[corda]

As for the farm, I have no idea if they have sold, planning on selling or working into the community. Maybe there will be some info at the Park meeting tonight.

http://www.chippins.com/bw67.jpg

I could have sworn I saw a layout taking over the farm. Basically a Crescent on and off Heron Drive. Can't remember where I saw it. I'll post if I find it.

[cj6286]

I noticed on the bottom section of Brookside and a section of Royal Road, there seems to be white lines painted on the road? It looks like a bike lane, but I can't find any info on them :S

[OliverD]

I noticed on the bottom section of Brookside and a section of Royal Road, there seems to be white lines painted on the road? It looks like a bike lane, but I can't find any info on them :S

They are on MacLaren as well.

[Taeolas]

And on Rookwood near the radio stations/CWC. It's probably all bikelanes that they haven't announced/fully marked yet.

[cj6286]

This mentions and shows pictures of the Brookside Drive, Royal Road and Sunset Drive bike lanes.

http://cyclingfredericton.blogspot.com/2011/06/parking-issuesbikes-lanes-in.html

[Steeple Shanks]

Riocan has updated the site plan for the Corbett Centre on their website. Some new stores are listed: Best Buy, Bouclair, GAP and Carters/Oshkosh.

I know some these were previously listed on the Trinity site, but were not listed at Riocan's.

http://www.riocan.com/Content/PDF/sitePlan/271A.pdf

Noticed that Tim Hortons is no longer mentioned for the Corbett Centre. Does anyone know whether or not Tim Hortons is slated for the Corbett Centre?

[cj6286]

I see that it still listed on the website. I'm not totally sure. It would make sense to put a Tims there to ease congestion on Prospect Bishop and on the bottom of Regent.

[Steeple Shanks]

I see that it still listed on the website. I'm not totally sure. It would make sense to put a Tims there to ease congestion on Prospect Bishop and on the bottom of Regent.

Yes, the Trinity website still lists Tims, but the updated RioCan site-map doesn't.

[cl812]

Yes, the Trinity website still lists Tims, but the updated RioCan site-map doesn't.

Im not surew that it was ever listed on the on the riocan page. I remember when it left the regent mall they had said it was moving over there and that must have been atleast 2-3 years ago. I think it was mentioned on here a while back that one may be opening on Knowledge Park drive across from the new field. I think either location would be good and could see the benfits of both.

Also I see Costco is coming along, the steel for the gas bar is all up, the last of the steel for the main building is going up as of yesterday and the building is almost completely enclosed other than the front.

[Freddypop]

Yes, the Trinity website still lists Tims, but the updated RioCan site-map doesn't.

Trinity sold their shares in Corbett Centre to Rio Can so I highly suspect that the Trinity site does not reflect the latest plans. I too had heard that Tim's was waiting until Costco was ready to move forward before opening up. Haven't heard any recent news though

On another note does anyone know what they are building on Bishop Drive between Value Village and Kia?

[cj6286]

Trinity sold their shares in Corbett Centre to Rio Can so I highly suspect that the Trinity site does not reflect the latest plans. I too had heard that Tim's was waiting until Costco was ready to move forward before opening up. Haven't heard any recent news though

On another note does anyone know what they are building on Bishop Drive between Value Village and Kia?

I haven't been in that section of the city for a while... Maybe it's another hotel?

I heard again on the radio that the Ring Road will be closed tomorrow for an overpass assessment. I wonder if they will start construction this summer?

[Freddypop]

I haven't been in that section of the city for a while... Maybe it's another hotel?

I heard again on the radio that the Ring Road will be closed tomorrow for an overpass assessment. I wonder if they will start construction this summer?

Not this summer. It will have to be part of the Dept of Transportation's estimates within the budget. My best guess is that this evaluation work will be used for input into the design. May be under construction next summer if all goes well.

[Freddypop]

Im not surew that it was ever listed on the on the riocan page. I remember when it left the regent mall they had said it was moving over there and that must have been atleast 2-3 years ago. I think it was mentioned on here a while back that one may be opening on Knowledge Park drive across from the new field. I think either location would be good and could see the benfits of both.

Also I see Costco is coming along, the steel for the gas bar is all up, the last of the steel for the main building is going up as of yesterday and the building is almost completely enclosed other than the front.

See they have started putting signage on the exterior of the building and on the gas bar. Construction should be pretty much complete within the next 3 weeks

[Taeolas]

Are t hey going to open the gas bar before hte main store?

[Freddypop]

Are t hey going to open the gas bar before hte main store?

I would highly doubt that. Both store and gas bar to open at same time ...Aug 19

[cj6286]

I see they're prepping to pave the trail from Smythe Street to where it crosses on Woodstock Road. Are they going to pave the rest of The Green soon?

[someone123]

Not sure if this has been posted but I came across a Fredericton project by Michael Napier Architecture (mnarch.ca):

http://mnarch.ca/Blog/Photo%20Gallery/GIFs%20for%20HTMLs/Fredericton12.gif
Source (http://mnarch.ca/Blog/What's%20New.html#)

It is called "The Plaza". Looks suburban, with a large setback, but better than average design. I like most of this firm's projects.

[corda]

Not sure if this has been posted but I came across a Fredericton project by Michael Napier Architecture (mnarch.ca):

It is called "The Plaza". Looks suburban, with a large setback, but better than average design. I like most of this firm's projects.


It's the second Forest Hill Tower. Killam Properties will own both of them.
It's a good fit for that location. Some out-of-towners driving by never realise a tall building even exists on that street.

[mylesmalley]

It's the second Forest Hill Tower. Killam Properties will own both of them.
It's a good fit for that location. Some out-of-towners driving by never realise a tall building even exists on that street.

Isn't it being built in the lower parking lot of the existing tower? If that's the case, then you still won't see it until you're right on top of it.

[corda]

Isn't it being built in the lower parking lot of the existing tower? If that's the case, then you still won't see it until you're right on top of it.

Yeah it will be built there. I was referring to the first tower. Unless you're looking for it or the leaves have fallen neither of these will be very noticeable from the street.

[cj6286]

Yeah it will be built there. I was referring to the first tower. Unless you're looking for it or the leaves have fallen neither of these will be very noticeable from the street.

That's probably how it got it's name- Forest Hill Tower? :D

[cl812]

Photo from todays Gleaner:

Going up
Published Thursday June 30th, 2011
D1

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=692097&size=500x0
The site for the new Costco building and gas bar was a beehive of activity recently as workers capitalized on the warm weather.

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/gleaner/article/1419687

[cl812]

Fredericton community college campus opens
Published Friday July 1st, 2011
A5
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

The $15-million Fredericton campus of the New Brunswick Community College officially opened Thursday and staff is moving into their new offices next week.

They will be followed soon afterwards in September by hundreds of students.

"They are actually in the process of boxing up things on Smythe Street," said Fredericton NBCC principal Heather Hatheway, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the building on the University of New Brunswick campus.

"We'll be moving next week ... It's incredible, just incredible."

While the finishing touches are still being put on the landscaping, the 52,000-square-foot wireless building will be a big change from the NBCC campus on Smythe Street. The new building has room for 400 students and is designed to achieve a silver rating under the principles of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which measures how green a building is.

"The building we are in now was built in 1914," said Hatheway.

"We have incredible memories there, but this is state of the art."

The new building has been built in such a way as to leave some of its structural elements and heating ducts visible.

"The students in our engineering technology program can actually see what they are learning about," said Hatheway.

The location of the new building also means that community college students will be part of a larger community of students on the two adjacent university campuses, she said.

"We have 290 seats available (this fall) and we expect that those will be filled," said Hatheway.

The building has a capacity of 400 students and another 64 students will be at the college campus next year as the new programs enter their second-year, she said.

The college is offering programs in health, business administration, information technology, engineering technology and social services.

NBCC president and CEO Marilyn Luscombe said investments by the federal and provincial governments in the new campus will ensure students and graduates continue to show up work ready and equipped with the skills they and their employers need.

"We are excited about this new facility and look forward to welcoming students in this state-of-the-art building this fall," she said.

"Being near the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University will further encourage continuous learning and the achievement of career success for our graduates as well as strengthen the relationships with our post-secondary education partners."

Luscombe said applications to NBCC in 2010 grew by 12 per cent and enrolment increased 7.6 per cent.

There has already been an additional increase of 9.7 per cent in applications as of May compared to the same period last year, she said.

A survey of 2009 NBCC graduates showed 100 per cent found employment and 96 per cent remained within New Brunswick.

Last year 157 students graduated from NBCC Fredericton from 10 programs.

The provincial government contributed $11 million towards the cost of the new building.

"I am pleased to be part of today's opening of the Fredericton campus of New Brunswick Community College," said New Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Martine Coulombe.

"This college continues to play an important role in preparing New Brunswickers for today's and tomorrow's labour market needs."

The federal government provided $5 million for the project.

"This investment will create jobs for people in Fredericton at a critical time while improving the infrastructure that New Brunswick Community College will need to maintain its reputation as an innovative leader," said Fredericton Conservative MP Keith Ashfield.

"Our government's support for the knowledge economy has not only made a difference in the short term, it has set the foundations for future prosperity."

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1420162

[KnoxfordGuy]

I wonder how well my fellow Saint Thomas students and UNB students will get along with the NBCC students?

[cl812]

I wonder how well my fellow Saint Thomas students and UNB students will get along with the NBCC students?

I could see there being some issues around parking.

[mylesmalley]

No worse than they already are haha.

I do hope they interact. It would be a shame to have that many students on campus isolated from the rest of the community.

[OliverD]

Noticed this week that they are putting in the infrastructure for Station Pointe Village in Devon. I'm guessing they will start building the first units there by fall.

[Freddypop]

Noticed that they have begun erecting fencing around the old TRA building on Queen Street. Perhaps demolition is next?

[cj6286]

Noticed that they have begun erecting fencing around the old TRA building on Queen Street. Perhaps demolition is next?

I sure hope so! I'd rather see an empty lot on that property, then what is currently there. Is there a website where I can track deadlines and proposals?

[gr8deejay]

I sure hope so! I'd rather see an empty lot on that property, then what is currently there. Is there a website where I can track deadlines and proposals?

I agree. A very high traffic area. I'm surprise a business doesn't see the potential it holds. Hard to say what leasing conditions are associted with it, though.

[cl812]

From Fridays Daily Gleaner:

Save the York Arena group to update pitch to council
Published Friday July 8th, 2011
A8
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The Save the York Arena group will be handing city council an update on ice sports in Fredericton and will renew its pitch to York Arena even after the Grant * Harvey Centre opens in March.

The city has proposed that the northside hockey arena be demolished after the new dual-pad ice rink on the south side opens, but the Save the York Arena group has been gathering up facts and figures it hopes will convince councillors to spare the structure.

Spokesman Chris Mabie said the group wants to revisit council and provide more data it has collected.

"As time has gone on, there's been more and more studies fall into our lap from other municipalities and other areas that show what your ice ratio needs to be if you're going to come anywhere near accommodating the population," he said.

"We're supporters of sport in general.

"The difference here is that the rink is already there. It needs some modest upgrades, but it's in place. We're trying to prevent a subtraction of ice surfaces. As we stand here today, we have not added an ice surface in 40 years."

When the city opened the dual-surface Willie O'Ree Place, Nashwaaksis Arena was demolished. If York Arena goes, the city will be short of ice surfaces even though it will have two new indoor arenas, he said.

"With no additional ice surfaces in the last 40 years we're in a mess in terms of ice users," Mabie said. "There's a lot of ice users in the city and people are frustrated and upset and Fredericton has a real opportunity here to take a positive step. Even with keeping the York Arena, that's not going to alleviate all of the ice problems. It's going to help because then all of a sudden you'd have to be adding two surfaces. We're extremely short of ice in the City of Fredericton and that's the message."

Mabie said a group of disabled children is looking to purchase ice time for sledge hockey after purchasing new sledges. In the 2010 season, they were only able to rent ice once, Mabie said.

Girls' and women's hockey and ringette are increasing in popularity and many of those young women would like to continue to play hockey in an adult recreational league, but they're hindered by the lack of ice time, he said.

Ringuette players are routinely travelling to Minto for practices, he said.

"Fredericton is an extremely active ice community," Mabie said. "We've got university teams playing in our city facilities. When you add it all together, I don't think there's a municipality in Canada that would be any more active than the city of Fredericton. It's a good thing, but you have to be able to accommodate it."

Mabie said ADI Ltd., which looked at the costs of repairing York Arena and bringing it up to building codes, estimated the repair bill at $3.9 million.

The Save the York Arena group has said that not all of the money needs to be spent at once. York Arena was rebuilt in 1971-72. Mabie said nearly 77 per cent of the rinks in Nova Scotia were built in the 1970s or earlier and that if York Arena was in Nova Scotia, it would be considered in the top 35 per cent of rinks.

ADI has reported that the arena is well maintained and in good condition for its age.

Operating costs for the York Arena are estimated at $368,000 annually, but Mabie said the city can recoup at least half of that through ice rentals.

Ward 4 (South Devon area) Coun. Eric Megarity backs keeping York Arena and said the timing is right for the group working to preserve it to revisit city council with additional facts and figures.

"The building is in excellent shape, actually. It doesn't need $3 million. When you just take the necessary costs out of it, you can spread it over two or three years or even over five years," Megarity said. "It would keep a good facility, a good piece of infrastructure that would help with the demand for ice time and that's the key, there's a demand and a need."

Megarity said he fears if the building is torn down, the city will lose a badly needed ice surface with little prospect of building a more expensive replacement for many years.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/1421868

[cl812]

From Fridays Daily Gleaner:

Bungalow cost in city jumps 10.4%
Published Friday July 8th, 2011
D1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

The price of a bungalow in Fredericton shot up a whopping 10.4 per cent in the last year, according to a new Royal LePage house price survey.

According to the survey, the average price of a bungalow in the capital in the second quarter of 2011 cost $201,000, up from $182,000 for the same period last year.

"Our housing market continues to perform very well due to the strong local economy," said Lincoln Thompson, broker and owner of Royal LePage Gardiner Realty based in Fredericton.

"Market activity for this quarter remains stable and inventory levels across all property types are also steady this time of year."

By comparison, a detached bungalow in Moncton rose in price by 4.5 per cent to $157,500 in the second quarter, according to the survey, while a detached bungalow in Saint John increased 0.5 per cent to $195,900.

The national average price of a detached bungalow rose 7.5 per cent year over year to $356,625, said Royal LePage.

The average price of a two-storey home in Fredericton in the second quarter of 2011 was $208,000, up 1.8 per cent from the same period last year.

In Moncton, the same house was $137,500, down 1.3 per cent from the second quarter of 2010. In Saint John, a two-storey house was $280,750, up four per cent.

A condominium in Fredericton in the second quarter of 2011 cost $157,000, up four per cent from the same period last year.

In Saint John, a condo cost $162,995, up 0.6 per cent. There was no information in the survey about condos in Moncton.

The national price of a standard two-storey home rose 6.1 per cent to $390,163, and the price of a standard condominium rose 3.5 per cent to $238,064.

Thompson also said resale activity in Fredericton is consistent with levels from last year.

"We have not seen any significant year-over-year drops in volume and our outlook for the remainder of the year continues to be quite positive," he said.

Alex Forbes, Fredericton's assistant director of development services, said housing prices are up in part because houses cost more to make today.

"The fit and finish inside houses has been steadily increasing," he said.

"People are going more for hardwood floors, ceramic tile.

"The old basic entry-level bungalows are no longer."

Servicing costs such as water and sewer, sidewalks and curbing are also getting more expensive and that's reflected in the price, he said.

Forbes said that in terms of building permits, which are tracked by the city, Fredericton is down a little bit from the same period last year.

He said for a while the city was constrained for space when it comes to the number of building lots. But this year more new lots are available in the city, said Forbes.

Nationally, the residential real estate market saw sizable year-over-year price increases in the second quarter of 2011, but Royal LePage said high house prices are concealing early signs of a moderating market.

The market has seen its near-term peak in house price appreciation, and a slower second half of the year is expected, said the company.

"In many of Canada's regional markets, we saw house prices appreciate at a significantly faster rate than wages and salaries, and this trend cannot continue indefinitely," said Phil Soper, president and chief executive, Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

"We expect price gains to moderate considerably in the latter half of 2011, which should reduce the stress associated with purchasing a new home."

Still, by the end of 2011, the national average house price is expected to be 7.7 per cent higher than it was at the end of 2010, Royal LePage said.

The company claims its survey is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven types of housing in more than 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast.

Royal LePage has existed since 1913 and has a network of 14,000 real estate professionals in more than 600 locations nationwide.

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/gleaner/article/1421854

[cl812]

From Saturdays Daily Gleaner:

A bridge not too far from ready
Published Saturday July 9th, 2011
Repairs | Company says project is slightly ahead of schedule despite weather
A1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

The $80-million renovation to the Princess Margaret Bridge is a little bit ahead of schedule despite poor weather and occasional lightning that forced workers off the structure.

"It's coming," said Ken Dean, a project manager for SNC-Lavalin Construction Atlantic Inc.

"We are probably slightly ahead of schedule on the removal and the replacement of the deck panels."

The 1,075-metre-long bridge will be closed for four months for renovation work, which includes replacing the bridge deck, cleaning and repainting the steel, and upgrading the 22 concrete piers.

Once it's complete, the 52-year-old bridge should be good for another 50 years.

The replacement of the deck panels - each of which weighs 60,000 pounds - uses two mobile lifting frames that were specially built in Italy to the specifications of the bridge, said Dean.

"They've worked marvelously for us," he said.

"All that's left to be removed is the span over the Lincoln Road and the through truss span."

On their best shift, workers placed 16 deck panels in 12 hours, he said. There are about 200 people working on the bridge.

He said there are 11 deck panels left at the top of the hill on the south side at the former Mack Maritime site and another 20 or so on the north side.

He said the 220 panels were fabricated last year and shipped here.

Dean said the work on the deck under the through truss span at the centre of the bridge couldn't begin until the sand blasting, priming and repainting of the metal superstructure was finished and the scaffolding removed.

"You will notice that the tarps are off of that area again," he said.

Sharp-eyed observers may notice the superstructure has been repainted a slightly darker green.

Motorists passing under the bridge on the south side can see the surface concrete on the pier closest to the road looks like it has been chewed by a giant beaver.

All 22 piers have to have their surface concrete replaced.

"All of the concrete on the piers that you see above the water has to have 250 millimetres (10 inches) of that concrete removed all the way around and the old rebar in that area removed," said Dean.

"You replace it with stainless steel rebar and encapsulate that 250 mm with new concrete back over that roughened area."

To replace the concrete, a form is built and new concrete is poured, he said.

The weather hasn't been kind to the renovation work.

"It hasn't stopped raining save for the past two or three days," said Dean.

"The weather has made it miserable for the men to work out there ... But it certainly has not deterred them in any fashion."

The sole exception is lightning since the metal bridge is practically a giant lightning rod.

"This week and possibly last week, we've had two or three nights where we've had lightning and heavy rain," he said.

"The lightning is more of a safety factor and has more bearing on it than the rain.

"We remove everybody from that structure during any lightning until it is over."

"We can't take the chance that somebody might get electrocuted."

Dean said the bridge will be finished by Sept. 5 deadline.

"You go ahead in one area and you probably have some troubles in another," he said.

"It's typical construction."

Darren Charters, Fredericton's traffic engineer, said city drivers have been doing a good job handling the different traffic pattern created by the bridge closure.

"We're over the part where I was very concerned," he said.

"That's when school was in.

"Traffic conditions seem to get better every day."

Charters said he would describe the traffic on Westmorland Street Bridge as normal, which is surprising considering the circumstances.

People have spread out the rush-hour traffic from the normal half an hour to two hours by staying late or going home early, said Charters.

He said lots of people are biking, using the trail system or using the park-and-ride bus.

Charters said there are a couple of other construction projects that are either underway or about to start that may affect traffic flows or require detours.

They includes one on Forest Hill Road, which is underway, and closing parts of Brookside Drive and McLaren Avenue for street work that will start soon.

"We structure the contracts for that time of year when people are on vacation and the traffic is fairly light," he said.

"We'll have not only the signage and the detour routes marked, but we'll have advertisements in the radio and the newspaper like we normally do.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1422205

[cl812]

From Tuesday's Daily Gleaner

City can weather housing slump - analyst
Published Tuesday July 12th, 2011
Trends | Official points to cyclical nature of market, notes that population movement is a factor too
A3
By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

A senior market analyst for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says a recent decline in New Brunswick's residential construction starts is part of the cyclical nature of housing development.

But Claude Gautreau, the corporation's chief analyst in New Brunswick, said Fredericton is weathering this dip in housing starts more easily than the province's other urban centres because it consistently attracts new citizens.

Statistics show that a total of 350 housing starts were reported during the month of June, a figure that's down from 375 starts for the same month in 2010.

"These are not alarming numbers by any means," he said.

"It's simply a situation where we're having an expected decline to make sure that supply and demand are maintained in the proper balance."

Gautreau said Fredericton is faring better than Moncton and Saint John so far this year, posting only a 21.5-per-cent decline in the total number of housing starts compared to a 40.9-per-cent drop in Saint John's residential construction projects and a 34.5-per-cent dip in Moncton's starts.

Gautreau said Moncton experienced a large decline in housing starts in 2009 and a big spike in 2010, and it's experiencing another drop in starts so far this year.

But it's been a more consistent environment for Fredericton builders.

"If you look at Fredericton, it tends to not have those up-and-down fluctuations as much," he said.

"Overall, Fredericton, of the three major centres in the province, tends to be the most stable in the sense that it doesn't go up and down as much. Housing tends to be cyclical. Right now, where we are in general terms in the province, is that we're kind of on the downside of a cycle where we're seeing housing starts pulled back a bit."

He said that stability stems from the city's ability to attract new citizens to the area consistently.

"One of the key factors that can explain why housing will grow, or not grow, has to do with population change, which will impact demand," he said. "If you look at New Brunswick, Fredericton and Moncton tend to be the only two centres where you have significant, year-over-year, net-migration increases."

Gautreau said New Brunswick's residential construction has declined a bit in recent years following the boom years of 2007-08.

"That was the peak. Those were the years that you had the strongest number of starts, the highest number of sales. That's where housing really reached a high level," he said.

"Since then, although it does fluctuate on an annual basis, the overall trend has been a bit of a decline. Usually, if you go back 15-20 years in history, you will see that there is ups and downs. It's supply and demand. They have to work together to maintain a balance so the market is sustainable."

He said statistics from the first six months of the year show that multiple-unit housing starts are down across the province.

Gautreau said that makes sense considering that building statistics for those kinds of facilities have been higher than usual in recent years.

Total housing starts were up four per cent in June for urban centres across the country, a jump to 15,982 units from last year's total of 15,346.

Single-detached units were down seven per cent. Multiple starts were up by 16 per cent. In the Atlantic region, 1,051 new units were started in June of this year - a figure that's up by 39 starts from June 2010.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1422744

[cl812]

double post

[Freddypop]

Published Tuesday July 12th, 2011

Building will attract major tournaments and develop young players

A1 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Construction will start on Fredericton's new indoor tennis facility in about five weeks, says David Clark, a past president of the Capital Region Tennis Association and chairman of the building development committee.

Clark said a formal announcement with details will be coming within the next two to three weeks, but he confirmed that a contract has been awarded for the construction of the $2.1-million, six-court, indoor tennis facility.

The new building will be adjacent the Grant*Harvey centre.

"It will be a regional hub for tennis in eastern Canada and also allowing other major events for compatible sports," he said. "There will be a lot more to come over the next few weeks."

Compatible sports could include volleyball and basketball, he said.

The structure will piggybank off the Grant*Harvey Centre's geothermal heating and cooling system and be built with R-38 insulation, creating an energy-efficient facility that can be used year-round at modest heating and lighting costs, Clark said.

"We anticipate our construction activities on site will be commencing within the next four to five weeks, and we will be kicking off a major corporate fundraising campaign to close the gap on our requirements to build the structure.

"The facility we will be building will be one of only six of its kind globally, with cutting-edge green technology, and it will be a pristine, multi-use facility for this area.''

The majority of the money for the $2.1-million project is in hand, but Clark said another $500,000 has to be raised through corporate sponsorships and donations in order to pay the final bills.

But he's optimistic that the cash will be there when needed and a tight rein will be kept on construction costs.

"We're very confident we will come in on budget."

The building won't be a dome or a bubble, said Clark, adding the design will be revealed over the next few weeks.

"There are engineers who are supporting our project, and we've had outstanding support from Tennis Canada, Tennis New Brunswick and the City of Fredericton. Wayne Tallon (city community services director) has been a rock star," Clark said.

"The cost of heating and lighting the facility will be a fraction of what you would expect for sport infrastructure, and this is made possible by our partnership with the City of Fredericton and their construction of the Grant*Harvey complex."

Tennis Canada committed $250,000 to the Fredericton building, and the national group is providing support on some of the consultation costs during the construction phase.

"Through out-sources, we have commitments now of $1.3 million, and we're looking to close our gap (of $500,000), and our initial conversations with the corporate community have been very positive," he said.

A non-profit organization will use the funds generated by the facility to pay its ongoing operating costs and to develop community-based grass-roots tennis in the Fredericton area.

The intent is to create the lowest possible cost to user groups, he said.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1422762

[corda]

This seems to be getting a lot of comments on canadaeast and cbc.ca especially over expropriation (not the case in this purchase), better use of city funds, etc.

Devon is slowly evolving. It looks like a lot of the old and new neighbours don't want the NorthStar around.
Couldn't the city's new development group develop city owned lots like this one, Craig Electric and others mentioned in the article rather than wait for a developer to come along with a plan that hopefully fits in the of use each lot is specified for?


City gets hands on northside strip bar
Published Tuesday July 12th, 2011
Project | Land is located in area where's there's a lot of development going on
A1By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

City council is paying $500,000 to buy the city's only strip bar - the North Star Sports Bar Pub & Eatery at 100 Clark St.

"It's land acquisition for redevelopment. We will be acquiring that property and redeveloping it," Mayor Brad Woodside said. "The plan is that the (liquor) licence will disappear.

"It's a non-conforming property, and it will certainly result in a lot better neighbourhood for the people who have been calling for so many years, and it's a progressive move that's in the best interests in the City of Fredericton."


........... more http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1422766

[cj6286]

It's awesome that we're getting state of the art facilities! I wouldn't be surprised if we hosted the Canada Summer or Winter games someday

[OliverD]

The whole Northstar thing is interesting. Personally, I have no moral objection to strip clubs. I do understand why some people do.

One of the things that is largely being ignored in the comments is that the Northstar property is an eyesore, strip club or not. It's an area that is perfect for redevelopment. As a Devon resident, I would love to see the bottom of Clark Street transformed into more of a residential neighbourhood.

Another thing people are complaining about is the assessed value vs purchase price. That's pretty silly; very often, the two have nothing to do with one another. People don't seem to realize that the building has been listed for sale for $750,000 for some time now.

The argument that the money could have been spent elsewhere is silly as well. There is no question that the city intends to recoup this investment, both via selling the land and increased property taxes.

[Freddypop]

The whole Northstar thing is interesting. Personally, I have no moral objection to strip clubs. I do understand why some people do.

One of the things that is largely being ignored in the comments is that the Northstar property is an eyesore, strip club or not. It's an area that is perfect for redevelopment. As a Devon resident, I would love to see the bottom of Clark Street transformed into more of a residential neighbourhood.

Another thing people are complaining about is the assessed value vs purchase price. That's pretty silly; very often, the two have nothing to do with one another. People don't seem to realize that the building has been listed for sale for $750,000 for some time now.

The argument that the money could have been spent elsewhere is silly as well. There is no question that the city intends to recoup this investment, both via selling the land and increased property taxes.

Heard on CBC Radio this AM that one of the reasons that factored into council's decision to buy this property is that the Hells Angels were interested in purchasing it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/07/13/nb-hells-angels-north-star-1127.html

[corda]

Double post

[corda]

Heard on CBC Radio this AM that one of the reasons that factored into council's decision to buy this property is that the Hells Angels were interested in purchasing it.

Hells Angels?? Well, no one can say city council isn't being proactive keeping undesired groups out of town.

[corda]

Project could see Doak Road grow by 1,000 units
Published Thursday July 14th, 2011
East end | Housing to be located near industrial and commercial area
A1By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton city council has approved a housing development that will open the doorway on Doak Road to what could ultimately be 1,000 new residential units in the east end of the city.

Chippin's Ltd. received third reading from council for a rezoning from commercial and service industrial zone to residential to permit housing to be built at 310-320 Doak Rd.

The real-estate developer also got approval for higher density R-5 and R-6 zones that would allow apartment construction.

The proposal drew objections from neighbours and from Bird Holdings Ltd.

Bird Holdings, which has property on Alison Boulevard, expressed concern about introducing housing in an area that's predominantly industrial, commercial and office properties.

Neighbours are concerned about traffic increases, both during and after construction, and the lack of a playgound in the park, although the developer is proposing to keep a natural wetland as a green space with a walking trail around it.

As well, neighbours questioned where commercial should end and residential begins. The lack of public transit was also raised.

"In that area, at some point in time, the plan is that we see will see residential on both sides of Doak Road.

"The question is where will that transition be from commercial to residential, and this particular plan says it will start on this particular property and I don't have a problem with that," said Lincoln area Coun. Scott McConaghy.

"One of the concerns that came up is that it would somehow be an island of residential within commercial. Initially that's probably true, because this is the first part of a development that will probably see over 1,000 units down in that area. At some point, something has to be first, and from my point of view, this is not a bad fit."

As for the lack of playground space, McConaghy said, land adjoining the Chippin's property is also earmarked for residential, and that area will contain a park.

"Across the back will also be residential," McConaghy said. "What actually draws bus service to a community or an area is development."

He said this is the beginning of a complex and well-planned out development in the area.

Coun. Jordan Graham said the bigger vision for the east end is more residential.

"What we're working on here is the catalyst that's going to be driving the Doak Road forward," Graham said. "The residential and commercial transition has to occur somewhere if we don't want the deadly loss of property where we're just creating a buffer and we don't have any interest in making our developers do that."

Ward 8 Coun. Tony Whalen, who represents the Skyline Acres area, said the lack of sidewalks, bus service and street lights, will be addressed once the population increases.

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services, said due to the environmental constraints on the property - two streams flank it, along with a wetland area - the developer had to change the focus from commercial to residential.

"The developer's rationale is that the proposed residential lots that front onto Alison Boulevard are flanked on either side by two streams that buffer the residential lots from the adjacent commercial and industrial development," Forbes said in a report to council. "If the lots fronting onto Alison were developed for commercial purposes, a buffer would have to be created ... where the residential lots on the future street connection to Alison Boulevard meet the commercial lots."

Forbes said it would be more difficult to create a hard buffer between the commercial and residential uses, rather than using the 30-metre natural buffer.

"The other factor influencing this proposal relates to the fact that the residential development to the south of Alison Boulevard requires a second access point."

Traffic signals at Doak Road and Alison Boulevard aren't needed at this point, according to engineers.

Engineers aren't concerned that a residential subdivision will have access from a truck route.

Developer Arnold Chippin has agreed to try to keep truck traffic coming and going from Alison Boulevard during the construction phases.

Coun. Stephen Kelly said he was reassured about the residential development inside the bigger commercial zone once he heard back from staff.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1423511

[Freddypop]

Sports facility | Fredericton's community services director says northside turf field and $21.6-M complex are on track

A3 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Construction of the $21.6-million Grant*Harvey Centre in Scotiabank Park South is moving along on schedule, says community services director Wayne Tallon.

The city hall department head briefed city councillors on the status of city projects recently.

Structural steel is up on both sides of the Olympic oval at Grant*Harvey, Tallon said.

The base for the pre-cast bleacher sections has been installed. Work is occurring on the St. Thomas University men's and women's hockey programs, the dressing rooms and team offices.

"Things are moving along very nicely," Tallon said.

At the Johnston Avenue outdoor recreation park - where the city is managing the construction of the project initiated by co-funded by Business Fredericton North with that organization's partners and contributors - the base has been established and the piping is laid for what will eventually become a chilled outdoor ice rink in the winter.

The surface is being prepped for the concrete slab, Tallon said.

That project is on schedule.

At Scotiabank Park North, a new artificial turf field work is on schedule. The base has been installed for the field and the parking lot has been prepared for paving.

Scotiabank donated $1.5 million to the city in exchange for naming rights at both its northside and southside sports facilities.

"We're into the final stages and final layer of the (gravel) crusher dust," Tallon said.

"The turf contractor should be there in the next week and a half or two starting to put the turf down, so we're pretty excited about that. We're on schedule for late August, and we will be well ready for the Under-18 National Men's and Women's Soccer Championships."

Fencing is going up, and the electrical for the field lighting is being installed, he said.

Tallon said repairs to Willie O'Ree Place at Scotiabank Park North are also in the final stages.

He said with recent rainstorms, it has become clear that the repairs have been completed properly because the building is dry and shows no sign of leaks.

The building was repaired under warranty after roof and siding leaks were detected in places.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1423821

[Taeolas]

Lots of activity on the OldTCH side of Bishop drive I noticed. mainly filling in the lots by the looks of it. Any ideas what's going in there?

[cl812]

Noticed yesterday that construction has begun on the Forest Hill Tower II.

[cl812]

Five sites identified as possible location for city pool
Published Saturday July 16th, 2011
Splash | FHS, UNB, Willie O'Ree among places on list
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Five sites will be scouted as possible locations for a second indoor swimming pool as part of a 10-month feasibility study on the need, scale and costs of a proposed building.

The possible sites include the Grant*Harvey Centre at Scotiabank Park South; Fredericton High School; which has plumbing roughed in because at one time an indoor pool was considered for that location; on the University of New Brunswick campus as a replacement for the Sir Max Aitken Pool when the University of New Brunswick-owned facility is closed; adjacent to Willie O'Ree Place at Scotiabank Park North; and a location at the Kingswood entertainment facility.

Wayne Tallon, community services director for the city, briefed the city's community services committee Thursday about the planning for the study.

Earlier this year, city council awarded the contract for the study to dmA Planning and Management Services Inc. for $79,992.

Tallon said a meeting was held with the consultant June 29 to finalize the work schedule for the study.

"The reason for the length of the process is that we want to make sure we're able to contact, communicate and consult with as many people as we can - stakeholders and user groups - and we want to respect the fact that people are on vacation during July and August," Tallon said.

For that reason, public consultations won't start until September.

"In the meantime, the consultant will be talking with folks from the university, the YMCA, the government departments and so forth," Tallon said.

The project will be divided into three phases - the needs and feasibility, the facility concept, and then funding and implementation.

"That will bring us to the end of May of 2012 before we have a final report to council," he said.

A city hall steering committee with representatives from various city departments has been formed.

A member from the recreation advisory committee formed when local service districts and the Village of New Maryland voted to help fund the city's two new arenas to avoid non-resident user fees has been chosen to sit on it as well.

City recreation manager Michelle Horncastle will chair the committee.

Tallon said the consultant has an architect on staff who will be creating concept drawings and options for a final proposal.

Interest groups who want the city to build a second indoor facility won't be asked to sit on the steering committee, but the consultant will be meeting with all those interested parties, he said.

Coun. Stephen Kelly wanted to know if the indoor pool project is a candidate for a public-private partnership.

Tallon said he believes an indoor pool will need public and private supporters.

Public swimming facilities are always built by municipalities because there's no profit to be made by the private sector.

Tallon said apart from construction costs of an indoor pool, it's the ongoing operating costs that have to be considered.

The consultant has been asked to cost both capital and operating expenses for such a facility.

UNB is expecting to close the aging Sir Max Aitken Pool, possibly as soon as 2014, and that will leave a number of its users looking for space, since UNB has no plans to build a replacement pool.

The Fredericton Aquanaut Swim Team, the Fredericton Synchronized Swimming Club, the Fredericton Diving Club, the Masters Swim Team, the Silver Dolphins Senior Group and more will be without a facility to train and host competitions when the UNB pool closes.

The YMCA's new facility includes a 25-metre, four-lane pool, but members of a Capital Region Aquatic Facility Team said that's inadequate for the regional needs of swimmers.

The facility team is an interest group formed to lobby the city for a second indoor, public-use pool.

The city owns and manages an indoor pool alongside Nashwaaksis Middle School.

It's used for swimming lessons and recreational swimming, and has a water slide and hot tub.

User demand at that pool continues to grow annually.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1424105

[Freddypop]

Lots of activity on the OldTCH side of Bishop drive I noticed. mainly filling in the lots by the looks of it. Any ideas what's going in there?

I had asked that question awhile back but with no reply. There are two lots on Bishop that are currently in play but no idea what is going at either.

[Freddypop]

I hear they are building a "Sam Snead's Restaurant" at Kingswood. It will be opening soon. If it is the same quality as the one in Orlando then this will be a fine restaurant and worth the occasional drive out there.

http://www.samsneadstavern.com/

[cj6286]

Lots of activity on the OldTCH side of Bishop drive I noticed. mainly filling in the lots by the looks of it. Any ideas what's going in there?

I read somewhere in an article they plan on building another hotel to drum up competition.

[Freddypop]

I read somewhere in an article they plan on building another hotel to drum up competition.

Lots look too small to handle a hotel. Would need two adjacent lots like the Best Western and Amsterdam Inn used

[cj6286]

There's a demo crew currently outside of the TRA building on Queen :banana:

[Freddypop]

There's a demo crew currently outside of the TRA building on Queen :banana:

Noticed that as well. Glad to see that building go. The condo proposal is up for 1st & 2nd reading at City Council on July 25. Hope the demo will mean that construction will begin later this year

[Freddypop]

There's a demo crew currently outside of the TRA building on Queen :banana:

Building is about 1/3 demolished. Glad to see that thing go...:tup:

[cl812]

Ta-ta, TRA building
Published Thursday July 21st, 2011
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A derelict grocery store on Queen Street is being torn down as the developers await final approval from city council on their proposal to replace the TRA wholesale grocery store with a five-storey, 32-unit apartment building.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=695988&size=500x0
Out with the old: Seen through the barricade, bulldozers tear apart the TRA Cash and Carry building to make way for a five-storey, 32-unit apartment building on Queen Street.

Demolition equipment and operators began the task Wednesday of ripping down the building.

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services with the city, confirmed Wednesday that a demolition permit has been issued for the old grocery store.

"They're within their means to take it down," Forbes said.

A building permit for the apartment development can't be issued by the city until the project gets final approval from city council.

First and second reading of the bylaw changes necessary to permit the structure go forward to city council July 25. Third reading will follow in two weeks time.

The city has to grant a height variance to allow the 16.6-metre high apartment building.

The municipal plan calls for a maximum height of 12 metres in the downtown, but exceptions have been made in the past.

For instance, the TD Tower in Fredericton is seven storeys or 21 metres high. The city's five-storey parking garage nearby is 15.5 metres high.

Because the city's downtown west end is subject to spring flooding, the developers at The Plaza - formerly Plazacorp Retail Properties Ltd. - have decided that the street-level floor of the new apartment development will be devoted to covered parking with the first level of apartment buildings atop the parking garage.

There will be 26 parking stalls at street level with 14 outdoor parking spots at the rare of the building.

The property is held in the name of TC Land Holdings Inc. Calls made to the developer Wednesday by The Daily Gleaner weren't returned.

Downtown Fredericton Inc. has already applauded the development plan, saying it wants to see more residential development in the downtown.

The TRA Cash and Carry wholesale grocery store has been closed for several years. Vandals have smashed out windows and trashed its exterior with graffiti. Most of the windows in the building have plywood over them.

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside has complained about the unsightliness on the city's main southside downtown street and has called for action.

At the planning advisory committee meeting in April, the height variation was supported by committee members, who also liked the proposed design of the structure.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1425320

[Taeolas]

Even if for some reason they can't build what they want there, just having that eye sore gone is a huge plus.

It didn't seem as destroyed this morning as I thought it would be; are they limited by how fast they can get the trucks in to haul out/sort out the wreckage? Being that close to the bridge, they'd probably be effectively limited to hauling out between 9 and 4 more or less due to traffic. (I know they were still pulling down by 6pm'ish yesterday)

[gr8deejay]

It was approx. half demolished when I went by at 8am this morning.

[corda]

It was approx. half demolished when I went by at 8am this morning.

Welcome to the forum.

[Steeple Shanks]

Noticed that the Irving crane is again in front of the train station. Last time it was there it was to erect the crane for the apartments on Victoria street. Perhaps they are about to dismantle the crane?

[cl812]

Noticed this afternoon that surveying has begun at the Corbett Centre in front of the Dollar Store (location of the new building on the site plan).

[Freddypop]

Noticed this afternoon that surveying has begun at the Corbett Centre in front of the Dollar Store (location of the new building on the site plan). Would be great to see the proposed shops added. Corbett needs more selection

[cj6286]

I found some old pictures that I thought would be worth sharing.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/cj6286/Image7.png

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/cj6286/Image4.png
Queen/Carleton intersection with a pedestrian scramble.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/cj6286/Image2.png
Carleton Street Bridge.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/cj6286/Image9.png

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/cj6286/Image3.png
Does anyone know where this picture may be??

[KnoxfordGuy]

You can see the normal school on the left hand side, so id say Queen st. by city hall. Nice picture!

[Freddypop]

Yep...Fountain in front of City Hall and the Justice building can be seen. Pic focused on intersection of Queen and York

[cj6286]

Ahh, I see the fountain now!

[Freddypop]

TRA building is completly demolished now. Debris cleanup however is still ongoing

[cj6286]

Update on the new bike lanes -> http://cyclingfredericton.blogspot.com/2011/07/cyclists-dream.html
It's fantastic to finally see the Trailway Master Plan come to life!

[Steeple Shanks]

Noticed that the Irving crane is again in front of the train station. Last time it was there it was to erect the crane for the apartments on Victoria street. Perhaps they are about to dismantle the crane?

The crane of at the Victoria street apartments is down. I guess it is all up to the stitching crews now.

[cl812]

The crane of at the Victoria street apartments is down. I guess it is all up to the stitching crews now.

Im guessing they will be erecting another crane over at the new FH Tower site soon. When I was by there last week, it looked like much of the site prep work was nearly finished.

On another note, has there been any news regarding the Hilton downtown or when it is supposed to start?

[Freddypop]

Im guessing they will be erecting another crane over at the new FH Tower site soon. When I was by there last week, it looked like much of the site prep work was nearly finished.

On another note, has there been any news regarding the Hilton downtown or when it is supposed to start?

Re the Hilton....chatted with "a high ranking city official" who informed me that construction would begin sometime in the next 12 months.

[cl812]

City awards contract to build water reservoir on north side
Published Wednesday July 27th, 2011
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

City council has awarded a $1-million contract to Greatario Industrial Storage Systems Ltd. for the construction of the Northbrook water reservoir tower off Brookside Drive.

The company was the sole bidder on the project. The company's price was close to the city's estimate for the work. The engineer's estimate was $1,022,000, including HST. The company's bid was $1,028,300.

Monteith Underground Services Ltd. will install infrastructure to the water reservoir at a cost of $211,485.

"This is great that this is starting to come through," said Coun. Bruce Grandy.

City engineer Murray Jamer said with the continued growth in development on Brookside Drive, the city needs to build a water reservoir tower both for a reliable drinking water supply and for fire-fighting protection.

"Basically, Brookside Drive is at one elevation and the water for the Brookside Drive developments comes from that tank at Killarney Lake, but as you go out away from Brookside Drive, the elevation gets higher and there's not enough pressure to reach these new developments," Jamer said.

"As the developments have started over the last several years, we started a new pressure zone with a pressure pump, but now because there's getting to be more and more development at that pressure zone, we should have a reservoir there."

The tower will improve flows in the vicinity, he said.

"If a pump goes down, we'll still have the reservoir where it runs by gravity and so then it also provides more reliability as we get more homes here. Good design says after you get a certain number of homes, then it's time to follow through with a reservoir," Jamer said.

The tower will be constructed in the vicinity of the Heron Springs development project.

Trent Brewer, manager of the city's water and sewer division, said the Northbrook reservoir will be 9.4-metres in diameter and have a nearly 21-metre-high tank with a capacity of holding 1,432 cubic metres, or 1.4 million litres, of water.

Construction of the water main and sanitary sewer piping by Monteith Underground Services Inc. will commence next week.

The foundation work for the reservoir should start in early September, with completion scheduled for mid-November.

The last time the city built a reservoir was in the early 1990s when a new one just off Regent Street was constructed by a contractor. That reservoir collapsed and had to be rebuilt by the contractor.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1426909

[Freddypop]

Published Thursday July 28th, 2011

A4 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

They said it wouldn't last forever and a construction slowdown in the capital city this year is starting to show in the statistics.

City hall has been predicting that its $100-million, year-over-year boom of the past decade would start to level off. It looks like that rebalancing is starting to show, although development committee chairman Coun. Stephen Chase said the second half of the year should pick up.

Between January-June 2010, construction in the city was already nearly $81 million.

This year from January to June, the value of construction in Fredericton is at $36.6 million.

"It is behind last year at this point in the year, but we're optimistic that by year-end, our figures will approximate last year's. They'll be a little lower, but our estimation is that we're looking at somewhere in the $90-million range. Typically in a normal year, there's more construction in the second half of the year anyway," Chase said.

Major government projects have cooled down.

"We don't have the same government stimulus programs that were in place, but we do have the Marysville school, which is a fairly hefty project and that will add to our figures," Chase said. "We're not alarmed."

Most of the downturn is in the commercial, industrial and government sectors where the drop off has been dramatic.

Industrial projects so far this year include one building permit and one renovation permit worth $35,000. There are no new municipal government project permits and no new federal-provincial government projects in the city.

The value of institutional construction for buildings and renovations is worth $2.2 million. For the same period last year, institutional construction rang in at nearly $19 million.

Single-family home construction is tracking along well at nearly $9 million, not too far off track from last year's $10.7 million values from January to June.

Total residential so far this year - which includes everything from mini-homes to townhouse construction to additions such as pools, garages or decks - is worth $23.5 million, compared to $29.8 million for the same time period last year.

"It's down, but that's not surprising as well. Changes to mortgage rates have cooled interest and in our market, when you get uncertainty among government employees, that's bound to temper demand for housing," Chase said of the residential numbers. "We're optimistic."

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services, said residential and apartment development isn't that far off last year's figures.

"We're down on singles (family homes), but that could pick up. Apartments were very close to where we were and everything is based on last year, but last year was this monumental year," Forbes said. "I think we're doing quite well."

Even the Costco construction permit on Regent Street was issued last year for this year's building season.

"There's lots of things happening and the second half of the year tends to be stronger than the first half," he said.

"Really, the core stuff is the residential. As long as there's confidence in the residential market that means that people are still coming into town and buying houses and moving up in houses. The industrial sector is never a strong sector for us ... With commercial all it takes is one big permit and we're sort of back to usual."

Dave Crandall, senior vice-president at Fredericton-based exp, formerly ADI Ltd., said its 350 engineers and consultants across Atlantic Canada - including 230 in Fredericton - have had to cast their eyes beyond the region to pick up more work.

"Certainly, the construction industry is down this year, but I would say that where it's turned down for us in Atlantic Canada, we're doing work outside of Atlantic Canada to supplement our work here," Crandall said.

"Our staff here in Atlantic Canada has been fairly stable over the last year."

In Fredericton, Crandall said many of the city's big-scale projects are either completed or wrapping up.

"If you think of the last several years, you had the eastend convention centre, you had the Currie building going on, you had the YMCA, the community college on the (UNB) campus. You had a lot of projects going on, so a lot of the big projects that had public money, either federal provincial or municipal, are just getting to the end of the project," Crandall said.

Paul LeBlanc of Prospect Building Contractors said his company is having a steady construction season.

"It's pretty regular for us," LeBlanc said.

"We've got one big job upriver that's been keeping us busy."

LeBlanc said when you factor out the major construction projects that have inflated the city's construction figures for the past few years, what's left is probably a typical building season in greater Fredericton.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1427258

[Freddypop]

Noticed some heavy equipment and some activity at the site of the proposed new elementary school on Cliff Street yesterday

[OliverD]

Yeah, it looks like they are starting to build the new road.

[Steeple Shanks]

Yep....Charlotetown is getting a stand-alone Gap"big box" store that is now under construction. You can view it on the PEI thread. They have had an Old Navy now for years. That city will now have both Gap and Old Navy stores in big box format. Re your comment on Best Buy.....I believe you are correct and that BBB refers to Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Have noticed in the Moncton Transcript that the Mapleton centre is back on track and they have announced that Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond are possible anchors for the centre. Has anyone heard anything more about either Best Buy or Bed Bath and Beyond for the Corbett centre?

[cl812]

New Y sure to make a splash
Published Wednesday August 3rd, 2011
Therapeutic | One of the two pools in building first of its kind in region
A1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

The only variable depth, therapeutic swimming pool in Atlantic Canada is getting the last of its bright blue tiles installed this week at the $20-million Fredericton YMCA building.

The pool floor, which will be raised and lowered hydraulically while under the water, will be installed in a few weeks after the tile grout is cured.

The building on Albert Street is expected to open next month.

"It's incredibly versatile," said YMCA CEO Kathy Russell on Tuesday about the new therapeutic pool.

"We've talked to people who have these pools and they're really happy. They'd never go back to having a normal pool.

"We're the first ones in Atlantic Canada."

The pool floor will displace the water as it rises and falls.

"It's a pool that's really intended for multiple populations," said Russell. "The floor will move up and down within a matter of minutes.

"For example, we could have a deep-water aquafit class in for one hour for seniors and then the following hour, we could be programming for infants or preschool age children at two feet."

Elementary schoolchildren will have the pool set for one metre for their swim lessons, she said.

The new building has two pools.

In addition to the smaller therapeutic pool, there's a 25-metre main pool. The old building on Saunders Street has a 17-metre pool.

The main pool in the new Y building also has a built-in ramp to make it accessible. The old pool had a temporary ramp that had to be put in and taken out.

The smaller pool will be heated to 88 degrees and the larger pool will be 82 degrees, said Russell.

There are also huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the pool room facing Dundonald Street to let in lots of natural light.

Russell said the building was designed to let in as much light as possible.

"It's really nice. It's always a balance between energy efficiency and having natural light."

The building is as environmentally friendly as possible. It has motion sensors to turn off lights when rooms aren't in use.

In addition to the pools, the building has a large exercise and dance studio, a full-size gymnasium and two squash courts on the main floor.

A wellness centre, a smaller exercise and dance studio and a new child-care centre built specifically for preschool age children are located upstairs, said Russell.

There are also multipurpose rooms and a kitchen.

"We are four weeks away from completion so it is pretty exciting. We have a lot of work still to do inside but it's coming together.

"We expect to open for public tours on the sixth of September, right after Labour Day."

The date the building will be open for use hasn't been firmed up.

"It's likely it's going to be Sept. 19, but it's a moving target right now until we get some more information," she said.

"The community's been great in terms of supporting the project and the contractors have been good.

"I really pleased with the progress."

Russell said the building is about two months behind schedule but that isn't unusual for a project of this scale.

She said the YMCA is planning a membership drive this fall to coincide with the opening of the building.

"We are really hoping to target families," said Russell. "One of our new membership categories is called early years. It starts at birth and goes until kindergarten."

"It is an age group we feel needs to be programmed for more in Fredericton."

She said they have about 3,600 members and they could handle up to 5,000.

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside said Tuesday the YMCA has always been an important part of the community.

"I'm very excited about the potential of the new opening and what that means for the community and looking forward to it," he said.

The mayor also praised J.W. (Bud) Bird, who chaired the fundraising campaign that raised the money for the building.

"Bud Bird is a tremendous asset to this community," Woodside said.

"He was in my office quite often and talking to council ... and is probably why they are where they are with this whole program."

The old YMCA building on Saunders Street is for sale, said Russell.

"We're optimistic," she said. "We are talking with one group right now."

She said the pool in the old building will probably have to be decommissioned but the gym will probably be used as a gym because there's a high demand for such space in the community.

The remaining space will likely be used for office space and multipurpose rooms, she said.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1428800

[Freddypop]

Published Tuesday August 9th, 2011

A3 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

City council has given third reading to a municipal plan and zoning amendment that clears the way for development of a 32-unit apartment building on the former TRA Cash and Carry property at 271 Queen St.

TC Land Holdings Inc. wants to develop the land. The company already obtained a demolition permit to remove the derelict wholesale grocery store on the site.

The apartment building will have street-level parking due to the land's proximity to the St. John River and the fact the land routinely floods in the spring. That means the first apartment units will be one floor up from the street.

The city had to approve a height change to allow the structure to go up 16.66 metres high. The height is in line with the majority of buildings in the city centre.

The five-storey building will have units ranging from 110 square metres (about 1,200 square feet) to 136 square metres (1,465 square feet). The larger units will have two bedrooms and a den. Karl Fischer Architect is designing the building.

In terms of scale, a city hall planning department report said the TD Tower at Westmorland and Queen streets is seven storeys, or 21 metres high. The adjacent parking garage to the west is 15.5 metres high, or five-storeys.

The city concluded the height of the new apartment development will fall in line with other structures.

Construction is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2012.

In another recent planning decision, DP Developments received approval for a rezoning and subdivision at Murray Avenue. DP Developments wants to build 37 townhouse units. Since the same developer owns adjoining properties, it's the first stage of a larger-scale development plan for the area that could include seniors housing, apartments and a nursing home.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1430277

[KnoxfordGuy]

This is great news! :)

[cl812]

$39-M Chancery Place almost ready for province
Published Wednesday August 10th, 2011
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton's role in building a new downtown government office building is finally drawing to a close as the New Brunswick government takes on the task of designing the layout of the offices and drawing up tenders for carpeting, office dividers and the final touches.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=699733&size=500x0
Above is the King Street side of Chancery Place located across from the Centennial Building in downtown Fredericton. The city is almost ready to hand the keys to the building over to the province.

The New Brunswick government decided in the spring to purchase the new six-storey office building on King Street from the City of Fredericton for its $39-million project cost. The province assumes the costs of interior finishes itself.

"They're doing the drawings and the layouts and ordering carpet and wall systems. They've had their tenders for that stuff," said Greg Cook, the city's director of special capital projects. "The building is 99.5 per cent done. It's basically just finishing up and cleanup.

"They basically control the building now. They're going to operate the boilers and the ventilation equipment. We'll be there for awhile just doing odds and ends and finishing up. We're working right around the main front entrance now to get the panelling in now, doing things that we didn't want to put in too early because it would get damaged too much," he said.

"We have to work together to get their work done and ours because there's a bit of interface," Cook said.

The city spokesman said he's not sure what the province has decided on in terms of timing for moving in, but outfitting six floors of office space will take a bit of time.

The city had hoped to hand over the office building to the province by May, but the project ran longer than expected.

The 15,300-square-metre (170,000-square-foot) building is a replacement for the Centennial Building. The province's plan has been to transfer the offices of Premier David Alward and departments such as Business New Brunswick, Finance, executive council, Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice, Human Resources, the attorney general and Communications New Brunswick to the new building.

"I know they're working with departments now, finalizing their drawings," he said.

City hall and the former Liberal government struck a deal in 2007 that would see the city finance the construction of the estimated $42-million government office building with the province paying the full cost of the structure through a 20-year lease.

The deal kept the debt off the province's books and left responsibility for borrowing and financing in the city's lap. The building was part of the $78-million, city-led convention centre and public parking garage development project in the downtown east end.

In March, however, the province decided it would buy the building, named Chancery Place, from the city. Supply and Services Minister Claude Williams said the government determined that buying the building was financially more feasible than leasing over the long term.

The city shook hands with the province because it will no longer have to carry the debt financing in its budgets for the next two decades.

"This is much cleaner for the province and for the city in terms of not only the construction and turning over of the building, but in the lease agreement and management and purchase of furniture and all of those things," Mayor Brad Woodside said at the end of March when city council accepted the province's offer.

The provincial government pays $39 million for the building and assumes the finishing costs under the agreement. The city's total project estimate, including the final interior finishes, was expected to be $42 million.

The decision to buy the building drew flak from the Liberals, who questioned why the government was taking the debt onto its books rather than sticking with the original deal.

But the Tories held firm in their defence of the deal, saying it makes more economic sense to buy the building.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1430638

[EricFrost]

Does anyone know if the brown siding on the chancery place is just temporary? It looks pretty awful the way it stands right now with glass on about 70% of it, then the rest is a cardboard or masonite looking surface. It's especially noticeable from the North Side where the blue glass would have looked good for the city's skyline instead of the drab color's that are there now.

[Freddypop]

Does anyone know if the brown siding on the chancery place is just temporary? It looks pretty awful the way it stands right now with glass on about 70% of it, then the rest is a cardboard or masonite looking surface. It's especially noticeable from the North Side where the blue glass would have looked good for the city's skyline instead of the drab color's that are there now.

I would bet its permanent.

[cl812]

I see that Costco is nearing completion, looks as though they will meet their planned opening date of Aug 19 (next Friday).

[corda]

Does anyone know if the brown siding on the chancery place is just temporary? It looks pretty awful the way it stands right now with glass on about 70% of it, then the rest is a cardboard or masonite looking surface. It's especially noticeable from the North Side where the blue glass would have looked good for the city's skyline instead of the drab color's that are there now.

These mixed and matched colours and materials make the place look unfinished to me.

[corda]

I see that Costco is nearing completion, looks as though they will meet their planned opening date of Aug 19 (next Friday).

Cost Mo' .

[KnoxfordGuy]

I really wish I knew what was going to happen to the centennial building! :(

[Freddypop]

Looks like Home Hardware on Main Street will undergo an expansion. See section B, item 1:

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/resources/Agenda-PAC.pdf

[cj6286]

Looks like Home Hardware on Main Street will undergo an expansion. See section B, item 1:

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygov...Agenda-PAC.pdf

At 195 Brookside Drive, that new subdivision is called "Briar Brook". Still not sure of the height of the buildings, but I believe they would be no more than three stories?

Also, behind the Church of Nazarene (Brookside/Douglas), there are these new buildings popping up, and one looks like a new church? Does anyone know what this development is?

[Freddypop]

Published Thursday August 11th, 2011

Costco opening | Store to open next Friday morning

A1 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The long-awaited ribbon cutting for Fredericton's Costco store is set for Aug. 19 at 8 a.m. as the store throws open its doors to fans of the members-only grocery, pharmacy and household goods store.

Shopping carts are lined up and ready in the parking lot of the Costco store at the Corbett Centre on Regent Street on Wednesday. The store will open Aug. 19. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony shortly before the doors open next Friday.

The last few weeks of construction at the site atop Regent Street in the Corbett Centre shopping area have been a frenzy of activity with the final touches on parking lot paving and landscaping wrapping up.

Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. spokesman Ron Damiani said construction in Fredericton has gone well with few glitches, adding the company has had a positive development process in the capital city.

A pre-opening membership drive has gone well, but he won't say how many memberships have been sold.

"That's confidential, really, really sensitive," he said in a telephone interview from the company's Ottawa headquarters. "But there is a lot of pent up demand in the Fredericton market."

Frederictonians have been travelling to Moncton and Saint John to shop at Costco. They'll now be able to use their Costco membership at the Fredericton location at the same time as the new store will draw regionally from the Upper St. John River Valley.

The Fredericton building is approximately 13,000 square metres (146,000 square feet), the same size as one already opened in Saint John. The two locations are the largest Costco outlets in the Maritimes and the capital city location will have all the bells and whistles - a bakery, meat department, photo and optical area, pharmacy and a members-only gas bar.

First day sales are expected to be in the hundreds of thousands, but Damiani isn't sharing that data either.

"The opening warehouse sales vary greatly from market to market. That's all I can say," he said.

Costco's aim is to offer good deals based on its bulk-buying capacity in a warehouse-style setting.

"We're not a company that focuses on specials, but what we focus on is getting really exciting special merchandise for a short period of time to create a really big excitement factor. They might bring in a $20,000 diamond ring or something like that. I don't know what they have planned (for Fredericton)," he said. "We look for special buys. Perhaps a high-end clothing or jeans or we might bring in a really wild line of sunglasses that are going to knock you over in terms of price."

About 225 people will likely end up working at Costco in Fredericton. Employee training is in progress, Damiani said.

"The gas station will open a day before, probably mid-afternoon or early morning on Aug. 18. We like to do that a day before just to make sure that everything is working properly. You have to have a Costco membership to purchase anything. At the gas station, you stick in your (membership card) and then you stick in your payment card, either your debit card or your American Express."

American Express is the only credit card Costco accepts.

"That's how we're able to provide reduced margins," he said.

By not taking Visa or Mastercard with their associated merchant fees, Costco is able to shave its gasoline margins to reduce costs for members, Damiani said.

"We don't have a mid-grade of gas. We only have regular and super ... and we're not open 24-7. We're open an hour before the store opens and we close an hour after the store closes, so those things limit our expenses, so we're able to still make money and provide significant savings to our members," he said.

"Most of the time our buyers are going out and searching for merchandise that is uniquely interesting for Canadians," he said.

Costco has 82 locations in Canada.

Charlottetown wants a Costco, but Damiani won't confirm if that's the next expansion point.

"We never, never comment on upcoming openings or markets that we're interested in. What I can tell you is that ... we'd like to get up to about 100 (locations), so there's room for expansion Canada-wide, but for us to say where's it's going to be, we just don't comment.''

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1430983

[corda]

I've been away for a couple weeks.. when I got back I heard a rumour Walmart announced moving out of Regent mall and building a stand-alone store across from Kent on Bishop Drive.
Any truth to this?... I ignored the first time I heard then heard it again from a second unrelated person and began to question it. Couldn't find anything online though.... I think with all the Costco hype people are assuming that Walmart will feel the heat and want to do something drastic.
IMO... it isn't Walmart that needs to worry... more like the Co-op and Victory, etc.

This gets me thinking... if Walmart ever did move out there would be a lot of space to place small stores and bulid new interior halls at the loss of a huge anchor tenant.... death knell for the mall? thoughts?

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Wal-Mart wants to build new supercentres to compete with the Costco's of the world. A move out of the mall to a standalone facility would make sense.

Here in Moncton there are rumours of Wal-Mart moving out of Champlain to do the same thing. The difference here in Moncton is that there would be a ready tenant to move in and take the Wal-Mart space at the mall - ie the Bay.

Being a conspiracy theorist, my own personal cascade of events is:
- Wal-Mart moves out of Champlain to build standalone supercentre
- Bay moves from Highfield to Champlain to replace Wal-Mart
- Highfield gets torn down to build new downtown arena/events centre.

[Taeolas]

As for Freddy, moving out of Regent would make sense. Not sure if the land is suitable across from Kent or not, but it's a possibility.

I doubt it would hurt the mall too much; it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find a new anchor and to reopen the mall entrance if desired. A Bay would be great, but I doubt the chain is in good enough shape to expand up there.

[Freddypop]

Funny....I have heard similar re the land across from Kent on the south side of Bishop recently but the store mentioned was Target not Walmart. Not sure how reliable this info is but apparently Target wants to build a new standalone store as the 2 current Zellers locations are not up to their standards. Was told that Target has been at least "kicking the tires" on this idea and would be the anchor for a new commercial development in that area. What I do know is that land was pitched to Costco earlier who opted instead for the Corbett Centre. Owners want/need a major development to provide a catylyst for further development of their properties. Obviously Walmart or Target would both foot the bill.

Perhaps these two rumours are linked....Walmart to Bishop and Target to the Regent Mall?

[OliverD]

These rumors don't make a lot of sense, at least not in terms of the location. Across from Kent is all wetlands.

It's no secret that Walmart prefers not to be in malls anymore. I think that within the next 5 years or so we will see both Walmart and Empire Theatres move out of the Regent Mall. It will be interesting to see what happens to the mall. At least up until now they don't seem to have any problem filling empty spaces but that might change as the retail business moves away from malls in favour of power centres.

[Freddypop]

These rumors don't make a lot of sense, at least not in terms of the location. Across from Kent is all wetlands.

It's no secret that Walmart prefers not to be in malls anymore. I think that within the next 5 years or so we will see both Walmart and Empire Theatres move out of the Regent Mall. It will be interesting to see what happens to the mall. At least up until now they don't seem to have any problem filling empty spaces but that might change as the retail business moves away from malls in favour of power centres.

Folks....for what its worth I think the location makes perfect sense. Back a few decades ago Westcliffe had a firm proposal to build a major shopping centre on that exact land....south of the Vanier Highway. Anchors were to be the Bay, Eatons, Sears and Dominion. Council debated (a relative of mine was a city councilor at the time) and got spooked that a major commercial development would kill the downtown. At the same time the Regent Mall was already there but much smaller than current. Westcliff had the major department stores under contract and used that to try and leverage their proposal. The Regent Mall had the Woolco. After 10 years of no development Westcliffe and Cadillac Fairview called a truce which ended up with an expanded Regent Mall which included Sears.

The point I'm trying to make here is that piece of land between Hanwell and Arnold Drive and south of Bishop can handle a major commericial development...swamp and all. That is the reason the Irvings bought it and are now looking for a major retailer to spur activity on their property.

[OliverD]

Yeah but if you look at geonb.snb.ca the area directly across from Kent is all protected wetlands. The only land that can be developed south of Bishop is west of World Class Auto.

[Freddypop]

Yeah but if you look at geonb.snb.ca the area directly across from Kent is all protected wetlands. The only land that can be developed south of Bishop is west of World Class Auto.

Yes..That is the area to which I am referring....not that directly across from Kent. That land just west on Bishop is owned and being developed by Irving and they are anxious to see it take off. Snagging a major retailer would likely give them the result that they are looking for. They had made Costco a "sweet deal" to set up there but Costco wanted to be beside Home Depot. Opportunities to have a major retailer setup on your property don't come along everyday. You can bet that Irving is active in trying to put together a deal for either Walmart or Target. Whether they will be successful or not...we will see.

[OliverD]

Gotcha. Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

[Freddypop]

Gotcha. Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

I would also bet that they are active on trying to attract Empire Theatres as well...when they are ready to move

[Freddypop]

Published Monday August 15th, 2011

A4 For The Daily Gleaner

The new Oriental Pearl Restaurant on Kimble Drive in Fredericton is holding its official opening Tuesday.

In a release, the restaurant stated it will offer both traditional and Canadian style Chinese food and is the only restaurant in Fredericton offering an extensive dim sum menu.

The business is named after the famous television tower in Shanghai and is operated by Wangwei Zhu, Nan Xin - a former student at the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus - and Kaiming Chen.

"After careful market research and (an) industry survey, we found we had a chance to provide characteristic Chinese food to Fredericton's market," said the release.

The restaurant is promising to introduce customers to Chinese culture as well as food.

The release says wait staff will be able to tell diners about the history of the food they are serving.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1431895

[cj6286]

All these major centres are really hard to get to. If they want my business, they need to improve transit.