competing airlines to test their interest in the Fredericton market, Innes said.

The airport authority has talked frequently with WestJet over the past decade about adding Fredericton to its list of New Brunswick airports, so far without success.

There's also a new kid on the block. Porter Airlines expects to launch a twice a day service to Ottawa from Moncton airport in June. Moncton doesn't have an Ottawa service.

Unlike WestJet's 140-seat flights, Porter flies a 70-passenger airline and has service to downtown Toronto.

"It's an excellent candidate for service to Fredericton," Innes said. "Our big market is to Toronto."

The airport authority continues to invest in preparing marketing and business case plans as it searches for more service options.

"We have a number of irons in the fire at any given time," Innes said.

The airport authority continues to search for a direct link to the United States.

A deal struck with Delta's Comair regional service and later the former Big Sky Airlines that closed in 2008 saw the Fredericton route yanked for economic reasons.

cl812

May 4, 2010, 11:44 AM

Affordable-housing project ahead of schedule - director
Published Tuesday May 4th, 2010
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The construction of an office building and affordable-housing development project by Fredericton's John Howard Society is starting to take shape in earnest, says executive director Valarie MacCullam.

We have walls on the first floor and walls on the second floor, and they're working on stairs to the second floor," said MacCullam. "We're moving right along."

Construction of the 2 1/2 storey building with ground floor offices and 12 units of low-cost, bachelor-style housing began last fall after the estimated $1.5-$1.8 million project secured financing and cleared council approval in February 2009.

After sorting through federal and provincial financing approvals and paperwork, construction began last fall with White Rock Developments as the general contractor.

The project is moving faster than anticipated due to good weather.

"We're hoping for a July (completion). It seems a bit optimistic, but we're hoping," MacCullam said.

There have been a few glitches along the way with contractors and suppliers, but nothing that isn't part and parcel of the normal building process, MacCullam said.

"Everything's been fine; it's all good," she said.

The non-profit organization, which rents space in a building at the foot of Smythe Street, had tried to find a new home on the south side of the city, but ran into snags and some opposition.

Residents and some business owners near the 294-296 Main St. location of the business also expressed concerns about the development. A public meeting was held with area property owners as the John Howard Society tried to reassure residents that it plans to do everything possible to be a good neighbour.

The organization works with low-income individuals, people who are coming out of jail or who are at risk of brushes with the law.

Designed by architect Jon Oliver of Design Collaborative Ltd., the brick and cedar-clad structure will have ground floor offices for about 10 John Howard Society staff members.

The second level of the building will have one-bedroom apartments with a kitchen, bathroom and living area. A small spiral staircase in each unit will lead to a loft-style bedroom on the third floor of the building.

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Infrastructure expansion could lead to residential growth in New Maryland
Published Tuesday May 4th, 2010
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A strong renovation year and the construction of a Village of New Maryland water reservoir resulted in $4.2 million in building permits being issued last year, said Mayor Frank Dunn.

The $2.2-million water tower project had the strongest influence on year-end construction totals, but home renovation, energy efficiency upgrades and general home improvement projects accounted for the balance of the building in the community just outside of Fredericton.

With the construction of the water tower expected to wrap up later this year and the completion of upcoming infrastructure projects, it's anticipated residential growth may start to take place.

"Understandably, it was somewhat of a bleak year in terms of the lack of new home starts for 2009, however, with the commission of the new water tower expected later this year, and the completion of upcoming infrastructure projects, it is anticipated that some small-scale residential growth may be able to take place in the very near future," Dunn said.

The village has been under a construction moratorium on major residential and commercial expansion until it can find additional drinking water supplies.

Along with the construction of the water tower, the village has constructed a sewage treatment plant and has undertaken street upgrades over the past two years.

The completion of the water tower project and the installation of additional water, sewer and storm sewer lines is also on the agenda of village council as it works toward development growth in the community, Dunn said.