Official Fredericton, NB projects thread [Archive] - Page 9

cl812

Dec 27, 2008, 2:52 PM

City changes philosophy and spends big
Published Saturday December 27th, 2008

A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Rinks. Swimming pools. Convention centres.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=226974&size=500x0

The largest ever capital spending plan in Fredericton's history has moved the city from being virtually debt-free in 2005 to owing millions of dollars for capital projects.

All together, Fredericton must repay $114 million (though the federal and provincial governments will reimburse the city $12 million) over the next 20 years.

Just as the average consumer has to borrow for a car or major repairs on a home, loans are a fact of life for most New Brunswick cities.

For close to 30 years, Fredericton lived principally with what has been dubbed the pay-as-you-go philosophy. That budget plan sees the city take a chunk of money from its general operating fund and allocate it to a general fund capital budget. That money, for the most part, has been used to pay capital items - trucks and transit buses - and to rebuild streets, upgrade playgrounds and repair buildings.

In 2009, the city plans to set aside $12.6 million for general capital spending, the largest pay-as-you-go budget without borrowing funds of any New Brunswick municipality, said Fredericton's finance committee chairman Coun. Mike O'Brien.

One of the hitches with pay-as-you-go is that since the money set aside for capital is taken out of the general pool of tax revenue collected annually by the city, to create a big pot of cash would mean zooming up the tax rate, something no elected official wants to do.

"While we were debt-free in 2005, it didn't allow for any major capital expansions," O'Brien said. "When 83 per cent of our total revenue is from property tax ... it's a pretty simple formula - it's either raise taxes or reduce services and people."

Biennial citizen attitude surveys have consistently spelled out quality-of-life objectives they want to see maintained and improved. During the 2008 spring municipal election campaign, mayor candidate Tim Andrew spent most of his time talking about tax burden and the city's need to be more frugal.

Mayor Brad Woodside said he's heard the message and the city will complete the major projects it has on the books, but won't be going hog-wild with future spending.

O'Brien said city borrowing isn't a Pandora's box.

"We've opened this pay-as-you-grow for these major capital projects. Those are the ones we're committed to ... but that does not mean that we just continue to add new major capital projects. We have to pay these ones off."

For the past five years, two factors have bolstered Fredericton's entry into borrowed-money markets: a blistering construction pace that generates new taxable property; and the cost of borrowing money has been at historic low levels.

While Moncton, for instance, has outstanding debt of more than $100 million, it costs that city significantly more to pay its bills. In 2008, it cost Moncton $16.9 million (almost 16 per cent) on its $108-million budget to service its debt.

In 2008, Saint John had $102 million in debt and debt-servicing costs of $11 million, a debt ratio of 9.3 per cent.

Dieppe, the fourth largest municipality in the province, plans to cut into its $77-million debt and shrink its debt ratio to 22.5 per cent in 2009, but debt-servicing costs remain around the $7-million mark annually.

Out of every City of Fredericton operating dollar, debt servicing consumes 7.2 per cent. In raw numbers, the capital city will spend $6.4 million out of its $88.7 million 2009 budget to service debt.

"If you take it back to your own personal household, anybody who is going to add up a household, mortgage, credit cards and bank loans would quickly see that they're far exceeding a 7.2 per cent debt ratio," O'Brien said.

"A municipality that's trying to deliver the services that everybody wants and expects, and service a larger area, and at the same time continue to try to grow the city ... 7.2 per cent is very manageable."

Where has and where is all the money going in Fredericton?

Fredericton has completed construction of Willie O'Ree Place, it's Cliffe Street ice hockey arena complete with indoor walking track and community meeting rooms. A YMCA fitness location is part of the complex.

The rink project cost $16.7 million to build, but the city recovered $2 million as a non-repayable federal-provincial grant toward the project and it will recover the HST it spent on the development.

Henry Park and Marysville outdoor community swimming pools were repaired at a combined cost of $1.3 million.

Royal Road and Queen Square outdoor swimming pools were rebuilt and children's splash areas were built. The Royal Road project cost $1.5 million, while Queen Square cost $1.7 million.

Repairs to the Lady Beaverbrook Rink cost $2.6 million.

That's a grand total of $23.9 million for construction, repairs and upgrades.

The Grant * Harvey Centre, the southside arena complex, is expected to cost about $25.6 million. City council scaled back the seating in the building to reduce the expenditure on the project, which will move to a final design phase in 2009.

The biggest project ahead is the construction of a $75.5-million downtown convention centre, provincial government office building and parking garage.

The federal and provincial governments will contribute $8 million toward those projects.

The city has designed the office building component as a not-for-profit, flow-through 20-year deal. The financing will be on the city's books, but the province will pay for a new downtown government headquarters over the 20-year financial cycle of the deal.

A few things have helped the city keep its construction spending in line, including hiring a professional projects manager.

"It's been paying dividends since the day he came on board, keeping contracts in line and negotiating best deals," O'Brien said.

-------

Developer wants city to annex southside land
Published Friday December 26th, 2008

A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A Fredericton developer wants the provincial government to allow the City of Fredericton to annex land he owns outside the city limits.

City council is backing the proposal and has passed a resolution asking that the Department of Local Government conduct a feasibility study into the annexation of two properties owned by Colpitts Developments.

The Fredericton real estate management and land development company has property holdings within city limits at Rainsford Lane and Prospect Street.

"We've got approval from the Hanwell local service district, which is where the land is right now. We've got approval from the City of Fredericton and the province is on board with it as well. It just has to go through the process. Everyone has been very supportive of it," said Willy Scholten, chief financial officer with Colpitts Developments.

"There's not a lot of land available on the south side of Fredericton for housing developments like this. This is 290 acres right on the boundary with Fredericton, and really it should be considered part of Fredericton."

Scholten said if approval is given to move the vacant land into the city, it will open the way for Colpitts, as well as for many private-sector home builders, to purchase land for new homes.

Colpitts will create a planned development in conjunction with the city.

"It's a very exciting project with multi-purpose development, with commercial and quite a variety of residential," Scholten said.

"What we're working on right now is kind of our grand entrance into High Point Ridge development and that's coming off Prospect Street. There will be spectacular lots there with views of the St. John River Valley."

Given all the growth along the western boundary of the city limits, it makes sense to keep extending water and sewer lines and make the land suitable to future development, Scholten said.

"It just doesn't make sense to do it outside the municipality," he said.

Scholten said the procedure for annexation should be straightforward because there are no immediate neighbours to be affected by the annexation.

"Our expectation is that the city work will be done by the end of this year and the province shortly thereafter, and then it will have to get cabinet approval," he said.

If all goes well, lots may be available in the spring, Scholten said.

"It is open to all developers. Anyone who wants to come in there and build a home, whether it's a private individual or other developers want to go in and build homes there, we're open for business," he said.

mylesmalley

Dec 27, 2008, 7:52 PM

I do agree that you need to spend money to make money. However I have difficulty applying that to municipal budgets. In situations like industrial parks, taking on debt can be a good investment. Creating more serviceable land can greatly increase the tax base.

But basically, the city has taken 115 million plus interest in future revenue to pay for projects today. However a lot of these projects (arenas etc) won't generate any additional tax revenue. So they're basically robbing future councils of revenue for projects they can't afford today.

That worries me. Debt tends to lead to more debt.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Dec 29, 2008, 3:41 AM

Developer wants city to annex southside land
Published Friday December 26th, 2008

A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A Fredericton developer wants the provincial government to allow the City of Fredericton to annex land he owns outside the city limits.

City council is backing the proposal and has passed a resolution asking that the Department of Local Government conduct a feasibility study into the annexation of two properties owned by Colpitts Developments.

The Fredericton real estate management and land development company has property holdings within city limits at Rainsford Lane and Prospect Street.

"We've got approval from the Hanwell local service district, which is where the land is right now. We've got approval from the City of Fredericton and the province is on board with it as well. It just has to go through the process. Everyone has been very supportive of it," said Willy Scholten, chief financial officer with Colpitts Developments.

"There's not a lot of land available on the south side of Fredericton for housing developments like this. This is 290 acres right on the boundary with Fredericton, and really it should be considered part of Fredericton."

Scholten said if approval is given to move the vacant land into the city, it will open the way for Colpitts, as well as for many private-sector home builders, to purchase land for new homes.

Colpitts will create a planned development in conjunction with the city.

"It's a very exciting project with multi-purpose development, with commercial and quite a variety of residential," Scholten said.

"What we're working on right now is kind of our grand entrance into High Point Ridge development and that's coming off Prospect Street. There will be spectacular lots there with views of the St. John River Valley."

Given all the growth along the western boundary of the city limits, it makes sense to keep extending water and sewer lines and make the land suitable to future development, Scholten said.

"It just doesn't make sense to do it outside the municipality," he said.

Scholten said the procedure for annexation should be straightforward because there are no immediate neighbours to be affected by the annexation.

"Our expectation is that the city work will be done by the end of this year and the province shortly thereafter, and then it will have to get cabinet approval," he said.

If all goes well, lots may be available in the spring, Scholten said.

"It is open to all developers. Anyone who wants to come in there and build a home, whether it's a private individual or other developers want to go in and build homes there, we're open for business," he said.

Site plan for this development from Colpitts Development's website (http://www.colpittsdevelopments.ca/developments/hpr_siteplan.html)

cl812

Dec 29, 2008, 12:53 PM

Community college upgrade not forgotten
Published Monday December 29th, 2008

A3
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailyglenaer.com

Plans to spend millions upgrading the New Brunswick Community College in Fredericton got sideswiped this year by the faltering economy and the aging Princess Margaret Bridge, says Premier Shawn Graham.

Improvements to the local community college have been pushed back by about two years, he said, in his recent year-end interview with The Daily Gleaner.

"We are still committed to the Fredericton community college," he said. "By 2010, I want to be in a position that we can give a significant indication on where we are moving forward and what type of infrastructure requirements are going to be started.''

Upgrading the Fredericton community college was an election promise in 2006.

In last month's capital budget, Edmundston received $35 million for a new community college campus and Saint John got $45 million for its community college.

But there other priorities in Fredericton, said Graham.

"We were caught off guard with the closure of the Princess Margaret Bridge (to truck traffic)," he said. "That is an important and critical piece of infrastructure for the city."

The provincial Department of Transportation recently reduced the truck weight allowed on the bridge after an engineering inspection raised concerns. The 50-year-old bridge is still considered safe for lighter traffic.

"It is a vital chokepoint when you see all that traffic now, truck traffic moving through downtown," said Graham. "We had to accelerate the upgrades on that bridge over the next two-year period."

The projected cost of repairing the Princess Margaret Bridge is $50 million and there is $12 million in next year's capital budget to start the work.

The other factor that pushed back the Fredericton community college is the economy and timing.

Graham said it's vital to stimulate the provincial economy, which is why he announced a $1.2-billion, two-year capital budget last month.

But the work for the community college here is still in the planning stages, he said.

"We couldn't see actual construction starting this spring," said the premier, about the Fredericton project. "That is why we committed to invest in (projects) where we could put people to work now.

"We are committed to this project but the priorities had to shift due to the economic slowdown."

He said there will still be lots of work done in the capital.

The province is planning to spend $160 million over two years on so-called deferred maintenance at provincial universities, including St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick, to fix cracked foundations, leaking roofs, to make classrooms accessible for the disabled and upgrade labs, said Graham.

"We are making major improvements in these areas," he said.

The Liberals are also spending $34.9 million on the Highway 8 Marysville bypass.

"We are going to see the acceleration of that project occur now. We are going to accelerate by potentially two years to open up that bypass in a more timely fashion."

The premier said planning work will continue on the Fredericton community college.

Graham said there is also great potential to upgrade the local craft school and integrate it into the learning environment at UNB and STU.

BradMacD

Dec 31, 2008, 9:59 PM

If anyone cares here's a picture of the pretty yellow crane. XD
http://i39.tinypic.com/2h4yxlc.jpg

And also, a small update on the convention centre?
http://i39.tinypic.com/2820vis.jpg

Would those rebar looking things sticking up be for support columns?
They have more concrete poured [or looks about to be poured] than what you can see from the webcam.
Some of the big blue wooden fences along the playhouse side of the site collapsed/are falling from the wind. D:

cl812

Jan 2, 2009, 1:46 PM

How will our region weather the economic storm?
Published Friday January 2nd, 2009
Slowdown | Diversity in the economy

A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

The Fredericton region has seen plenty of traction in the development sector in recent years, and as the dark clouds of economic crisis converge, officials are hopeful that momentum can be sustained.

But the question is for how long?

Those involved with economic development in and around central New Brunswick say the region is well-poised to weather the economic storm.

Lower fuel prices, the lower Canadian dollar and the building boom taking place in southern New Brunswick will all play in the Fredericton region's favour.

"The American market has collapsed for housing and auto parts, but Americans are still buying things. It's just a little slower," said John Flynn, executive director of Enterprise Central NB.

"Most of our companies are optimistic," he said. "Of course, things could change."

But with energy and fuel prices falling, things are a bit better.

"The other thing is our dollar is down, and though they may not be selling as much to the U.S., local companies are finding that their margins are better."

There are rays of optimism in turbulent times, he said.

Work is progressing at Sisson Brook for a mine that could employ 700 during the construction phase and then 250 once operating.

A wood pellet mill in the Nashwaak area is expected to open soon, and two mills in the region are upgrading.

Coun. Dan Keenan, chairman of Fredericton's development committee, said there's no doubt we're treading through difficult times.

"I have cautious optimism. We can be optimistic because we already have lots of work underway."

The city has set a development record for 2008 with $154 million in building permits issued by the end of November, but Keenan noted that while permits were issued - and preliminary work on many of those projects began last year - a number of them will see much of the value of that work done in 2009.

"The year 2009 may end up being stronger activity wise, though it may not be reflected in the permits."

Kennan said there's optimism in the fact developers are looking at the long term. If they didn't have faith in the future, they'd be withholding their money.

"If you look around our community, there's still lots of activity. We're going to have challenges like every other community, but we have a strong base that is going to help us weather the storm," he said.

Doug Motty, general manager of Enterprise Fredericton, said that doesn't mean the region is insulated from economic turmoil.

"Some of our IT, engineering, manufacturing sectors are probably seeing the effects of that, but we're not at the point of seeing significant downturns. They're tightening their belts, reviewing expansions they had planned and ensuring they're the right things to do."

Motty said he's not aware of any local companies facing difficulty accessing capital.

The benefit for Fredericton, he said, is that it doesn't rely on one single sector.

cl812

Jan 3, 2009, 6:36 PM

ACOA waiting to spend millions
Published Saturday January 3rd, 2009

A1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

There are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects sitting on the desk of Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Minister Keith Ashfield just waiting to boost the economy of this region.

That includes the new southside sports complex in Fredericton, a project at the local YMCA, a new water tower in New Maryland and other water projects in Oromocto, Minto and Chipman, Ashfield said in an interview Friday.

There are also projects at the University of New Brunswick through the Atlantic Innovation Fund, he said

"Right now on the books with ACOA, we probably have $150 million to $200 million worth of projects that have gone through the due-diligence process that we could see up and acted on very quickly," he said.

"That would help all of Atlantic Canada, rural and urban alike."

Ashfield became the minister of ACOA after winning the Fredericton riding in the fall federal election.

At almost the same time, the Canadian economy began to reel under the weight of a major economic downturn in the United States.

"There are some challenges, obviously, in the economy in the last two or three months (that) probably impacted us more severely than anyone would have dreamt," said Ashfield.

He said the impact of the economic slowdown in the United States started to affect New Brunswick's forestry sector back in 2006, when he was the provincial minister of natural resources in the former Tory government.

Ashfield said ACOA's role doesn't change depending on whether the economy is good or bad.

"We have our files that we deal with," he said. "We have our different programs.

"Due diligence is done on all those files."

He said that due diligence doesn't get more strict in an economic downturn.

"What we are looking at right now actually is an infusion hopefully of cash to spur on the economy, to accelerate our infrastructure programs and accelerate projects in Atlantic Canada to (boost) employment," he said.

But Charles Cirtwill, executive vice-president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, said Ashfield should be looking at applications more closely in this economic climate.

"I think my advice for the ACOA minister would the same advice I give for each and every minister," he said. "Just because a project is ready to go doesn't mean the government should fund it."

Cirtwill said ACOA always says there has to be a business case for every project.

"That should be his mantra," he said. "He should have that printed in eight-inch block letter and put on his wall."

It would be a big mistake to throw away the rule book just to get the stimulus money flowing faster in an economic downturn, said Cirtwill.

Ashfield said he isn't seeing any big changes in proposals coming to ACOA in the few months he has been at the helm.

"Although I expect we will see a lot more proposals in the coming months," he said.

He said New Brunswick is busier than the other Atlantic provinces when it comes to ACOA applications.

"We are seeing some declines in a couple of the other provinces," said Ashfield. "But for the most part, people are fairly optimistic in Atlantic Canada, which is a bit surprising."

"We are not affected too much by the boom and bust mentality that we see in the west and the auto sector in Ontario."

He said he couldn't say how much of the $150 million to $200 million in ACOA projects are bound for New Brunswick or Fredericton.

"There are no shortages of projects, I can tell you that," he said. "It is just a matter of time and how we get involved in them all."

Ashfield also couldn't talk much about the $30 billion in economic stimulus funding that is expected the federal budget later this month.

The rule of thumb is that for every $1 billion in federal spending about $25 million comes to New Brunswick. That would put this province in line to receive $750 million.

Ashfield said a lot of that money could flow through ACOA.

He also said that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already pledged to replace the $30 million a year in cuts that were made to ACOA in the 1990s.

cl812

Jan 9, 2009, 12:42 PM

Metropolitan status would help city - executive
Published Friday January 9th, 2009
A3
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton is about to find out whether it will play in the big leagues in the next federal census.

City staff members are awaiting word on whether the region will be designated as a census metropolitan area for the 2011 enumeration.

Frank Flanagan, director of development services for the city, travelled to Ottawa last month to make the case to Statistics Canada officials that Fredericton should be considered a census metropolitan area.

The status is important for communities looking to attract new businesses because site selectors, the people who choose new homes for everything from branch offices to factories to retail outlets, often look at Canada's 33 census metropolitan area communities first.

That's part of what's driving the interest in obtaining the designation.

"I went up with statistics on our area and maps so that they would have a greater appreciation for our region," Flanagan said.

"We thought it was worth going to see them again because the last census in 2006 showed we had an increased population."

To earn the designation, an area must have a population of 100,000 or more, with at least 50,000 people in an urban core.

The city said it meets those requirements. A recent provincial report put the population of the Fredericton area at 118,758.

The 2006 census, however, put Fredericton's population at 50,535 and Statistics Canada pegs the population of the Fredericton region at about 85,000.

It doesn't count the Oromocto area because there isn't enough traffic travelling between the two communities on a daily basis.

Flanagan wants Statistics Canada to examine the 2006 census data to see if the two regions now have the required traffic flow to meet the requirements.

"The bottom line is we looked at the 2006 census and they have agreed to run their models and see if we do qualify as a CMA," he said.

While the city's development staff can run through the region's benefits to anyone who calls, it's worried about those who aren't taking the trouble to get in contact because of the perception that the region's population falls below the 100,000 mark.

"Site selectors sometimes don't give us a second look because of our size," Flanagan said.

Being a census metropolitan area community also means Statistics Canada compiles more data on the area and its residents on each census.

That's why Moncton and Saint John, both census metropolitan areas - are included in many national surveys, while Fredericton isn't.

When Statistics Canada compiles data on labour force and unemployment rates, metropolitan areas are treated separately from the rest of a province. This also applies to justice statistics, building permits and household spending and income.

"You get much wider data and detailed data," said Don Fitzgerald, executive director of Team Fredericton, the city's economic development office. "That helps everyone, including decision-makers, businesses and the education system so they can make better decisions."

Smevo

Jan 9, 2009, 4:43 PM

I took a few walks and drives around on my trip back to Freddy, and took some photos which I hopefully will be able to put up soon (mostly construction photos).

I took the walk around Jan 2, so some of this may have already happened.

The raft slab poured for the convention centre is the complete footprint of that part of the project, the office building will have its own. They are excavating around the area of the office building now, and I think I noticed some steel piles being driven on a previous drive around, though I could be wrong. Those small columns off the raft slab seemed to have been poured as the areas with rebar in BradMacD's photo were covered with tarp when I was there.

The grade-beams for the Currie Centre are in place and there was forming up for a blindwall on the south side as well as rebar in place for columns on the north side. Should be a few concrete pours coming up there.

The northside fire station is coming along well, as is the Kimble Drive middle school.

The first townhouses are being built in the subdivisions on the corner of Kimble Dr and Vanier Highway as well as on the old farm on Cliffe St.

The second strip mall on West Hills Village (across from Brookside Mall) is ready for it's exterior envelope.

Outside of that, the only thing I have to say is that Corbett Centre is a major disappointment to me. Much of the space is still "for lease". It wouldn't be so much of a disappointment if there wasn't so much hype about all the stores supposedly coming there and it being over a year behind schedule. That's just my opinion on it though, I guess I was expecting more to happen there in the 5 months I've been gone. Marketplace on Kimble is still awaiting it's first tenant as well. The Knowledge Park Dr Extension is a bit disappointing too, some say it's faster but they tend to be the ones who drive 70 on the Vanier and 75 on the Knowledge Park Dr. Extension (like my in-laws :runaway: ).

Looks like I won't be back in Freddy until at least the summer but more likely next summer.

mylesmalley

Jan 9, 2009, 5:32 PM

With all due respect to the city council in Fredericton, their push to become a CMA isn't justified... for a few reasons.

1) The article is right in that it says that the city population is about 50k, and the Fredericton Region is about 85k. However, when you add in the population of Oromocto, you still only get about 93k residents. Just because the provincial government uses the same criteria is not a valid reason for special treatment.

2) The area that constitutes the Fredericton CA is nearly twice as large as that of Moncton and 30% larger than Saint John CMA. By expanding it even further, you could make the argument that they might as well amalgamate the entire province, thus giving us the 7th largest CMA in the country (screw you, Winnipeg!).

3) Unless statscan has changed their rules, a city needs to meet the criteria in a census before it gets the designation. In other words, if Freddy qualified in 2011, then in 2016, they would be counted as a CMA. It took Moncton 3 or more censuses to actually get recognized.

4) I'm not so sure that many people in Oromocto do commute back and forth. The town is pretty self contained, not to mention that by far the largest employer in the area is the base.

So yeah, I don't think they deserve it. Not yet. I hope they do very soon though, and if the growth in the area has been any indication, they'll probably qualify by next census anyway-without having to twist arms at Statscan.

Smevo

Jan 9, 2009, 6:41 PM

^Agree completely. I think city council is really jumping the gun on this one, and I wonder where the province's number comes from. If you include all the outlying areas, maybe, but like Myles said, that increases the Fredericton CMA boundaries to be even larger than it already is, and it's already larger than Moncton's and Saint John's and CBRM's if I remember correctly, not to mention Charlottetown's which is the smallest CA of the major Maritime cities.

Fredericton will get there eventually, but wanting to jump the gun just makes the city council look bad, and asking StatsCan to make an exception to their rules just opens up a huge can of worms that I'm sure the agency doesn't want opened (every municipality that's close to CMA trying to expand their boundaries for "bragging rights"). Even including Oromocto and Burton LSD like mentioned earlier in the thread only brings the area up to about 98K as of the last census, still missing the mark for CMA.

Lamespotting

Jan 9, 2009, 8:33 PM

The raft slab poured for the convention centre is the complete footprint of that part of the project, the office building will have its own. They are excavating around the area of the office building now, and I think I noticed some steel piles being driven on a previous drive around, though I could be wrong. Those small columns off the raft slab seemed to have been poured as the areas with rebar in BradMacD's photo were covered with tarp when I was there.
I think steel piles were there to help them drive in the sheet piling for the cofferdam. The slab for the convention centre is about 3 feet thick. They didn't drive any piles down to the bedrock. The office building will be taller so it will be interesting to see what they do with that.

The Knowledge Park Dr Extension is a bit disappointing too, some say it's faster but they tend to be the ones who drive 70 on the Vanier and 75 on the Knowledge Park Dr. Extension (like my in-laws :runaway: ).
It is faster on a Saturday afternoon as you don't get caught up in the traffic on Regent St. I imagine it will make much more of a difference when the Costco opens.

Smevo

Jan 10, 2009, 8:35 AM

Here's the photos I took while back in Freddy Beach

WTP Completed
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978427.jpg

New KOC
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978434.jpg

Legislature finally fully copper-topped
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978437.jpg

Been done for a while, but I didn't have an up to date photo
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978438.jpg

Kimble Drive Middle School
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978445.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978446.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978447.jpg

Richard J. Currie Centre
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978428.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978429.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978430.jpg

you can kinda see the blindwall forming beside the hill in the foreground
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978431.jpg

rebar up ready for columns
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978432.jpg

E-Centre
excavating for the office building, you can plainly see the soft sand associated with the aquifer, the reason they are using raft-slabs.
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978435.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978436.jpg

raft slab for the convention centre
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978439.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978440.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978441.jpg

I'm still worried the office building is going to be an eyesore
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978442.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978443.jpg

hope they heated the concrete during the initial curing...
http://www.pbase.com/smevo/image/107978444.jpg

That's all of them. :cheers:

cl812

Jan 10, 2009, 12:52 PM

City sets development record
Published Saturday January 10th, 2009
A1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com

Despite a drop in December, Fredericton's overall housing starts were up almost 10 per cent in 2008, says the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

According to its preliminary data, the annual single-housing starts in the capital were 475, compared to 432 in 2007, an increase of 10 per cent.

There were 223 multiple-unit starts in the capital in 2008. That's up 9.3 per cent from 204 in 2007.

In total, there were 698 housing starts last year, which is up 9.7 per cent from 636 in 2007.

"Usually when the housing market is doing well ... some of the drivers tend to be employment," said Claude Gautreau, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s senior market analyst for New Brunswick.

"If you look at Fredericton, it is a very diversified, dynamic economy."

Gautreau said the second driving force for housing growth is population migration, and in New Brunswick most of the new population has gone to Fredericton and Moncton in the last three to five years.

"More people means there is a need for more housing," he said.

Gautreau said the apartment vacancy rate in Fredericton in October was 4.3 per cent.

"That would be considered fairly normal," he said.

In 2007, the vacancy rate was 6.5 per cent, he said.

Frank Flanagan, director of development services for the City of Fredericton, said the capital had a record year in 2008 for development.

"In the last few years, of course, apartments, townhouses and condominiums have been becoming more and more popular," he said. "Last year, our subdivision activity was up to a record high."

Housing starts in Saint John were also up in 2008, but they were down in Moncton.

Single and multi-housing starts in Saint John were up 47.3 per cent to 832 for the year, while Moncton's were down four per cent to 1,359.

December housing starts in Fredericton were down 44.4 per cent to 30 units from 54. That includes a 10.5 per cent drop in single-housing starts from 19 to 17. Multi-unit housing starts were down 62.9 per cent to 13 from 34.

But Gautreau said the drop in December isn't a major concern. It could be caused by high growth earlier in the year "front loading" the market or it could be weather related, he said.

"You never want to look at one month and say that is a trend," he said.

Flanagan noted the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. measures housing differently than the city.

The city measures by building permits issued and the corporation measures by actual housing starts, he said. That means some projects that took out building permits in December might not have started in that month, he said.

"That doesn't concern us too much," he said of the drop in December.

Also the corporation only counts multi-unit housing projects of five units or more, said Flanagan.

That misses duplexes and smaller projects with three and four units, he said.

Saint John's total housing starts in December were down 8.3 per cent to 44 units, and Moncton was down 47.2 per cent to 123.

Flanagan said the city was looking forward to a good 2009.

"It is tough to set a record every year so we don't anticipate a record year," he said. "But indicators are still very good."

Gautreau said he's expecting a slight decline in housing starts overall in New Brunswick.

"Nothing significant," he said. "The housing market is cyclical."

Gautreau said there has been strong growth in the New Brunswick housing market for 10 years in a row.

"When you have a lot of growth, eventually you have to have a cooling off period," he said.

-------
New elementary school for north side possible
Published Saturday January 10th, 2009
A3
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

solution for the aging Alexander Gibson Memorial Elementary School may be on the horizon.

The provincial government is expected to make an announcement on the school's future this month.

The 83-year-old Marysville facility is the No. 1 priority on School District 18's major capital-construction wish list.

A consultant's report said it would cost $7 million to build a replacement.

The provincial government's capital-construction funding announcement in December didn't support the project, though.

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock declined to comment on the project's status Friday.

While Wanda Bauer, District 18's director of finance and administration, doesn't know anything about the upcoming announcement, she hopes its a funding promise.

"We feel we were very fortunate to get $6.4 million for the construction of the new Boiestown-Doaktown school, but Alexander Gibson will most likely remain our district's No. 1 recommendation for funding next year," Bauer said.

"In the meantime, we will continue to do repairs at the school to make sure we meet compliance orders."

Alexander Gibson Memorial School was built in 1926. It has had some upgrades over the years, but Supt. Alex Dingwall said it would cost more than $6 million to bring the school up to current building standards.

Over the past year, the school required $1.4 million in new windows and was recently ordered by the fire marshal to have fire retardant paint applied to the school's indoor panelling.

"We have two major projects on the go in our district, so we sort of understand why we didn't get the funding in the latest round of announcements," Dingwall said.

"It's OK for our students to be in the school right now because we continue to maintain it, but the hope is that someday soon we'll be able to replace the school because we determined in our facilities review that a replacement is needed."

The new school, if approved, will be built on 12.7 hectares (31.7 acres) that has already been purchased at a location between Marysville and South Devon.

It will include the closure of South Devon Elementary School in order to combine the declining student enrolments of both schools.

The district spent the last year consulting with parents and school staff about the replacement of both schools.

A public vote was held during which 64 per cent of parents in Marysville and 61 per cent of parents in South Devon agreed a new school for the two neighbourhoods is the best option.

The combined enrolment of South Devon and Alexander Gibson is about 500.

Enrolment projections for 2011 - the earliest a new school could be built - show a population closer to 420 students.

mmmatt

Jan 10, 2009, 3:43 PM

caveat.doctor

Jan 11, 2009, 2:55 AM

the only thing I have to say is that Corbett Centre is a major disappointment to me.

I agree, the Corbett Centre is a disappointment. I had high hopes for the place, a Gleaner article a while ago (http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/454808) suggested it might be something different from the usual big-box suburban waste the rest of Canada has already done:

Scott Fash with Terrain Group, the engineering and planning firm developing the buildings, said one of the unique features of the Corbett Centre property is its inward design.

All of the stores have their front entrances facing the central parking lot and the backs or sides of their buildings facing Regent Street and Knowledge Park Drive.

Fash said the shopping centre was designed with high-end building materials and more landscaping within the shopping centre than is typical of a lot of similar centres in Eastern Canada.

"It's come together quite well. It's still early on in the process, but again, all in all, it's coming along well," Fash said.

The mall is encircled by a walking path system designed to promote pedestrian movement around the site and eventually to interconnect with Knowledge Park buildings, which house information-technology firms, and ultimately, the University of New Brunswick campus.

City development services director Frank Flanagan said the developers went to great pains to ensure that landscaping was done both in front and in back of buildings, and they've done a commendable job.

"It really doesn't look like the back end of a shopping centre.

"They've created an esthetically pleasing development," Flanagan said.

("Corbett Centre in talks with more retailers" (http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/454808), Daily Gleaner, 21 Oct 08)

Probably the best time to assess the aesthetics of a building is when cold, crappy weather makes things like that all the more important. Like a wintery day like today:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/3185777239_502beaa868_o.jpg

Though making the buildings encircle the lot theoretically mean Regent St and Knowledge Pk Dr have a "streetscape" instead of open carpark, it's still the ass-end of the buildings: nothing's accessible from the street side.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3185776905_515d708362_o.jpg

And the long, unbroken buildings don't help: it deliberately makes walking to Corbett Centre from Regent Mall or UNB campus more difficult. It mentions a "walking path system" - but what would've really been effective is designing the place like an actual Downtown: walkable blocks with buildings that properly face the street.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/3185775851_4a5cb97dba_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3185776621_81b0091524_o.jpg

The central parking lot concept is a bad idea - it provides a poor centrepiece for the project (ooh, asphalt), and the massiveness of the lot overpowers whatever effort was made into using "high-end building materials" on the structures, and overwhelms the scale of the one-story storefronts. It would've been better to break up the parking into smaller lots, which would be better "absorbed" by landscaping and blocks of buildings.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/3186617362_22c900b6eb_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3488/3185775309_0257a8a294_o.jpg

Though the materials may be "high-end", the design is poor. Yes, there's bricks and boomtown double-height false fronts, but they're still boxes. The awnings provide no shelter from sun, rain or snow for anyone who would walk between stores. And while all the big signage along the top of the buildings is easy to see across that sea of parking lot, they're too high to be useful if you're on foot and try to window shop.

Suburban, isolated malls like this have already been done across the country, and other cities have already long realised how design like this is bad planning. I snuck into a City of Ottawa planning forum (http://caveatdoctor.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/high-density-doesnt-mean-high-rise/), and they actively identify single-use, stand-alone big-box strips like these as poor design:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2598024693_3f8e69f2ab_o.jpg

Admittedly, car-centric malls are convenient for many, but there are better ways to pull it off than what they did at Corbett Centre. For example, another proposal (from that Ottawa forum) breaks up the parking lot in two, and makes the centrepiece of the mall an actual street, instead of parking:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2598857370_d5735a8abc_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/2598025057_0f8b60a5ac_o.jpg

The parking lots face the /back/ entrance to the stores - that way, you can have proper streetscapes with the front doors

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/2598857336_16f7b11233_o.jpg

with plain old sidewalks that make "walking path systems" unnecessary

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2598857174_d842de7f04_o.jpg

It's sad that what the rest of Canada already recognises as mistakes, passes for "new" in Fredericton. Anyway. We do have some new restaurants now, a new Indian option (pretty good, and faster and more reasonably-priced than Chez Riz), a Montana's, and, yes, an East Side Mario's to call our own

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/3186617080_2ebccae5a6_o.jpg

"A taste of Little Italy" - not of actual Italy, but of New World "Little Italy".

BradMacD

Jan 11, 2009, 9:59 PM

[sigh]
oh fredericton.
will you ever learn.

mylesmalley

Jan 11, 2009, 10:53 PM

[sigh]
oh fredericton.
will you ever learn.

lol 'Smart City'.

But seriously. As much as I _HATE_ suburban sprawl, and agree that there are much better options than the strip mall approach of the Corbett Centre, it's not as bad as it could be. Two Nations Crossing on the North Side, is a much better example of good land ruined by asphalt and warehouse-stores.

My only real concern is that Freddy Beach is setting itself up to be in the same situation north-west Moncton is in. The city seems content to put all the major traffic draws in the city in one spot. Regent has bad enough traffic as it is, but putting up even more malls without improving flow somehow is only going to lead to longer waits. Just look at the zoo the Trinity, and Wheeler Park power centres, Northwest Centre, Loundsbury Plaza, Mapleton Lifestyle Mall, Coop strip mall etc have created in recent years because of their proximity to each other.

-----

Because it's university land, this isn't really an option, but I'd really love to see the city capitalize on the Woodlot and create a sort of Urban buffer to slow down the outward growth of the city.

Architype

Jan 12, 2009, 12:30 AM

Here's an article about the hazards of drive throughs in N.B.

Drive-thru moratorium debate brewing in N.B. cities

Last Updated: Friday, January 9, 2009 | 9:13 AM NT Comments92Recommend58CBC News

The idea of clamping down on drive-thrus that is filtering through a Newfoundland and Labrador city council is causing a full-bodied debate to percolate in New Brunswick.

The city council in St. John's, N.L., has ordered a moratorium on new drive-thru applications. It's concerned that long lineups at some coffee shops are causing traffic and safety hazards.

In New Brunswick, the idea of imposing a similar moratorium is getting mixed reactions.

David Kelly, a Fredericton city councillor, has long raised concerns about drive-thrus in the New Brunswick capital city.

In particular, he said he is concerned about the Tim Hortons location at King and Regent streets, which is one of the busiest intersections in Fredericton and just steps from the legislative assembly and the main building housing provincial bureaucrats.

He said he supports the motion of St. John's council and would like to see other municipalities follow suit.

"Yes, I would like to see municipalities all across Atlantic Canada have something implemented and make sure that we're all sort of on the same book here when it comes to dealing with drive-thrus," he said.

"If they're causing problems with [traffic] congestion ... and safety and pedestrian [traffic], then they have to be dealt with and considered."

More pressing matters

In Saint John, Paul Groody, the city's commissioner of municipal operations, believes the city has other, more pressing matters to deal with first.

However, Groody said it probably won't be long before Saint John council will have to make a decision about drive-thrus, too.

Until that time, coffee drinkers like Tanya James will continue to brave the long lineups in Saint John.

James goes through the Tim Hortons drive-thru on McAllister Drive in Saint John almost every day. She said it's more convenient than getting out of her car, especially when the weather is bad.

But she understands the concerns of councillors in St. John's about traffic snarls and safety.

"It is a concern because of traffic. If it was a different drive-thru than this one, sometimes you end up blocking people in traffic and it can cause accidents," she said.

"I've definitely seen accidents or I've seen people be rear-ended at drive-thrus."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/01/09/nb-drivethru-debate.html

kirjtc2

Jan 12, 2009, 3:14 PM

Queen's Square votes down move to make neighbourhood a heritage preservation area
Published Monday January 12th, 2009
Properties | City hall plans to take its pitch to individual homeowners
A3
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

A vote by property owners for heritage designation in the Queen's Square neighbourhood didn't pass.

But that doesn't mean individual property owners can't apply for the designation.

Coun. Dan Keenan, chairman of the city's development committee, said there was a good turnout for the vote, but a 65 per cent voting majority was needed.

"City council was very impressed that two-thirds of the property owners surveyed took the time to respond," Keenan said.

"While (the properties in question) will not be designated in their entirety, there is still an opportunity for individual property owners (in the Queen's Square neighbourhood) to seek heritage designation."

The designation is part of the Queen's Square Heritage Study released in October.

The study included about 10 blocks in Fredericton's east end - the areas bounded by Regent, George, Church and McLeod streets.

It includes about 250 buildings, which are mainly residential and comprised of single detached houses or small apartment complexes.

Juan Estepa, the city's manager of heritage and cultural affairs, said the failed vote doesn't mean that the opportunity for designation has ended.

He will be contacting property owners in the Queen's Square area who voted in favour of the designation to see if they want to assign their individual property with the heritage title.

"Being designated a heritage property simply means its history, structural integrity and rich architecture will be protected from future development," Estepa said.

"To do any renovations or make changes to the outside of a property that's been designated a heritage building would require special permission from a committee."

The decision to include individual properties under heritage designation will proceed to the legal adoption phase, as required under the Municipal Heritage Preservation Act, once property owners decide if they want to be included or not.

The eligible properties will then become part of the Ste. Anne's Point Heritage Preservation Area.

cl812

Jan 13, 2009, 12:25 PM

Costco development to get hearing Jan. 26
Published Tuesday January 13th, 2009
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

Supporters and opponents of a Costco store development at the University of New Brunswick's Corbett Centre on Regent Street will get their chance to square off when a public hearing of objections is held Jan. 26.

City council received the report of the city's planning advisory committee Monday, which recommends approval of the project and the creation of a building lot for the popular bulk grocery and household products store.

The city has to amend its municipal plan to allow UNB to change the proposed Costco lot from a conservation site to a development property.

That's going to attract objections from conservation groups opposed to the retail development on the site and future retail, housing and office projects that would rob the city of more wetland.

The provincial Environment Department would have to sign off on the project with environmental and watershed alteration permits before the development could go ahead.

The city's zoning process is running parallel to that aspect of the development.

Costco has signed a letter of intent with UNB to develop one of its stores here. Its Moncton store has been luring Fredericton shoppers.

In Saint John, the city is waiting for a revised building permit from Costco that, once approved, is the last step before construction begins on the big-box retailer's Saint John store.

mylesmalley

Jan 13, 2009, 9:18 PM

kwajo

Jan 13, 2009, 10:04 PM

Costco development to get hearing Jan. 26
Published Tuesday January 13th, 2009

A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Supporters and opponents of a Costco store development at the University of New Brunswick's Corbett Centre on Regent Street will get their chance to square off when a public hearing of objections is held Jan. 26.

City council received the report of the city's planning advisory committee Monday, which recommends approval of the project and the creation of a building lot for the popular bulk grocery and household products store.

The city has to amend its municipal plan to allow UNB to change the proposed Costco lot from a conservation site to a development property.

That's going to attract objections from conservation groups opposed to the retail development on the site and future retail, housing and office projects that would rob the city of more wetland.

The provincial Environment Department would have to sign off on the project with environmental and watershed alteration permits before the development could go ahead.

The city's zoning process is running parallel to that aspect of the development.

Costco has signed a letter of intent with UNB to develop one of its stores here. Its Moncton store has been luring Fredericton shoppers.

In Saint John, the city is waiting for a revised building permit from Costco that, once approved, is the last step before construction begins on the big-box retailer's Saint John store.

___________________________
I am really opposed to this development for a few reasons.
1) I hate suburban development
2) Regent is busy enough as it is. With no plans on improving traffic flow, I dont' really support any more major development along it.
3) This is a terrible waste of that land. There are tonnes of places in town that could be suitable, and that wouldn't involve the filling in of marsh land. Hell, put it on Kilarney Road across from Brookside Mall, or out at Two Nations Crossing.

Costco development to get hearing Jan. 26
Published Tuesday January 13th, 2009
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

Supporters and opponents of a Costco store development at the University of New Brunswick's Corbett Centre on Regent Street will get their chance to square off when a public hearing of objections is held Jan. 26.

City council received the report of the city's planning advisory committee Monday, which recommends approval of the project and the creation of a building lot for the popular bulk grocery and household products store.

The city has to amend its municipal plan to allow UNB to change the proposed Costco lot from a conservation site to a development property.

That's going to attract objections from conservation groups opposed to the retail development on the site and future retail, housing and office projects that would rob the city of more wetland.

The provincial Environment Department would have to sign off on the project with environmental and watershed alteration permits before the development could go ahead.

The city's zoning process is running parallel to that aspect of the development.

Costco has signed a letter of intent with UNB to develop one of its stores here. Its Moncton store has been luring Fredericton shoppers.

In Saint John, the city is waiting for a revised building permit from Costco that, once approved, is the last step before construction begins on the big-box retailer's Saint John store.

I think I've got deja vu...

mylesmalley

Jan 13, 2009, 10:11 PM

oy. my bad.
my points stay the same though.

....and mine had green in the title!

kwajo

Jan 13, 2009, 10:12 PM

Don't apologize, I felt like I was Bill Murray for a minute there. Nothing wrong with that! :cool:

mylesmalley

Jan 13, 2009, 10:22 PM

Don't apologize, I felt like I was Bill Murray for a minute there. Nothing wrong with that! :cool:

It isn't quite the 2nd yet.
I'm always a little freaked out when I hear 'I Got You Babe...'

Lamespotting

Jan 14, 2009, 2:41 AM

I am really opposed to this development for a few reasons.
1) I hate suburban development
2) Regent is busy enough as it is. With no plans on improving traffic flow, I dont' really support any more major development along it.
3) This is a terrible waste of that land. There are tonnes of places in town that could be suitable, and that wouldn't involve the filling in of marsh land. Hell, put it on Kilarney Road across from Brookside Mall, or out at Two Nations Crossing.

Respectfully, I disagree:
1) I don't think that I would call that suburban. It isn't the downtown core, but it isn't in New Maryland.
2) No matter where you put it, you'll have traffic problems. Costcos cause traffic. Remember that in Fredericton, they only think about road improvements after the fact. At least they now have Knowledge Park Dr. going all the way to Kimble. That will save a lot of congestion for people coming from the east. If you were to put it on the North side you would add to the congestion on the bridges as the out-of-towners would have to come from the TCH.
3) That marsh land isn't environmentally sensitive or significant, however, a Costco would fit in with the rest of the neighbourhood. I can't think of anywhere else where it would have less of a negative impact.

Personally, I can't wait for it to come as I'm tired of having to drive to Moncton for shopping.

cl812

Jan 14, 2009, 3:40 AM

Respectfully, I disagree:
3) That marsh land isn't environmentally sensitive or significant, however, a Costco would fit in with the rest of the neighbourhood. I can't think of anywhere else where it would have less of a negative impact.

Personally, I can't wait for it to come as I'm tired of having to drive to Moncton for shopping.

Apparently that wetland inst naturally occurrig either, I guess it formed in the 80's when Regent Street was upgraded and it just acts as a detenion area for run off. I think they will be replacing it with a detention pond with green space to act as a buffer.

It will be great when Costco opens, I wonder if gas will be cheaper at the Costco Gas bar.

Lamespotting

Jan 14, 2009, 5:21 PM

They have the newest renders of the conference centre project up at the city's web site:

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/resources/confcen539.jpg

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/resources/officecomplex303.jpg

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/2007Aug23ConfCentProject.asp

mylesmalley

Jan 14, 2009, 5:50 PM

I enjoyed your blog post about Fredericton road oddities, Lamespotting.
The only thing I would add is the ridiculous 5-way intersection at Brunswick/King/Smythe. I'm always afraid to go downtown from the Delta because I never know which lane goes in what direction.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on Costco though!

kirjtc2

Jan 14, 2009, 6:43 PM

The intersection at Queen/Brunswick/University/Waterloo Row is hard to get your mind around too at first. Probably can't help that there's a giant overpass in the way. :p

Nice blog....sums up a lot of things I think about this city....and finally someone other than me has noticed the "LLBO" on the Asia Beef Noodle sign. (The owners lived in Toronto before they came here, so I presume they just didn't know what it stood for and thought it was just an abbreviation for "licensed".)

As for Costco....I wonder if putting it on, say, the west end of Bishop Drive (or maybe even further out Hanwell Road) would eliminate some of the environmental concerns, even if it would mean yet another traffic nightmare.

Lamespotting

Jan 15, 2009, 2:30 AM

Thanks Myles!

I'll admit that both ends of King St. are confusing, but I think a few signs would solve that problem. Most of the intersections are either unsigned, or the signs are so small you don't know what street your crossing until you're already at the stop line.

cl812

Jan 15, 2009, 12:27 PM

Wanted: More office space
Published Thursday January 15th, 2009
Vacancy | City has lowest rate among major N.B. cities
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Enterprise Fredericton's executive director puts out the welcome mat for new business in the greater Fredericton area, but these days Doug Motty has to hang up a No Vacancy sign.

New Brunswick's capital city and its bedroom communities have a dearth of office space.

That means a new business looking for a roof over its head has a problem finding one in this region. Ditto anyone wanting to expand an existing venture.

Enterprise Fredericton's figures show that as of December with 180,000 square metres (two-million square feet) of office space in the regional marketplace - including Oromocto and New Maryland - only 5,400 square metres (60,000 square feet) was vacant. That's a vacancy rate of 2.9 per cent, the lowest in the province among major cities.

When it comes to Class A office space - the five or six-storey buildings with swanky lobbies, elevators and all the bells and whistles - the vacancy rate drops to one per cent and that, Motty conceded, is an obstacle.

"If you get down to less than one per cent, it becomes really troublesome, and the difficulty is any number of developers or landlords will have little bits of space here or there, but to try to put a significant piece of space together, whether it's 10,000 or 20,000 square feet, that becomes troublesome," Motty said.

"I think it's a symptom of our times, really. Right now to borrow money to put up a three-to-five-storey building of 50,000 to 100,000 square feet, you're looking at a considerable amount of money," he said. "In order to be able to finance that, the developers need a very high percentage of the facility pre-leased in a long-term leasing arrangement."

Fredericton developer John Kileel, whose company built the TD Tower office building at Westmorland and Queen streets, has been biding his time trying to secure the tenant base to allow him to build a twin to the office building downtown.

After two years of waiting, Kileel is 90 per cent certain he'll be applying for a building permit this spring.

From his perspective, a tight office space vacancy rate is creating the pent-up demand he needs to line up tenants and build.

The days when financial institutions would bankroll an office building on a hunch that market demand would fill the structure are long gone, Kileel said.

"You can't get financing for spec building," he said. "Years ago, the office absorption rate in the city was 30,000 to 40,000 square feet a year. It's been negligent over the last 20 and very slow takeup, which is why you haven't seen a lot of new buildings (in Fredericton) in the last 20 years, other than a government building."

Kileel said it's still the old chicken and egg scenario.

If a call centre business rolls into Fredericton, it usually wants office space within three to five months and you just can't build a structure that fast. On the other, he said, if a market is overbuilt and the economy falls on hard times, office vacancy rates skyrocket. That puts the power in the hands of tenants who can move into those markets and fill the surplus office capacity at attractive rental rates.

"It is a challenge for us in terms of attracting people to find good office space and we're not the only community that faces that challenge.''

Don Fitzgerald, executive director of Team Fredericton, the city's economic development office, said low vacancy rates can constrain the growth of firms that are already here.

"When supply becomes short, prices tend to escalate, so it's a complex system and there are varying opinions about what the correct amount of vacant space is to have, but there can be no question that today, we could benefit from new Class A office space in the city," he said.

----

City in desperate need of office space - executive
Published Thursday January 15th, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

One of the world's largest commercial real estate sales and leasing companies says Fredericton developers need to start building or else face competition from out-of-town developers.

Ian Franklin is the vice-president of commercial sales and leasing with Commercial Eastern Inc. in Moncton, which is licensed under the Cushman and Wakefield LePage trademark. He said the company's fourth quarter assessment of New Brunswick office space found that the province's capital city has the lowest vacancy rate for Class A space in the country.

And if he was going to give the city's development community a message, it would be to start loosening the purse strings and build,

"Think of ways to build stuff or outside developers are going to be in your market," Franklin said. "We're starting to see that now. Large Toronto developers are looking for other places to build, and it's just a matter of time until somebody is going to do a significant project in Fredericton."

Franklin has a Fredericton client who wants to expand but can't find the space.

"It's absolutely amazing. There is no space," Franklin said Wednesday.

"The only space downtown, and I'm talking Queen and King streets, the only space I could find of over 3,500-square-feet was in the Towne Centre."

Dribs and drabs of space can be found here or there, but clients who want a lot of room, particularly in what is dubbed Class A office space, will be out of luck. Class A space comes with extra amenities such as a foyer, elevators and features demanded by white-collar companies.

The city has a 1.05 per cent Class A vacancy rate. The average vacancy rate for all classes of office space in Fredericton is 2.62 per cent.

Compare that with Moncton, where there's a 9.9 per cent vacancy rate, and Saint John has a 5.1 per cent vacancy rate.

"We're really expecting some significant growth in Saint John and in Moncton as well, but we're a little looser right now. They've got a lot going on here and there's a fair bit of product here," Franklin said.

"There's been no product in Fredericton. There's been nothing built other than Knowledge Park ... and those buildings are only 30,000 square foot each, so they're not big buildings. There hasn't been a significant project in downtown Fredericton for a long time, so all the product has just dried up," he said.

"It's prime for a new developer in Fredericton because the rental rates in Fredericton are significantly higher than Moncton or Saint John," Franklin said.

Developer John Kileel, who hopes to build a twin to his TD office building in Fredericton, is concerned about overbuilding.

While Kileel hopes to launch his downtown office project this spring, he's keeping an eye on the city's plan to build a $75.5-million downtown convention centre and a $40-million office building it plans to lease for the next 20 years to the provincial government.

"A lot of it is going to depend on what the city and the province end up doing as well. If the province, depending on what their plans are for the Centennial Building, it could have a very detrimental effect on the market ... There's room in the market right now for one more building, not two," he said.

Cushman and Wakefield LePage is the world's oldest commercial real estate company and the second largest.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Jan 17, 2009, 3:21 AM

Willow Valley at Kimble Crossing

http://www.colpittsdevelopments.ca/developments/images/wv_photo1sm.jpg

http://www.colpittsdevelopments.ca/developments/images/wv_photo2sm.jpg

http://www.colpittsdevelopments.ca/developments/images/willow_valley_floor_plans.jpg

http://www.colpittsdevelopments.ca/developments/images/willow_valley_floor_plans_phase_1.jpg

xxFamilyGuyxx

Jan 17, 2009, 6:23 PM

Does anybody have any idea in wich direction the camera for the Conference Centre is pointing at?

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/ConferenceCentreWebcam.asp

cl812

Jan 17, 2009, 6:53 PM

Does anybody have any idea in wich direction the camera for the Conference Centre is pointing at?

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/ConferenceCentreWebcam.asp

It looks like it is pointing towards the SW corner (along king st) at the office building side of the site

xxFamilyGuyxx

Jan 17, 2009, 7:37 PM

Yeah, could be.. but im guessing the building will be built parallel to King street, and it looks like the camera is sitting on the roof of the playhouse.
So the street to the left could very well be St john Street.

cl812

Jan 20, 2009, 8:35 PM

Final 2008 Development Figures Shatter Previous Record

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/resources/2008devstatsfinalENG303.jpg

Fredericton (January 20, 2009) - Fourth-quarter development figures confirmed Fredericton enjoyed its best-ever year of construction in 2008.

The total value of construction projects issued building permits by the City during the past year totalled $157,123,584, eclipsing the previous record set in 2007 by $37.5 million.

"We have known for some time that 2008 would be another record year," said Dan Keenan, Chair of the City's Development Committee. "Developers have confidence in the Fredericton economy and we look forward with cautious optimism to 2009 despite the gloomy outlook in the world economy."

The value of government and institutional construction, at $61.3 million pushed the City to record heights in 2008. The value for 2007 was a respectable $13.6 million.

Residential construction, particularly the $28.9 million worth of new single-unit homes, contributed $57.2 million toward the 2008 record-setting total. The average permit value of a single detached home in the city in 2008 was $174,340, almost double what is was in 1998. There were 292 lots cleared for housing in 2008, compared to 191 in 2007.

Commercial construction came in at $21.5 million, down from the record-setting $42.6 million in 2007 but still the second best year on record.

Industrial construction added another $3.4 million.

from City Website:
http://www.fredericton.ca/en/citygovernment/2009Jan20FinalDevStats.asp

cl812

Jan 23, 2009, 3:35 AM

Fredericton in the running again
Published Thursday January 22nd, 2009
Hey, smartie pants | City in Top Seven
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside believes being in the running for the title of the world's most intelligent city for the second year in a row can only play in the community's favour.

"I really do think we have a good shot at it," said Woodside, who was on-hand when the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year were announced Wednesday in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"I'm just absolutely thrilled to once again be in the Top Seven," Woodside said. "I'm convinced that this is attainable."

The Intelligent Community of the Year award is presented to a community with a strategy for generating prosperity and increasing inclusion using broadband and information technology to attract leading-edge businesses, create jobs, improve skills, drive economic growth and improve the delivery of government services.

Fredericton isn't the only New Brunswick city vying for the title.

Moncton was also named to the shortlist released by the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York-based think tank dedicated to growing the broadband economy.

Woodside said the hub city's success in joining Fredericton on the Top Seven list shows the potential in this region.

"When you think about the fact that two are from the same province in Eastern Canada, that is an incredible accomplishment,'' he said.

It's also one Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne, the MLA for Fredericton-Lincoln, will be touting.

"It was impressive when both Fredericton and Moncton made the Top 21, but it's unbelievable they both made the Top Seven,'' said Byrne. "This is great news ... What a message this sends to the world.

"It's a great opportunity to sell New Brunswick. It's going to make companies around the world take notice."

Don Fitzgerald, executive director of Team Fredericton, the city's economic development agency, said he's preparing the next phase of the city's efforts to earn the top spot.

"It's really, really flattering that we have been picked two years in a row," he said. "All 21 communities had strong stories."

And stories are at the root of Fredericton's efforts to earn the top title this year, Fitzgerald said.

Fredericton took a different approach on its effort this time around. The city - which made the Top 21 list in its first attempt in 2006 - put more emphasis on getting partners to tell their stories of success because of access to broadband.

"This time, we also had other people tell the story about things that have been happening across the community. It wasn't just from the municipal side of things," Fitzgerald said.

The University of New Brunswick, for example, focused on how its use of broadband for engineering and land surveying fostered the cluster of the geomatics sector in Fredericton with offshoot companies whose expertise are in high demand.

"I think our decision to tell the broadest community story that we could was a good one, and I think it is really about the community, not just one component."

Anthony Knight, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, said the consistent level of recognition Fredericton has earned each time it has entered the competition shows the community has something worth celebrating.

"It really proves we are a leader in our application of broadband," said Knight on Wednesday night.

Being on the shortlist for the second consecutive year bodes well for the community's chances when the title is announced, he said.

"Other communities have been on the list for multiple years before receiving the award."

He offered kudos to Moncton, before adding "now the real work begins."

Rounding out this year's Top Seven list are Bristol, Va.; Eindhoven, Netherlands; Issy-les-Moulineaux, France; Stockholm, Sweden; and Tallinn, Estonia.

Judges from the Intelligent Community Forum are looking for the development and expansion of broadband networks and efforts to educate citizens of all ages on the use of computers and the Internet.

They will also be looking at how government services are being made accessible online.

kirjtc2

Jan 23, 2009, 5:00 PM

City to get new high-tech school
Published Friday January 23rd, 2009
Fredericton | Two older schools will be closed once new facility is opened
A1
By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
dunville.jennifer@dailygleaner.com

The government of New Brunswick has formed a partnership with Microsoft Canada that will mean two new schools for the province, including one to replace Alexander Gibson Memorial School and South Devon Elementary.

Premier Shawn Graham, Education Minister Kelly Lamrock and representatives from Microsoft Canada signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday.

It outlines plans to work together to create the two innovative schools; share best teaching practices through technology; and train new educators to use technology and innovative teaching in classrooms.

"The government of New Brunswick is a leader in recognizing how technology can engage students and expand their horizons," said Mike Parkhill, a spokesman for Microsoft Canada's academic sector.

"This announcement demonstrates both parties' strong belief in increasing access to technology to empower teachers, enrich instruction and enhance learning."

The Fredericton school will be located on the north side, near the intersection of Two Nations Crossing and Cliffe Street.

The other school will be built in Balmoral, near Dalhousie.

Lamrock said it will take a few years to build the schools.

"We need a year to do the planning, and then comes the big part where (the school) gets built," Lamrock said.

"We're starting right now with the educational specs. Obviously, I can't announce capital budgets, but that should give an idea of (when) government is looking (to have it built)."

The new northside school will replace the 83-year-old Alexander Gibson Memorial School in Marysville and South Devon Elementary School, where enrolment continues to decline.

The older schools will be closed and the student populations combined.

Consultation with the two communities last year about the need for a new school set the cost for the building at about $7 million.

"In an innovative school, classrooms don't tend to be walled in because they tend to have more breakout spaces and conference tables with books, resources and computers all throughout the school," Lamrock said. "The very way an innovative school is constructed dictates that the learning there is more active than in a traditional school."

The new schools will serve as training centres for other teachers and may involve partnerships with businesses and educational institutions.

"The new schools will be teaching schools," Lamrock said. "Bachelor of education students, for example, could go there to learn the very best and most cutting-edge practices in education."

Keeping up with technology is a major challenge for school districts.

But District 18 Supt. Alex Dingwall said the Microsoft partnership will help change that.

"For that reason, we're very excited that Microsoft will be tied into the new school," Dingwall said.

"This partnership enhances and continues on with the many innovative things we're already doing. Having a new partnership like this should really help us for at least the next five years."

Besides the construction of the schools, the agreement with Microsoft Canada will include New Brunswick teachers in the company's Partners in Learning program.

This means local teachers will have access to online professional development tools, a web portal to share best teaching practices with teachers around the world, and software and ideas to enrich student projects in the classrooms.

Heather Touchie-Blakely, a Grade 8 teacher at Nashwaaksis Middle School, said the partnership with Microsoft brings endless possibilities for using technology to keep students passionate about learning.

Touchie-Blakely is using technology in her classroom to enrich her students' literacy projects by connecting them online to a school in Mumbai, India.

"When we do use technology the students are more engaged and excited to do their projects," Touchie-Blakely said.

"They come in on their lunch hour to do extra work to make their projects even better. They take more of an interest in learning and teaching each other."

Ben Cripps, 13, is one of the students conversing online with children in India.

He's writing in French to students in Mumbai about Canadian culture.

"Technology makes things more interesting because it can help you work with information, people and places that you might not be able to talk to or learn about without it," Cripps said.

"It makes it easier to learn and makes things like projects and stuff more fun, so I'm really glad that Microsoft is going to help us do more of this kind of thing."

--------------------------

Teamwork might solve office-space crisis - Keenan
Published Friday January 23rd, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The chairman of Fredericton's development committee says it may be time for the local development community to look at joint projects to address a shortage of prime office space in the capital city.

Coun. Dan Keenan said Fredericton has a lot of reasons to generate financial and investor confidence in new office construction.

Retail growth and sales per capita in the city are among the highest in Atlantic Canada, Keenan said.

The city has a growing population and in 2008 posted a record-breaking development year worth $157 million.

But there's opportunity for builders to create more office space, especially in the Class A space, the five- or six-storey buildings with plush lobbies, elevators and all the amenities required by tenants seeking upscale locations.

"Class A is less than one per cent vacancy rate at the current time and that's a situation that's of great concern to us," Keenan said this week.

The overall office vacancy rate in Fredericton of 2.9 per cent is the lowest in the province and among the lowest in the country.

"When companies want to come in and locate in your community, they want to be able to come in within a four- to five- to six-month period. They don't want to wait two to three years to find that space," Keenan said. "I think our developers have done a great job over the years of identifying opportunity, and I think if there's any message for council to send, it's that the opportunity is there.

"We need our development community to step up and take hold of that opportunity and provide the space that we need to grow. As we've already heard, there are companies already looking for space in our city and we need to have that available to them."

Local developer John Kileel, whose company built the TD tower office building at Westmorland and Queen streets, is hoping to start construction this spring on a twin to the downtown building.

Kileel has said the days when a banker would write a cheque to a developer to put up a building on speculation and try to lease it after it was built are long gone. Financial institutions require pre-leasing, he said.

Keenan acknowledged that dilemma.

"It's tough from their perspective and from a financing perspective. Lenders should have some confidence in our economy and in our community to get those buildings started," Keenan said.

"But there are things like having various developers come together and do a joint initiative on buildings. Some ideas like that would help to provide some office space that we desperately need in our city over the next few years."

Constructing additional space now will pay off, Keenan said.

"We will grow into it," he said.

cl812

Jan 26, 2009, 1:37 PM

City councillors to decide fate of northside truck route tonight
Published Monday January 26th, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The third and final reading of a bylaw to remove a northside trucking route comes before city council tonight.

Councillors will decide whether to remove a designated truck route from Main and Union streets, in the area from Douglas Avenue to St. Mary's Street.

The city's engineering and public works department recently did work to upgrade intersections along Union Street near Cliffe Street. The department's staff said that's made it easier for truck drivers to access Ring Road and they won't need to travel down the main commercial area of the north side.

The public presentation of a municipal plan amendment, rezoning and subdivision to create a location for a Costco store at Corbett Centre on Regent Street also comes before council tonight.

The time for public comment and discussion on what's likely to be a controversial rezoning will be in April. Environmental groups have already signalled their displeasure at seeing another portion of University of New Brunswick-owned wetland set aside for infilling.

Council will consider tenders for the purchase of two 2009 snowmobiles for the fleet division.

Councillors will also receive a report on the Restart A Heart program. The city has received an automatic external defibrillator, which will be located at city hall and available for medical emergencies. City hall staff members will be trained in its use.

It's part of a campaign to locate the medical gear in prominent public places. Time is critical in helping to save the life of a person who experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

Willie O'Ree Place has similar equipment available and staff members there have been trained on its use.

cl812

Jan 27, 2009, 5:39 PM

Partners join forces for pool project
Published Tuesday January 27th, 2009
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Instead of a government, two universities and a YMCA asking for federal financing for three separate indoor swimming pools in Fredericton, the groups are going to team up on one proposal.

In a joint news release issued by city hall, the YMCA, the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, the four parties say they will work together to develop infrastructure and programs in Fredericton.

"At the heart of the partnership is a plan for a new community aquatic centre that would service individuals of all ages, and that would be significantly enhanced through a long-term partnership among the four organizations," said the news release.

The need for a second new indoor pool was mentioned in a recently completed, city-commissioned recreation master plan.

UNB has its own indoor swimming pool, but the facility is aging, as is the indoor swimming pool at the downtown YMCA on Saunders Street. STU doesn't have its own pool or arena.

The city runs the only other public indoor pool as part of the Nashwaaksis Middle School complex on the north side.

So where would a new jointly funded indoor aquatic centre be located?

That hasn't yet been haggled out behind closed doors, but there are potential sites.

Fredericton has leased a chunk of land from UNB for the Grant * Harvey Centre, and there's sufficient university land surrounding it for an indoor pool.

Albert Street School, which will be vacated once the new $12.5-million Bliss Carman Elementary School opens in September, has a chunk of vacant play area, but not much parking. The province has offered to sell Albert Street School to the YMCA for $1. The YMCA would be responsible for either fixing it up or tearing it down.

UNB, meanwhile, is constructing the Richard J. Currie Centre for wellness and has to think about how to renovate its Aitken University Centre hockey rink, although space on campus is at a premium.

All four partners have set aside funding for their respective projects - $64 million - but they still need $61 million to bring their wish lists to reality.

The most expensive element of the varied projects is the completion of the wellness centre at UNB, says a source working on the joint effort.

The partnership hasn't emerged overnight, but has been quietly evolving over the past three years as the groups have worked behind the scenes, said the source.

"We are getting together as a community and putting this case forward to other levels of government. We think that we can provide services to the greater Fredericton area at the least amount of cost by doing this, so there's no duplication," said Mayor Brad Woodside.

Fredericton YMCA president Karina LeBlanc said if the group can attract federal government support in the community, it would create an immediate economic stimulus and establish a new way of solving problems as a community.

"We have built a transportable model that could serve as an example to other parts of Atlantic Canada and beyond that are experiencing poor rates of physical activity. (This model will lead) to improved health and, therefore, much lower health-care costs down the road," said UNB president John McLaughlin.

"We are pleased to contribute to an initiative that has the potential to transform the health and wellness of our region," said STU president Michael Higgins.

The community wellness partnership will host public sessions in the coming weeks to share further information and community feedback.

Woodside said New Brunswick is one of the most obese provinces in Canada and has the highest level of adult physical inactivity.

"Perhaps most alarming is that nearly 30 per cent of youth aged 12 to 17 in greater Fredericton are overweight or obese."

------

Clock ticking to object to Costco project
Published Tuesday January 27th, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Is it important enough to shop at Costco to fill in part of the University of New Brunswick's wetland?

Now is the time to have your say.

While city council will hold a formal public hearing of objections session later this spring when it votes to approve a rezoning bylaw, its procedural clock has started to tick.

At Monday night's city council meeting, a bylaw was presented to redesignate property at 1600 and 1650 Regent St. from UNB endowment conservation land to endowment development land, and then to do another rezoning to allow its development for the wholesale, bulk shopping store.

The purpose of debuting the bylaw at a formal council meeting is to advise the public that it's now available at the city clerk's office at city hall for examination and written objections may be submitted within the next 30 days.

Environmental groups in Fredericton have already protested UNB's decision to lease land at Knowledge Park Drive and Regent Street for a shopping area that includes restaurants, Winner's, Michael's Arts and Crafts, a pet store and Home Depot among the collection of retailers.

Much of the land at the end of the UNB woodlot is a marsh and conservation groups have decried the loss of wetland for a shopping centre.

UNB has countered that much of its land holdings will remain undeveloped in perpetuity, but that it needs the revenue from land leases to help bolster its coffers and help it meet the school's operating costs.

After the 30 days, council will schedule a hearing of objections and first reading of the bylaw at a council session.

Two weeks later, it gives second and final reading to the bylaw if councillors decide to support it.

That will likely take place in early April.

mylesmalley

Jan 30, 2009, 12:52 PM

Proposed bylaw change sets stage for Costco debate in Fredericton
Last Updated: Thursday, January 29, 2009 | 3:41 PM AT

CBC News
Fredericton's city council held a special session on Thursday to introduce a bylaw that could eventually allow a Costco outlet to be built in the University of New Brunswick woodlot area.

Councillors thought they had officially introduced the bylaw on Monday night but it turns out a map that was part of the package was not the correct one.

Another procedural vote was held on Thursday and that will start what is likely to be a contentious process.

As of Feb. 9, the public will have 30 days to review the bylaw and file their objections.

Development of UNB's endowment land has been controversial. Environmentalists have been outraged to see wetlands replaced by Corbett Centre, a retail development site.

The news that the site might expand further to include a Costco outlet will mean a barrage of opposition.

Dan Keenan, the chairman of the city's development committee, said the council expects a lot of concern to be expressed in the next few months.

He said members of the public can also appear before council on April 14 when first reading of the bylaw change will be held.

"And that is probably the key date. The general public has the opportunity to come to council and present their views regarding the proposed rezoning and municipal plan amendment," Keenan said.

Keenan said council will then review both the written and oral arguments for and against the Costco bylaw.

The final vote on whether the changes are accepted will likely come at the regular meeting on April 20.

____________
Some of the comments make some good points. Namely, can Freddy Beach even handle another huge box store? I haven't been there many times, but I've never seen the new WalMart or Home Depot's busy.

Lamespotting

Jan 30, 2009, 1:42 PM

Some of the comments make some good points. Namely, can Freddy Beach even handle another huge box store? I haven't been there many times, but I've never seen the new WalMart or Home Depot's busy.

Of course they will fail, there's only so much money to go around. The reason you see the Home Depot empty is because it sucks. Most of the staff are poorly trained and generally unhelpful. They have also changed their focus from being a hardware store to a "home decor" store. Kent have really turned themselves around in the past few years, they are actually a much better place to shop.

cl812

Jan 30, 2009, 3:11 PM

The northside Walmart is relatively busy now, not near as bad as the southside location, but business seems to have picked up a bit there, more so than when it first opened atleast. The northside kent seems to be dead most of the time though, im not sure 2 kent stores are necessary in Fredericton, i didnt think the southside location was ever that busy.

I think Costco will be different though, where it is a slightly different type of store, and there are alot of people in Fredericton who travel to Moncton regularily to go to Costco. I think it will do fine.

cl812

Jan 30, 2009, 3:17 PM

same story form the Gleaner

City resets clock on Costco rezoning
Published Friday January 30th, 2009
Pro and con | Residents have until March 11 to get letters to the city clerk
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Supporters and opponents of a Costco rezoning have extra time to file letters or e-mails to the city expressing their opinion on a rezoning and municipal plan amendment to allow the project to move forward.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=240827&size=500x0
COSTCO SITE: This concept plan from Terrain Group of Moncton, prepared in 2005, shows the location of a proposed Costco in Fredericton. While some of the retail locations shown on the map have changed since 2005, as additional retailers have joined the Corbett Centre retail area on Regent Street, the location of Costco near Home Depot remains as originally proposed. A dotted line shows the Costco development in relation to the University of New Brunswick wetland.

In order to correct a minor error in a city zoning map attached to a resolution presented at Monday's city council meeting, Mayor Brad Woodside convened a special meeting of city council Thursday to reapprove the resolution.

City councillors passed a revised council resolution Thursday to authorize preparation of a bylaw and set Feb. 9 as the date for public presentation of the bylaw.

Public presentation isn't the same as a public hearing of objections, said city clerk Pam Hargrove at the Thursday council meeting.

"On Feb. 9, I will read and publicly present the bylaw that will amend the municipal plan," Hargrove said.

After that, she said, the clock starts ticking on the 30-day limit to submit objections or comments to the municipal plan amendment.

Written comments have to be in the hands of the city clerk by March 11.

On March 23, city council will follow another step in the procedure, which is to amend the city's zoning bylaw. When that procedural process is started, additional time is given to submit comments pro or con on the change to the Zoning Bylaw.

On March 24, a public notice will be published in The Daily Gleaner explaining that both the municipal plan and zoning bylaw amendments will be coming to city council April 14 for a hearing of objections and for first and second reading. Additional public comments may be submitted to the city clerk's office up until 4 p.m. April 14.

While city council normally meets on Mondays, the Easter Monday holiday means that councillors move their meeting to the next business day - April 14.

City councillors routinely pass all bylaws to second reading and then reserve the right to obtain staff advice and weigh public opinion before they make their final decision on a project on third and final reading. That date will be April 27.

Costco and the University of New Brunswick signed a letter of intent confirming the wholesale shopping club's interest in locating at the Corbett Centre property owned by the university.

Costco's Moncton location draws fans of the store from Fredericton and Saint John. Costco is considering a Saint John location and the zoning process is underway in that city.

Citizens who support the protection of the UNB watershed are gearing up to oppose the Fredericton Costco project. The land for the store will encroach on a back corner of the watershed.

UNB must seek provincial Environment Department approval in order for its consultant to be able to prepare the site for a Costco.

That site plan i know has changed (for Costco) where they have added the gas bar and the orientation of the store has chaned as well. I think the current layout has the main store building closer to regent street and not as close to the corbett brook marsh. Hence the reason for replacing the wetland along regent street with a retention pond. The article is a bit misleading, i think the Gleaner just means Costco remains in the same relative location at the site.

cl812

Feb 3, 2009, 12:27 PM

Transit department delivers wish list
Published Tuesday February 3rd, 2009
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Building a public transit garage is one of the Top 3 priorities for Fredericton Transit, says the transit manager.

Sandy MacNeill told city councillors Monday night that almost one-third of its $11-million, 28-bus fleet is parked outside at the St. Mary's transit depot.

Weather-related delays have a significant impact on the system, MacNeill said. Buses freeze up and have to be cleaned off and warmed up before heading out on their daily routes.

MacNeill said his division will craft a request for the proposals for the design and construction of a structure to meet current and future needs and present it to city council for approval.

The ideal location for an expanded transit garage is in its current location, he said, where there's enough land available to grow the transit garage and its administrative offices. The city's transit office and garage is 30 years old.

"This will likely require a multi-stage project, dealing with the crucial storage issue first," MacNeill said.

The city has $4 million in federal Public Transit Trust funds available to stake a construction start, MacNeill said.

"That money ... was received by Fredericton to deal with capital issues that we have. This facility is our most pressing capital issue at this time," MacNeill said.

Dillon Consulting Ltd. of Ontario was hired in November 2007 to advise city council on how to grow the transit service.

In the transit master plan it wrote for the city, Dillon estimated a new transit facility will cost about $1 million, including both design and construction.

"There's a lot here for council to think about going ahead in the budget process," said Coun. Stephen Kelly, vice-chairman of the city's transportation committee.

The city has already started a transit pilot project at Two Nations Crossing as recommended in that report. The city's 2009 budget also set aside funds for bus shelter and bus-stop maintenance.

"It's a great plan. It's bang on. A lot of it is doable," Kelly said.

"We have other areas of the city that need money. Transit is now different. Council has to sit back and take a long, hard long at ensuring its transit system is strong and meets the needs and expectations we found out through the study."

Coun. Bruce Grandy, chairman of the transportation committee, wasn't at Monday's council meeting, but said in a prepared statement that city staff has responded to the transit master plan by pulling together priorities for improving the system.

Another priority for the transit service is the creation of a Regent Mall sub-terminal to facilitate access on and off the mall property and to create the prospect of new connections to the Corbett Centre and Knowledge Park Drive.

The master plan estimates it would cost about $10,000 to design a transit terminal and another $500,000 to $1 million to build it.

The city moves transit buses into the Regent Mall, but the vehicle entrance doesn't allow access from the northbound lanes on Regent Street, precluding any interlining with future routes serving Knowledge Park Drive or Bishop Drive.

"With interlining, bus routes connect and allow transfer opportunities, often reducing overall travel time for users by eliminating the need to travel to the central terminal," said MacNeill's report to city council.

Regent Mall officials have spoken with the city about maintaining strong transit access to the mall, but failing this, an alternative terminal site would be considered near Corbett Centre or Knowledge Park Drive, said the staff report handed to city council.

The third item on MacNeill's Top 3 list is $150,000 for 21/2 additional staff people to meet the need for administrative support and an evening dispatch.

There's no administrative support or operational oversight beyond business hours.

"The operation has approximately $4 million in fleet assets operating every weeknight with no supervisory or co-ordinating presence," said his report to councillors.

The transit service essentially operates with three people.

The transit master plan and MacNeill's administrative report were accepted by city council at its council-in-committee meeting.

The plan proposals have to be formally adopted at a regularly scheduled public council meeting. The proposals then follow the normal budget process, which will begin later this summer with staff proposals, finance committee review and ultimately council approval in a 2010 budget document.

-----

City not adverse to businesses sponsoring projects
Published Tuesday February 3rd, 2009
A4
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

The Moosehead Indoor Pool?

How about the Irving Aquatic Dome?

Fredericton's community services committee chairman David Kelly isn't adverse to seeing a corporate sponsor become part of a community partnership to construct a second indoor swimming pool on the city's south side.

In fact, if there's a corporation looking for a worthwhile community project, then Kelly will have the welcome mat out and kettle on for a friendly chat.

On Monday night, city council adopted a recreation master plan, although Mayor Brad Woodside cautioned that accepting its guiding principles doesn't commit the city to its funding schedule.

Prepared by dmA Planning and Management Services, the city's recreation consultant calls on the capital city to work more collaboratively and communicate better with potential partners on major recreation projects.

Consultant Wendy Donovan, who briefed council on the final report, had to pat the city on the back for taking its first major step in that direction.

Donovan commended the city's announcement of a four-way health and fitness partnership with the city committing to work alongside the Fredericton YMCA, the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University on important programs and capital projects.

All of the partners have an interest in not only completing their own pet projects, but they share a common desire - to see a new indoor pool on the south side of the city.

"I'd like to get the word out to private enterprises, corporations whether that be something like people like Irving Oil or Moosehead ... I want us to be able to do that. The city is growing. We're having more and more people ... getting active and we, as a capital city, want to do that," Kelly said Monday night.

He said if community groups have cash to bring to the table, the city should consider that. For instance, the local tennis association has nearly $250,000 set aside to put toward an indoor tennis facility, Kelly said.

"I don't want us to turn our back on that," Kelly said.

Donovan told city council that the master plan supports community partnerships and coalitions, but that the city's first focus must be to serve its taxpayers.

"It's the city's responsibility to focus on community-level recreation," she said.

Sustaining elite athletics isn't the objective as much as helping ordinary citizens of all ages find ways to become healthier and have an active social outlet and to do that in a financially and environmentally sustainable way, she said.

If the city is to embark on joint ventures or major capital projects, it needs to have a formal policy on how to fund those projects and it should undertake a feasibility study before putting shovels into the earth, Donovan said.

While the plan identifies $11 million to $12 million in future spending needs over the next decade, the mayor said the documents are a vision, but the financial viability of undertaking every project rests with council.

"It doesn't mean everything in this report is going to happen," Woodside said.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 3, 2009, 8:32 PM

City Council Receives Final Draft of Recreation Master Plan

Fredericton (February 2, 2009) - At tonight's Council-in-Committee meeting, Fredericton City Council received the final draft of the new City of Fredericton Recreation Master Plan. The document, which provides a roadmap for the provision of recreation programs, services and facilities for the next decade and beyond, will now proceed to the regular Council meeting of February 9 for formal adoption.

The Recreation Master Plan establishes the overall framework for future decisions, resource allocation, and community services that support the health, wellness and vibrancy of the City of Fredericton.

The Plan, prepared by dmA Planning & Management Services, with The Terrain Group and BDA Ltd, was completed after a year-long process involving extensive consultation with the public, key stakeholder groups and City staff.

"I'm very pleased with the quality of this Recreation Master Plan, which will serve as a guide for future decision-making on the kinds of indoor and outdoor programming and facilities that will be developed here in the coming years," said Councillor David Kelly, Chair of the City's Community Services Committee. "It is a comprehensive document that ultimately will allow residents of the greater Fredericton region to enjoy more active, healthier lifestyles."

The Master Plan recommends the City put its focus and resources on community-level programming and infrastructure development in the coming years. It also recommends the City focus on working with its partners in the community to leverage even better recreational programming, projects and facilities.

"We will continue to work with the community on enhancing accessibility for persons with disabilities and to provide services and programming for all age groups," said Coun. Kelly. "We will reach out to youth as well as the older adult population and continue to incorporate active healthy living strategies in all of our recreation initiatives."

The Master Plan calls on the City to provide additional low-to-no-cost unstructured recreational opportunities and to ensure cost is not a barrier to participation.

The report also recommends that future development include strategically located indoor and outdoor Sports Hubs that respond to large numbers of participants, in addition to Community Level Recreation Hubs that are multi-generational, multi-activity areas that support recreational and social opportunities. In addition, the plan also addresses Neighbourhood Level outdoor recreation facilities and city-wide open natural areas and green spaces.

The Master Plan provides recommended service levels for indoor as well as outdoor facilities to be used as a guide for future facility development. It calls on the City to assess the opportunity and level of community support to build a centrally-located, multi-purpose, multi-generational recreation hub in the future. In addition, the plan also identifies the need for a second indoor aquatic facility, noting that discussion should be initiated with agencies and institutions within the City regarding opportunities to collaborate and partner, and that a full feasibility study would be required prior to initiating any development.

The report also recommends the Recreation Master Plan be immediately incorporated into the City's Municipal Plan and used to guide current and future parkland assessment and accumulation.

Fredericton.ca

cl812

Feb 4, 2009, 12:33 PM

Rumours swirl about technology giant expanding in city
Published Wednesday February 4th, 2009
A6
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Speculation that Research in Motion - maker of the BlackBerry wireless device - could expand its presence in Fredericton after acquiring local company Chalk Media has business development officials excited.

"I've heard those rumours and I'm hoping they are true," said Don Fitzgerald, manager of Team Fredericton, the city's economic development agency.

Premier Shawn Graham stoked the speculation last week by suggesting RIM may have bigger plans for New Brunswick. An official at Chalk Media has said executives from Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM may be eyeing the capital as a place to expand.

The logic that saw RIM anchor itself in Waterloo, home to one of the best universities for engineering and computer science, should naturally lead it to Fredericton, Fitzgerald said.

Thanks to the University of New Brunswick's engineering and computer science programs, he said, the community would be a good fit.

Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne said the province is in contact with the company.

"We're meeting with the company right now, finding out what their needs are," Byrne said.

"They're interested, and the premier had some good discussions with (RIM co-CEO) Jim Balsillie."

Byrne said the company's international reputation would be a boon for the province.

He said Waterloo won the 2007 Intelligent Community of the Year Award and RIM is aware that Fredericton is again on a shortlist of the communities in the running for the same award.

"They recognize Fredericton has a strong base of IT industry companies," he said.

Attracting the company to the city would pay dividends because other companies and subcontractors might be drawn to cluster around the operations, Byrne said.

Tuesday marked Day 1 of the Chalk's new ownership and RIM employees were in Fredericton to meet the workers at the newly acquired company.

"It's certainly a really exciting time for Chalk and for RIM," said Susan Holt, director of human resources at Chalk Media.

A total of 44 of the company's 65 employees work at the Fredericton site. The company develops software that allows businesses to deliver training and video messages to via BlackBerry devices.

Holt couldn't discuss the talk of a possible expansion by RIM into the city.

"There's a lot of speculation, but there's no comment to be made."

... Today is Day 1 for us, so it's a little too soon to discuss that."

cl812

Feb 6, 2009, 1:31 PM

IT park to grow
Published Friday February 6th, 2009
City | Knowledge Park wants to develop 14 more buildings
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Knowledge Park officials have unveiled an ambitious plan to develop more office space to meet the future needs of the city's burgeoning technology industries.

The plan calls for the development of 14 additional buildings to serve as a base for clusters of companies in information technology, biotechnology, forestry, health care and advanced learning sectors.

It's a response to a growing need for space among those companies.

Conceptual drawings call for the addition of the buildings on land between Knowledge Park Drive and the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Complex.

The pace of development will depend on demand, but proponents are expecting things to take off.

"It's the right time and the right place for this kind of approach," said Greg Kealey, president of Knowledge Park's board of directors.

He's also provost and vice-president of research at the University of New Brunswick.

"Fredericton is home to a uniquely robust and mature technology sector," he said.

Construction of the first of those buildings could be announced in six to eight weeks.

The park, which is owned by Enterprise Fredericton, has three buildings. They were opened in 1999, 2001 and 2003, respectively.

New space for emerging tech-based industries in the city is needed. As it stands, only about two per cent of the office space at Knowledge Park is available.

That's problematic for local businesses looking to expand.

"The difficulty we face at the moment is that often people come and want space immediately, but we're always in a position where we need the people before we can build the building," said Laura O'Blenis, general manager of Knowledge Park.

In fact, one company is moving out because it needed more space than was available, Kealey said.

"Unfortunately, we lost a very good tenant, one that I was particularly attached to because it was a spinoff company from the University of New Brunswick, but we just didn't have place to accommodate them. That's Q1 Labs. They're leaving the park to go to Bishop Drive."

Many business parks and incubation centres view 15 per cent vacancy as an ideal, O'Blenis said.

In Fredericton, she said, there's only one per cent vacancy for Class A office space - the office space that includes a foyer and elevators.

That's hindering business development, she said.

The addition of 14 buildings would add 650,000 square feet of office space.

Kealey said companies that are doing research and development are key to the economy.

At UNB, $50 million in research is paid for through private funding, he said.

"Half of that is spent on the people doing the research."

Now is the time to make the investment, he said.

"Especially in times of economic uncertainty, we must plan, build and strategize so that we're equipped and ready to take advantage of long-term opportunities."

O'Blenis said it's an investment in the community's long-term economic vitality.

"The employment opportunities that they provide are gainful employment opportunities and ones that we hope future generations will be able to work at."

Mayor Brad Woodside said the plans are a clear sign Fredericton won't rest on its laurels.

Diversification of the local economy away from reliance on the civil service has been a cornerstone for years, he said.

"We're extremely motivated in what we're doing and we won't let up," the mayor said.

----

Deal to buy city market is close
Published Friday February 6th, 2009
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

A deal that would see the province acquire the Boyce Farmers Market is close, say sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

Details are still being hammered out, but a proposal is expected to be presented in the coming weeks.

"The way it would work is that the province would buy it and the city would run it," said one individual familiar with the talks.

The city, in turn, could leave the management to a third party, such as a non-profit community service group. York County Properties would remain involved for six months to help out with the transition.

"The city and the province are working out the details," the source said.

Two other individuals said details should be made public soon.

Mayor Brad Woodside has previously stated that the city would be willing to participate on a board of directors for a new organization, but considered the market a collective responsibility.

Reached Thursday, he said council hasn't received a proposal since he made those comments in September.

York County Properties said last year that it wants to divest itself of the market property to focus on providing nursing home care.

Ken McGeorge, executive director of York County Properties, deferred comment on the matter to the province.

"We are still in discussion with the province," he said Thursday. "Any announcement would have to come from the Department of Supply and Services."

Provincial legislation governing the market required the organization to give the province the first opportunity to buy the property. The province leases the property during office hours to provide parking for civil servants.

Rick Miles, the MLA for Fredericton-Silverwood who also serves as the spokesman for local government MLAs, said negotiations are ongoing.

"I'm confident something can be worked out," he said.

----

Airport soars to record year
Published Friday February 6th, 2009
A4
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Business travel, a summer connection with London, England, and winter flights to warm climes helped make 2008 the Fredericton International Airport's busiest year.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=244330&size=265x0
NEW HEIGHTS: David Innes, president and CEO of the Fredericton Airport Authority, holds up a model version of the Air Transat plane that travels between Fredericton and England. Innes says that the direct flight to England is one of the big contributors to the airport’s record year in 2008.

A total of 270,435 passengers passed through the airport last year. That's an increase of more than 10 per cent over the last two years.

The numbers are a good sign, said airport CEO David Innes.

"We're always watching our traffic, because it's a general statement on the condition of the airport and the local economy," Innes said.

The numbers help bolster the airport's case for an air link to the United States, Innes said.

"Certainly air carriers love to see a place that is growing and seeing more economic activity," he said.

Fredericton has been without a flight to the U.S. since a subcontractor to Delta Airlines ceased flights between the capital and Boston more than a year ago.

Flight traffic at the airport is also up. The Fredericton International Airport was the busiest in its class in the country in December.

"We will continue our efforts to attract another carrier consistent with our mission of always looking for ways to give our passengers more options," Innes said.

The airport has direct flights to Halifax, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, and seasonal flights to the U.K. and sun destinations.

Regular business travel remained robust, and the addition of services contributed to the record numbers, Innes said.

"Our direct, non-stop service to Ottawa completed its first 15 months with great results. It will continue to operate year-round."

"The addition of a new direct seasonal flight to London, U.K., which ran once a week from May through October, made New Brunswick more accessible to European tourists and its success has led to a second year of the service. Tickets are already being sold for the flight, which resumes on April 28."

Destinations in the Caribbean are also popular. The flights by Sunwing and Air Transat run Feb. 16 to May 4.

Airport officials have stated their case to NAV Canada, the Crown corporation responsible for flight services, that the number of flights at the airport should entitle the facility to a full-service control tower.

The airport recorded 5,804 flights in December, according to aircraft movement data published by Statistics Canada. The numbers make the airport the busiest facility served by a flight service station.

A total of 2,321 were local flights in which the aircraft remained in close proximity to the airport, often carried out during training flights.

The number of flights at the airport has been mushrooming because of flight training programs offered by the Moncton Flight College's Fredericton campus to overseas students.

The number of students at the college is growing to 180 from 160 over the next month.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 6, 2009, 7:11 PM

cl812

Feb 6, 2009, 8:07 PM

14 buildngs? I don't think there is enough space there for 14 buildings.
Why not just build 2 or 3 buildings with more floors.. wouldn't that make more sence then having 14 buildings in one small area.

Yeah you would think the would build higher, makes more sense to a certain extent at least

BradMacD

Feb 6, 2009, 9:07 PM

How much land does the Knowledge Park own anyway?
Maybe they'll extend all the way down Knowledge Park Drive until the hockey rink. XD

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 6, 2009, 11:31 PM

they don't own very much I don't think.
Maybe a few acres down knowledge Park Drive and some land between The Hugh John Flemming Forrestry Complex.
I can see that area being urbanised very quickly in the near furture.

cl812

Feb 7, 2009, 3:43 PM

More jobs in N.B. but huge losses across Canada
Published Saturday February 7th, 2009
StatsCan | Unemployment percentage went up despite more people working
A3
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
llewellyn.stephen@dailygleaner.com\

New Brunswick is bucking the national trend of big job losses.

Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January. It's the largest decline since Statistics Canada began tracking what it calls comparable numbers in 1976.

The national unemployment rate jumped from 6.6 per cent in December to 7.2 per cent in January.

But in New Brunswick, employment rose slightly to 368,200 in January from 366,600 in December.

A year-over-year comparison shows employment in New Brunswick in January is up by 3,000.

The province's unemployment rate rose slightly from 8.6 per cent in December to 8.7 per cent in January because the labour force grew by 2,400 to 403,400.

The unemployment rate in January 2008 was 8.3 per cent.

New Brunswick was one of five provinces to have experienced employment growth on a year-over-year basis.

"I am pleased that during these tough economic times, the provincial statistics continue to remain stable, and I am encouraged by these positive indicators," said New Brunswick Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Donald Arseneault in a statement Friday.

"Compared to the increase in the national unemployment rate, New Brunswick is doing fairly well so far."

Fredericton Chamber of Commerce CEO Anthony Knight said according to anecdotal evidence, Fredericton's labour market is also doing well.

"We are very encouraged by the (provincial) numbers and pleased to see the effects of the downturn aren't resulting in any job losses," Knight said.

"More locally, we are hearing very positive things from a number of employers."

A recent manpower survey in Fredericton found local employers expect to continuing hiring in the next quarter, he said.

"We know that car dealerships (and) malls have seen very strong sales in January and over the Christmas holidays," said Knight.

He said the capital has a diversified economy that has stability from major employers such as the military, universities and the public sector.

"That produces good results in terms of employment figures in tough times," said Knight.

Not everything was rosy for New Brunswick's workers. Full-time employment in this province was down slightly at 309,200 in January compared to 310,800 in December, a drop of 1,600.

Year over year, in January there were 4,300 fewer New Brunswickers working full time.

But part-time employment was up in January to 58,900, compared to 55,800 in December.

Year over year, part-time employment was up by 7,200 workers in January.

"We will continue to monitor these numbers so we can be fully prepared for any possible adjustments to employment programs," said Arseneault.

He said employment growth in January in New Brunswick was strongest in agriculture, education services and utilities.

"We want to ensure that New Brunswickers have the tools they need to be employed in their province," he said.

Arseneault said the province's $1.6-billion, two-year capital budget announced in November will help keep New Brunswickers employed during the economic downturn.

"We will continue to work toward diversifying the province's economy and ensure we are still on the right track to achieve our goal of self-sufficiency by 2026," he said.

cl812

Feb 9, 2009, 12:21 PM

Market sale in final stages
Published Monday February 9th, 2009
Landmark | Beloved city tradition expected to change hands soon
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Folks who love the Boyce Farmers Market say they don't want to see anything change when the Fredericton landmark is turned over to new owners.

The Daily Gleaner has learned transfer of the market property from York County Properties to the province could be finalized as early as this week. The city would have responsibility for operation of the weekly market and would be authorized to leave management up to a third party, such as a non-profit group.

Keswick Ridge residents Judy and Clarence Coffey have been shopping at the market for more than 40 years.

"I hope it will continue to be managed in the same way it is now," Judy Coffey said.

"I love the market. I'd hate to see it not be here anymore."

Eugene Mattinson is president of the stallholders' association. Like other vendors, he's built a rapport with faithful customers who make the market part of their weekend. He's been informed that there will be no noticeable change.

"What they have told us is that the transition should be invisible. We're going to open one Saturday morning and the province will own the building, but it will run the same as today and any other Saturday morning," he said.

"Everyone's been upbeat. We're just waiting to see.''

The market left a lasting impression on the memories of Debbie Barter's kids.

"The kids are grown now, but they have to come here when they are home.

"This is part of home for them, this is what they miss," she said, as she was introducing her grandson, Henry, 2, to the experience.

The market first opened in 1951. William Walter Boyce, who made his money in agriculture and lumber, willed $40,000 for the project to replace the former Phoenix Square Market downtown.

Bill Mulder of William Mulder Beef Centre has been selling meat at the market for decades. He's seen his share of changes.

"If they sell it and the city takes over ... I worry the rent will go up," he said.

Tony Rickard works with Mulder behind the counter at their stall.

"Everything is going good," he said. "Why change it?"

Mulder said if the sale goes through, he hopes the next operator will keep Evelyn Fillmore, the market co-ordinator, on staff.

"She does a great job," he said.

York County Properties was reportedly seeking $1.5 million for the property when it first approached the city about a sale last year.

The organization wants to divest itself of the market so it can turn all its energy to seniors care. York County Properties has expanded York Manor into the York Care Centre, which offers supportive and assisted living options for seniors.

The province leases the market grounds during office hours to provide parking for provincial government employees.

Over the last five decades, the market has seen several new sections added.

Under existing legislation, if a deal with the province can't be reached, York County Properties could then sell the property on the open market.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 10, 2009, 1:08 AM

I believe the Farmer's Market should be moved to the exhibition grounds where there is plenty of parking.
The track, farmers market, Frex and evrything else on the grounds could form some kind of community event area.
I am assuming the YMCA will be moving soon and could free up more space for the market

mylesmalley

Feb 10, 2009, 2:26 AM

I've only been to the market once, and that was at 6am, but I can definitely see why traffic would be an issue.

The problem with moving it to the Frex though, is that they'd run the risk of losing a lot of people who walk there on Saturday mornings. I know quite a few students who visit quite regularly who'd probably be pretty upset if they had to walk clear across to Smythe to buy samosas.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 11, 2009, 2:00 AM

Aww well that's just being lazy. :)

Alot of people don't go to the one now though, beacause they dont like to look for parking all through downtwn.

Anyonw know what is rong with the Fire Facility Webcam? It is offline at the Fredericton Website (Fredericton.ca)

mylesmalley

Feb 11, 2009, 2:42 AM

Haha, I did say they were students :D.

cl812

Feb 11, 2009, 12:49 PM

Developer seeks environmental plan modification
Published Wednesday February 11th, 2009
New plan | UNB to submit information about changes to centre's configuration
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A public meeting will be held this week to discuss a modification to an environmental plan for the University of New Brunswick's retail development site on Regent Street.

Trinity Development Group, the site planner for a proposed Costco location at the Corbett Centre, is required by the provincial Department of Environment to host the open house as part of its application to modify its environmental approval.

The public information session will be held Thursday from 7-9 p.m. at the Fredericton Inn on Regent Street. The storm date is Friday at the same time and location.

Representatives from Trinity Development Group and environmental consultant Jacques Whitford are expected to be there. Provincial officials will likely attend to observe.

Trinity Development has filed a proposal with the province to modify a design that was previously approved as part of an environmental impact assessment in February 2007.

Bernie Doucet, project manager with the project assessment branch of the provincial Department of Environment, said at that time, the area for retail development, including the proposed Costco location, was approved.

"Now, with the large format retailer they have in mind, they need to modify what was approved," Doucet said.

"What we have asked UNB to do is to submit to us a little bit more detail that would provide us with a better understanding of that modification."

While the size and scale of the development hasn't changed significantly from the proposal approved in 2007, the configuration and alignment of the building on the property has been altered.

"The footprint of the development is the same. It's pretty much the same size, but it's realigned," Doucet said.

"What they were proposing to do, within that footprint of the wetland that's there, is modify and build a two-wetland basin concept that would maintain ... wetland function."

"Now, they're saying, we want to realign this and encroach more into that area. Therefore, they have to do the engineering to be able to tell us if they can maintain those key functions that they said that they would maintain back in 2007," he said.

Given the change and the fact that the original environmental impact assessment included a public consultation component, the university was asked by the provincial government to revisit the public and solicit additional comment, he said.

The consultant must submit a report of the public comment to the province as part of its request for a modification of its design.

The university needs to identify ways to mitigate all the hydro-geological features of its intrusion into the wetland, Doucet said.

"They have to demonstrate to us whether they can do the engineering that's required to still protect the features that need to be protected," he said.

Along with the review and a decision on the modified plan, the developer must also seek a watercourse and wetlands alteration permit from the Environment Department.

Zoning approval and building permits rest with the city. City council has said the clock ticking on a bylaw to create the appropriate zoning for Costco. The city will hold a public hearing of objections on the zoning questions in April.

A description of the planned project will be available for viewing from Feb. 12-26 at the Fredericton Public Library, at the University of New Brunswick Harriet Irving Library research help desk and the Environment Department in Marysville Place.

Comments can be sent on or before Feb. 26 to Mary Murdoch at Jacques Whitford at 711 Woodstock Rd., Fredericton, E3B 5C2 or e-mail mary.murdoch@jacqueswhitford.com.

Doucet said the provincial review will likely take a month or so after all the appropriate documentation is in the hands of the province.

Costco has signed a letter of intent to develop one of its members-only shopping clubs at the Corbett Centre on Regent Street. Timing of the project, however, remains in the hands of Costco officials.

Many Fredericton fans of the store drive to Moncton to shop at the Costco there. Saint John is also being eyed for a retail store.

---

Housing project opposed
Published Tuesday February 10th, 2009
John Howard | Group would provide homes to people in need
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A barrage of opposition was fired at the John Howard Society on Monday night as it tried to convince city council to support construction of an office and 12 units of affordable housing on Main Street.

Business Fredericton North said council shouldn't forget the primary focus of the Main Street area is as a commercial business district.

The owners of Avalon SalonSpa at 336 Main St. said if the low-income housing project is approved, they'll have no choice but to relocate.

Home Hardware, Peters Meat Market, Main Street Veterinary Hospital Inc., and the landlord for a variety of other businesses on the north side all wrote letters of opposition to the project.

Area residents say they don't want to live near housing for criminals.

John Howard Society executive director Valarie MacCullam urged citizens not to be afraid of the group's application to create 12 units of affordable, bachelor-style apartment units atop its offices in a proposed development at 294-296 Main St.

Council has reserved a final decision on the project for third reading in two weeks. Zoning changes for the project were given first and second reading Monday night as part of council's normal process.

"We believe in the intrinsic worth of all living beings. We also believe in the possibility of all people to achieve their full potential," she said.

When people hear the name John Howard Society, they mistakenly think of stereotyped, hardened criminals the likes of serial killer Ted Bundy, rapists, murderers and pedophiles, she said.

The reaction of people tends to be "there goes the neighbourhood," MacCullam said.

There's no statistically significant evidence that affordable housing leads to increased rates of violence, disorderly conduct or total crimes, she said.

"The typical resident of our project will be clients ... in receipt of income assistance, on the waiting list for Social Development and subsidized housing and non-elderly singles. Based on our internal statistics, less than two (out of the 12) of our residents may have had a criminal record," she said. "Since the mid-'90s ... we have focused more on prevention than on working directly with offending populations."

Elderly people and families wrote to the city saying they would fear for their safety if ex-offenders resided on Main Street between Cityview Avenue and Tim Hortons.

The apartments won't be set up as a boarding house or a halfway house, but will house people who are trapped in a cycle of poverty, are homeless or facing homeless.

"Somebody with a history of long-term incarceration will not fit our criteria. They are not prepared to move forward," she said. "Misinformation and lack of information continues to revolve around the concept of affordable housing."

Property values tend to increase because responsible agencies will do a better job maintaining the property than a private builder.

"We're committed to being a positive community member," she said. "Our job is to help keep and maintain Fredericton as a safe and healthy place to live. Our mandate and mission demands nothing less."

Trina MacDonald, general manager of Business Fredericton North, said the city has agreed to waive the full parking requirement for the development, so it will be five spaces short of the 29 required.

MacCullam countered that low-income residents don't have the means to own vehicles.

Housing will make up as much as two-thirds to three-quarters of the building, no longer focusing on commercial development, she said.

The business association said it's concerned about future resale of the property should the John Howard Society give up ownership.

MacCullam said a visible location is important.

"It needs to be somewhere like Main Street, Queen Street, Union Street. It's not something to be afraid of. Come and sit on my board. Be part of the solution.''

Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc. executive director Brian Duplessis urged support for the office-housing development because he said people can transition to a new lifestyle with the opportunity to have a place of their own.

"Their lives won't change without a home," Duplessis said. "We've seen through the care and professionalism of the John Howard Society, how those lives can be changed."

Business owners said they fear that theft and criminal activity will rise and that employees and families will no longer feel safe.

kirjtc2

Feb 13, 2009, 2:25 PM

'Costco, at what cost?'
Published Friday February 13th, 2009
Concerns | Store's location on wetland controversial
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

It wasn't Costco go home, but it was Costco go somewhere other than the University of New Brunswick woodlot.

Members of the Friends of the UNB Woodlot group - comprised of university professors and students, and environmentally conscious citizens - made it clear they aren't happy with the retailer's choice of location in Fredericton.

Costco has signed a letter of intent with UNB, the property owner, to develop a store by leasing university land atop Regent Street.

Trinity Development Group is the negotiator with potential retailers, and Terrain Group is the site planner for the retail development.

About 40 people attended an open house at the Fredericton Inn on Thursday night held by Jacques Whitford-Stantec on behalf of Trinity Development Group. The open house was required by the Environment Department as part of the procedures to modify an environmental impact assessment plan previously approved in February 2007.

The public information meeting was polite, but there was opposition to the proposed reconfiguration.

Because Costco has requested site plan changes, it means storm-water management has to be altered.

Storm water refers to all the water that collects on the surface of huge parking lots. It has to be collected and, in this case, filtered before it's released into the surrounding wetland and neighbouring Corbett Brook.

The revised Costco site plan also creates three points of intrusion onto a 30-metre buffer zone between the developed area and the rest of the UNB wetland property.

To concerned citizens, who already oppose erosion of the wetland, pushing farther into the marsh isn't an option.

"There's less evidence of a willingness to concede some of the environmental boundaries in order to maximize the opportunity for retail space," said Rick Cunjak, a biology professor at UNB and a past director of the Canadian Rivers Institute.

"It's always the environment that's being asked to somehow give up something and this is relatively early on in the development process for this large piece of the (UNB) woodlot," Cunjak said.

As a UNB professor, Cunjak is sympathetic to the need for the university to earn revenue through development, but he's not satisfied with how the development is proceeding.

Creativity and flexibility could result in a more intelligent design, he said.

Charlene Mayes, a biology instructor at UNB, said she's not against Costco, but says it's not in the right spot.

"I don't understand why it needs to go on that site ... or encroach on buffer zones or be anywhere near Corbett Marsh, especially given that they want to put in a gas station," Mayes said.

A gasoline bar is part of the Costco proposal.

Mayes said even small amounts of gasoline dripping from tanks can contaminate waterways, let alone a major spill or deterioration of gasoline storage tanks.

The fact that the developer has to build artificial collection ponds to store and filter water before it's allowed out into the surrounding marsh and Corbett Brook should throw up a red flag, Mayes said.

"I think that nature has been working on flood control for a lot longer than we have.

"And why should we pay for inferior solutions when we have a free one that's already working for us?" she said.

Scott Fash, spokesman for Terrain Group Inc., which is doing the planning and site development, said Costco has its design criteria - visibility from Regent Street, specific access needs and a must for the store was a gas bar.

Costco stores are designed with their main entrances on a 45-degree angle because it gives easy access to parking spots and shoppers are generally wheeling loaded down carts from the store.

Instead of two storm-water collection ponds, the revised Costco site plan will have one large, elongated pond along the southern property line with an area reserved for a second collection zone as required.

Mary Murdoch, spokeswoman for Jacques Whitford-Stantec, said

the developer has to submit a mitigation plan to the provincial Environment Department to compensate for intruding on the 30-metre buffer zone.

Greg LeBlanc was one of the citizens who pressed Murdoch to take questions and answers collectively rather than one-on-one.

During the discussion, citizens asked about the impact on water quality. Murdoch replied that the Department of Environment will require periodic monitoring and sampling.

One woman asked about using asphalt that would allow water to permeate the ground.

That's not the type of asphalt contemplated for the Costco site, requiring the water collection into holding ponds.

Moon Joyce said salt and oil from the parking lot will inevitably wind up running off the property.

"Why are we even risking this, when there's an alternate site?" she asked.

Costco, at one time, was wooed by private interests to develop near the Kent building supply store, but that deal never made it beyond private talks.

"I think the problem we all see here is that the plan of Costco is too large ... Why doesn't Costco go somewhere where there's room?" said Caroline Lubbe-D'Arcy. "I just don't understand that."

Mark D'Arcy questioned whether the gasoline bar was property identified when the 2007 approval was issued by the Environment Department or whether it has come up in the context of the revised site plan now before government.

cl812

Feb 17, 2009, 2:10 PM

Winter weather can't put convention centre project off schedule
Published Tuesday February 17th, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Neither snow nor sleet can hold back work on the city's $75.5-million convention centre, office building and parking garage.

Despite a cold and snowy winter, the project is holding to its timetable.

"We're pleased to hear that it's progressing on schedule and there's lots of activity around the site," said development committee chairman Coun. Dan Keenan.

Contracts for the structures are being called in accordance with the contract schedule, Keenan said, but the city wanted to leap ahead on the foundation work to withstand spring flooding.

"We're starting into the booking and marketing of the (convention) centre. Funds were allocated this year by city council to start the process," Keenan said.

While it may seem premature, he said, conference organizers plan a minimum of two to three years ahead for major events.

"It's really important that you get out ahead and do the bookings now," he said.

The 6,500-square-metre conference centre and 17,000-square-metre office building are slated for completion by the fall of 2010. The city is also planning to build a 450-car parking garage.

Greg Cook, special capital projects manager with the City of Fredericton, said concrete work has been moving ahead.

"We're going to pour another slab (today). That will be the first one on the office building," Cook said.

The concrete is being poured in sections. Four huge slabs will be poured under the conference centre. Three of the slabs are in place. The office building will have three slabs.

"Then we have to put a 15-foot strip along the side with the walls on it, so we'll do those next," Cook said.

"Once the office building is done, then we'll do the last one on the conference centre and then the next two on the office building. When spring comes, we'll dig up the parking garage," he said.

The cold and the snow make for challenges, but they aren't insurmountable.

By keeping a close eye on the weather, crews have been able to time their work to coincide with decent weather and each pour gets easier because everything is in position to do the work.

"The concrete has such a mass and it generates its own heat. It stays warm for about a week. You'd be in excess of 40 degrees inside the core of that slab and then the surface temperature will only cool down after about a week. So it doesn't really bother it, when you're pouring the size of pours that we're pouring. The last time was 1,100 cubic metres (of concrete)," he said.

A consortium of companies, headed by ADI Group, has created the master plan and design concept for the building.

The provincial and federal governments are contributing a total of $8 million to the project.

The city requires that the building be constructed to LEED Silver certification, which requires that companies involved in the construction plan build with energy-efficient materials.

----

Fredericton asked to share its smarts
Published Tuesday February 17th, 2009
Technology | Minneapolis, Ontario looking for advice on how to use broadband
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Can New Brunswick's capital city teach a major metropolitan area a few tricks about how to become a more intelligent community?

It seems we can.

Team Fredericton executive director Don Fitzgerald said Fredericton has been invited by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum to help out a much larger U.S. city.

With a population of just less than 380,000, Minneapolis in east central Minnesota is twinned with the state capital, St. Paul. Both cities started as mill towns along the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.

The cities are surrounded by a metropolitan population of 3.5 million people.

"They're looking to start their intelligent community journey. We're going to, within the next couple of weeks, videoconference with them and describe the history and the development of our plan and how we tailored it to our community ... and answer their questions," Fitzgerald said. "Hopefully, we'll learn something from them at the same time.

Fredericton is ranked in the Top 7 of the Intelligent Community Forum's picks for communities that are broadband-friendly. Moncton was also picked by the forum as one of this year's finalists.

Fredericton is also going to be working with the Ontario government, which is interested in talking to Intelligent Community Forum finalists.

"The Ontario government has been starting to explore this virtual reality world in terms of the delivery of government services. So they've reached out to communities who have won Intelligent Community Forum awards to participate and tell their story. So we're going to tell our story in a virtual reality world," Fitzgerald said.

"This is sort of where game meets three-dimensional virtual neighbourhood," said Maurice Gallant, the city's information technology manager.

He said the new project will be about applying a game-space technology into government service delivery and information exchange.

"It's a trial, a pilot project using those technologies in spaces that have typically been (traditional) meeting rooms," Gallant said.

The project costs are staff time, but don't require a big budget.

"This is simply our participation in that exercise with our colleagues across Canada," Gallant said.

"We're going to give our PowerPoint presentation in a computer-generated graphic world to people attending in that forum," Fitzgerald said. "It should be fun."

cl812

Feb 19, 2009, 12:38 PM

Fredericton airport seeks money to rebuild runway
Published Thursday February 19th, 2009
A2
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

The Fredericton International Airport is making a request to the federal government for $10.5 million in stimulus funding to rebuild its secondary runway.

The 1,829-metre long Runway 1533 was last rebuilt in 1988 and officials say it needs improvements.

"It needs some work on it. It needs to be rebuilt and refurbished," said airport CEO David Innes. "With the flight school, it's a really important runway."

The request goes to the Department of Finance and Transport Canada through the Canadian Airports Council.

Airport officials have also talked to local MP Keith Ashfield.

While the airport is operated by a community agency, the land and the infrastructure remain the property of the federal government.

Ashfield said his office is working on the request.

"We've been working on the file. One of my staffers is dealing with Transport Canada to see what kind of money or funding might be available to help with the runway repairs," he said.

He expects the federal government will present a clearer picture next week of what the federal stimulus program will look like and what kinds of projects will be eligible.

----

Heritage property renovation OK'd
Published Thursday February 19th, 2009
A6
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A landmark heritage property at 285 Canada St. is looking to reinvent itself and downsize in the process.

Knob Hill Gallery in Marysville is where artist Katherine Karnes Munn runs her business - a custom-framing shop for her prints, a gift shop and tea room.

Munn is stepping back from retailing and scaling back to semi-retirement.

"She's still going to do the wholesaling of her prints," said husband Joe Munn on Wednesday night after the planning advisory committee gave its approval to a redevelopment of the property.

The building's exterior won't be altered. Munn proposes to retain the framing business at a scaled-back level.

Her son Chris Munn will run Fredericton Outfitters, a fly fishing and hunting store operated with a part-time employee.

A life insurance business with three full-time staff will use 93 square metres of the 630-square-metre house (6,789-square-feet) and the remainder of the home's three floors will be a customer call centre for Radian 6, an information technology firm.

Fans of Katherine Karnes Munn's art will still be able to drop by and custom frame-making is still done in the basement of the house. But she said running the gift shop took so much time and effort that it's time to go back to the roots of the business and sell directly to wholesalers.

"We were approached by some businesses in town who were interested in renting space and it just seemed like the right thing to do. Everybody wanted to slow down and the space was there and some really nice companies came and approached us," said Chris Munn.

The application will go forward to city council for final approval.

The planning advisory committee is forwarding four other zoning applications to city council for a final vote.

J.B. Real Estate Ltd. wants to tear down an old, single-family house and construct an eight-unit apartment building in the 300 block of Connaught Street.

Tony George wants to create eight, townhouse-style building lots at 669 Forest Hill Rd. The proposal drew two opponents, who said the lots will be too small, won't match the style of neighbourhood homes and will prejudice property values of existing homes.

George disagreed, saying it will be a nice subdivision with nice houses and many trees will be saved.

The same argument came up from a resident living near Randolph Street, where D.P. Developments wants a zoning change to create two residential lots on the street.

A nearby resident said the lots will be smaller than those of the rest of the surrounding area, compromising the quality of the development.

Hill Bros. Realty Ltd. has a commercial daycare centre interested in opening in the West Hills Village strip mall on Brookside Drive.

The centre proposes to be open daily from 6:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. and have eight staff members.

Coun. Marilyn Kerton raised concerns about possible dangers with youngsters and vehicles in the parking lot of the strip mall and about the centre being located next door to a pub.

There were no citizen opponents to the project.

A planning department report said an outdoor play area will be fenced.

----

Project 'not a halfway house'
Published Thursday February 19th, 2009
Units | John Howard Society says people need a helping hand
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Frank Palmater has looked at life from both sides.

He went to jail as a young aboriginal man and now with his middle years upon him, he's happy to say the John Howard Society gave him a helping hand.

When he was unemployed last year, he took a traffic flag controller's course arranged by the non-profit group. He not only found a job, but he quit when another company offered to pay him more to do the same work.

"I've seen the correctional system from the inside and know that as an individual who needs assistance once you get on the outside, the John Howard is a beacon, especially to our people. We see it as an opportunity," Palmater said.

"Sometimes we'll come out of necessity ... to a metropolitan centre ... if there's something in place to assist me as an offender coming out of the system, why not?"

He said everyone deserves a second chance.

Palmater attended an information session at the Johnston Avenue Seniors Centre on Wednesday night.

It was organized by the John Howard Society to acquaint residential and business neighbours with its proposal to construct a building on Main Street between Cityview Avenue and Tim Hortons.

Three homes, currently rental properties, will be demolished to make room for the development funded by the federal government, with possible provincial support pending.

The first floor of the building will be occupied by the agency, offering its programs and services.

The upper floors will be for 12 affordable, one-bedroom housing units. They will be for individuals who are homeless or near homeless and receiving income assistance.

The proposal, which comes up for third reading and final approval Monday at city council, has stirred the fears of homeowners and business owners who were told it would be a halfway house populated by ex-offenders who have committed serious crimes.

One business owner and one elderly resident, who attended the session co-organized by Coun. Mike O'Brien, didn't want to speak on the record about their views.

But they both said their viewpoint of the development changed after hearing the project explained to them.

"At the last minute, when there was a rumour spread around that it was going to become a halfway house, they became very concerned," O'Brien said of his constituents.

"There is a lot of Nimby (not-in-my-backyard) backlash on projects for affordable housing."

Neighbouring property owner Wayne Flinn said he's not concerned about the proposal.

"People have a tendency to be afraid of the unknown," he said. "I have had some experience with (John Howard) through a service club I was involved in.

"Plus, my wife and I have made it a point to educate ourselves on the project. Quite frankly, I'm in total support of the John Howard Society moving in on Main Street."

Valarie MacCullam, executive director of the John Howard Society in Fredericton, said she hoped that questions were answered and people left armed with better information to make an informed decision.

"I got a chance to talk to some absolutely lovely people who had legitimate concerns ... The biggest concern was that it was going to be a halfway house."

Hope Piers, who is a social worker at the community health centre in downtown Fredericton, said by working with the homeless and John Howard Society clients, her perspective is different.

"The fear is so real for some people, but education is the key. Many of the people that they're afraid of are already in their businesses on a daily basis. They don't look different than you and I. They just happen to have different baggage than you or I," Piers said.

cl812

Feb 20, 2009, 12:25 PM

New Maryland residents spend big bucks to fix up their homes
Published Friday February 20th, 2009
A5
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

While plans to expand the village's water infrastructure are holding back a building boom, New Maryland residents are taking pride in their homes, says a New Maryland councillor.

Property owners spent nearly $2 million last year on construction, renovations and improvements.

"The amount is impressive, since we have fewer than 1,500 homes in New Maryland," said Coun. Gisele McCaie-Burke.

"Because nearly all of them are owner-occupied, I feel that most residents have considerable pride in their properties and are willing to spend money on them."

McCaie-Burke is the vice-chairwoman of the planning advisory committee.

Permits for renovations amounted to $993,292 in 2008. Another $500,000 or so was spent on upgrades such as pools, decks, garages, sheds and additions.

Only a few new homes were built in the community just outside of Fredericton.

"A major upturn is expected after the village completes a search for new sources of water for municipal use and a place to store it," she said.

The village has been lobbying the federal-provincial governments to assist with funding for a water tower.

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Knowledge Park expansion could create more than 3,000 jobs, report concludes
Published Friday February 20th, 2009
A4
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

An August 2007 consultants' report says the planned expansion of the Knowledge Park from three buildings to 17 could have created 3,200 jobs with a combined $114.5 million in wages.

Proponents of the plan released the report by AMEC Consultants and InPro Solutions on Thursday.

They are pointing to the report as evidence of the significant and far-reaching benefits the expansion could bring.

Earlier this month, members of the Knowledge Park board of directors unveiled a plan to expand the park by 14 buildings to accommodate, they said, high-tech companies working on products that have the potential to drive New Brunswick's economy.

"We wanted to provide a context, to share with the community, stakeholders so others can understand why we're doing it," said Laura O'Blenis, general manager of the Knowledge Park.

The economic-impact analysis is based on what would have happened if all 17 buildings projected for the site had been in operation in 2006 and operations in all the buildings were consistent with the three existing ones.

The report estimated the operational impact of all 17 buildings at $414 million in provincial output.

The organization said the province would get $75.4 million in taxes a year.

The report also states that an additional 821 indirect jobs would be created with $20 million in salaries.

O'Blenis said the report is being released to give members of the community a greater appreciation of the impact the project could have.

"For any development to be successful, it must be embraced as a whole. We want to get people excited so they can see the opportunities we see on the horizon and be happy and confident about living and working in our community," she said.

"We're sharing our story with people outside this community who are impressed that our community has a plan as aggressive as ours. It makes them take a second look at Fredericton."

While the calculations are based on numbers from 2006, O'Blenis said the estimates were on the more conservative side of the scale and the numbers today would be even higher.

The report said that in 2006, businesses in the park provided 793 jobs with $27.3 million in salaries and wages.

The park, which is owned by Enterprise Fredericton Inc., has three buildings. It was created in 1997 as a partnership between the University of New Brunswick, Enterprise Fredericton, the City of Fredericton and the federal and provincial governments.

Officials could announce construction of a fourth building in the coming weeks.

The report estimates that the construction of the 14 additional buildings would generate 1,447 jobs with $50 million in wages and salaries.

Jasper and one o nin

Feb 20, 2009, 4:42 PM

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=165309

mylesmalley

Feb 20, 2009, 6:27 PM

I'm wondering what the value of that study is. An additional 14 buildings at the Knowledge Park isn't going to create 3300 jobs - finding companies to fill 14 buildings will create 3300 jobs. Quite frankly, if there was that much demand private office space in the Fredericton area at the moment, there'd be private developers fighting each other to get office buildings approved by council.

Lamespotting

Feb 20, 2009, 8:24 PM

Quite frankly, if there was that much demand private office space in the Fredericton area at the moment, there'd be private developers fighting each other to get office buildings approved by council.

I think the problem is that there is demand, but none of local private developers are willing (or able) to take the risk. Frederick Square II has been approved by council, but all that's there is a sign. They're waiting for it to be pre-leased before it goes up. Trouble is, not too many companies can wait an undetermined amount of time before moving. The city had to build that office building by the convention centre itself.

They also keep the rents high by not building new buildings :-)

cl812

Feb 23, 2009, 1:22 PM

John Howard Society proposal to get final reading
Published Monday February 23rd, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

A zoning amendment for an office-housing development for John Howard Society comes up for third and final reading at city council tonight.

Councillors have heard from both sides - worried business owners who are concerned about a low-income housing project on Main Street and advocates for the poor who are stuck for alternative locations.

While John Howard Society executive director Valarie MacCullam has said 12 units of affordable housing will be on the upper floors of a 2.5-storey building, the main floor will be occupied by the non-profit group's offices.

MacCullam and ward Coun. Mike O'Brien called a public meeting last week to try to assuage resident fears that the housing units will be populated by ex-convicts.

Although the John Howard Society has traditionally worked to aid persons who have served jail time reintegrate with society, it has also broadened its mandate to try to work with the homeless or near-homeless in hopes of preventing crime.

While MacCullam has said the building won't be a halfway house, some of the opponents of the development didn't show up at the information session held last Wednesday.

The project received planning advisory committee support after a previous application for the same type of development on Queen Street was approved.

But the building that MacCullam's group was hoping to buy was sold out from under them to another business owner.

Councillors have a number of administrative tidy-up jobs as well tonight.

They'll receive a variety of planning advisory reports that will continue to move forward to subsequent meetings for final approval, including the re-use of the former Knob Hill Gallery and tea room on Canada Street and a proposal for an eight-unit apartment building on Connaught Street to replace an older storey-and-a-half dwelling on the street.

A tender will be received requesting an extension of the janitorial contract at Fredericton Public Library.

Council will also pass a resolution related to the proposed annexation of land owned by Colpitts Developments that both the city and developer want to see included within city boundaries.

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Environmentalists, developers at odds over site
Published Monday February 23rd, 2009
A3
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

For environmentalists, there's no compromise. The University of New Brunswick wetland atop Regent Street should remain pristine and wild.

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=251758&size=500x0
PLANS: Revised version of the proposed site for Costco wholesale store, planned for the Corbett Centre development at the top of Regent Street.

For the University of New Brunswick, becoming the lessee of 10 hectares (26 acres) of its vast 1,416 hectare (3,540-acre) forestry holdings for retail development, has meant trying to re-engineer nature's wetland to earn revenue for university coffers.

And, it seems, never the twain shall meet.

Tracy Glynn, a member of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick's Fredericton chapter is calling for a moratorium on all development atop Regent Street.

That's where the university has partnered with engineering and planning firms, Trinity Development Group and RioCan, to market the site to big-box stores, restaurants and smaller retail shops.

Corbett Centre is named for the brook that runs along the property down through the industrial park and out to the St. John River.

The development has attracted three new restaurants, a large new Dollarama, Winners, Michaels, Petcetera and Home Depot.

Now the university is trying to attract Costco, the members-only bulk shopping grocery and household merchandiser.

Costco has signed a letter of intent with UNB and the rezoning for the development is in the hands of the city. A property layout change required for Costco to meet its own standard store design criteria has meant going back to the provincial Environment Department for an amendment to its original environmental impact assessment approval.

"We feel there should be a comprehensive environmental impact assessment on what the impact is of all these developments, instead of looking piecemeal at all the different projects. We don't feel like that's an accurate way of looking at the full impact on wildlife and the wetlands and the forested area," Glynn said.

Alongside another group, calling itself the Friends of the UNB Woodlot, the conservation council would like to see a ban on big-box stores in that area.

"We don't need to be building big-box stores on top of wetlands. That's the wrong thing to do. We have a natural area that we could be protecting. It provides a number of ecological services," she said. "Our primary concern is protecting that whole woodlot area."

The environmentalists are also skeptical about how well the province holds developers to account on such projects.

"It seems that these EIA (environmental impact assessments) are just a rubber stamp and that they don't mean anything," Glynn said.

Bernie Doucet, the Environment Department's project manager with the project assessment branch, said the Corbett Centre development has gone by the book.

Owning a wetland doesn't mean it's impossible to build on it, but it's how you do it, what influences that bog has on local hydro geology and whether any alterations can be mitigated if land is developed.

"Any work that they would have done within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, they would have had a watercourse and wetland alteration permit," Doucet said. "If you're going to have a project that may impact a wetland greater than two hectares, it has to go through the EIA process."

Costco or another large retailer was always part of the original plan for Corbett Centre. That development block was part and parcel of the original environmental impact assessment for site development that the provincial government has already approved, Doucet said.

The reason the development is going through a secondary EIA review is because the land needed will take up all of the footprint of the original wetland and will require the construction of a .4 hectare man-made wetland that steps beyond the original design.

As regulators, Doucet said any design change by the developers has to meet the original criteria of ensuring that Larch Swale on the west side of Regent Street remains undisturbed and that on the east side of Regent Street, water flows are properly managed before they end up in Corbett Brook.

The developers have to show a viable mitigation strategy, even though the part of the design they're changing is a small component of that already approved in the original environmental impact assessment, Doucet said.

As a professional engineer and project manager with Terrain Group Inc.'s Darmouth office, Ron Hiltz's job is to create that modification.

In 2004, Terrain Group Inc. was hired by UNB to prepare the master plan for Corbett Centre and to reshape the watershed.

There are a variety of reasons for doing that. Large parking lots need places to shed water and snow melt. Roofs of buildings shed water and that has to be either absorbed into the ground or redirected and gradually released and reabsorbed into the nearby landscape.

"We took the watershed for the site and essentially we split it into two directions, mimicking, by-in-large, the natural drainage of the site," Hiltz said.

"We have one area which is the front of the Regent Street end of the development that discharges to what was called Wetland 2 across Regent Street into Larch Swale," Hiltz said. "Essentially Wetland 2 is used to mitigate the peak storm flow across Regent Street through the cross-culvert to Larch Swale (on the west side of Regent Street).''

Driving along Regent Street, on the east side of the street near the face of the roadway is a large, rock-bermed pond that collects rain, surface water and the drainage from the roofs of buildings. It creates a holding pond - a kind of mini-dam - that controls the gradual release of water.

Using locally gathered weather data from Environment Canada and using a computer modelling program called the Chicago Synthetic Storm, the program spits out data about major rainstorm events.

Hiltz said the Environment Department requires Terrain Group Inc. to design a system that will control water to pre-development levels.

Because parking lots accumulate salt, minerals, and even oils that may drip from cars, each of the nine development blocks at Corbett Centre has to have its own storm water separation system to filter out hydrocarbons and suspended solids - even coffee cup trash - from storm water before it's released back into Corbett Brook. Once a year, a truck comes in and suctions out the man-made filtering system for waste that is then trucked away for landfill disposal.

To the rear of the Home Depot store, a man-made water detention pond was built and fenced to collect water that has passed through the separation system and then control the release to Corbett Brook.

That pond has sufficient capacity to capture water runoff from the proposed Costco area parking lot and from the sloped, metal roof of the proposed store because it was *originally designed to take surface water away from the neighbouring block of buildings, which includes Michael's and Petcetera and Winners.

Instead, the Environment Department asked for a different drainage configuration at the back of those stores and another drainage system was created for that block of shops.

"We did that ... so there's all that extra capacity (behind Home Depot) that's (already) there," Hiltz explained.

A proposed gas bar will not be connected to the Home Depot detention pond, but will have to meet different environmental rules applied to gasoline stations.

While Hiltz hears what environmentalists are saying - and he can't argue that nature doesn't do a first-rate job of controlling water - he doesn't agree that engineers can't create structures that manage water.

"In a perfect world, man would leave nothing behind but footprints ... but man also likes to eat, shop and drive cars," Hiltz said.

UNB has gone above and beyond in meeting provincial government requirements, he said.

kirjtc2

Feb 24, 2009, 3:36 PM

City OKs housing project
Published Tuesday February 24th, 2009
Low income | Building to house offices, 12 apartment units
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

An office and 12-unit low-income housing project for Main Street was approved unanimously by city council Monday night.

The John Howard Society wants to demolish older homes at 294-296 Main St., between Cityview Avenue and Tim Hortons on the north side, to build a street-level office for the organization.

Twelve bachelor-style apartments will be built upstairs using federal-provincial funding.

The project stirred controversy in the business and residential area of Main Street after a petition was circulated saying the building would be a halfway house for criminals.

Two weeks ago, a number of businesses and residents stated their opposition to the project, one even vowing to move from the neighbourhood. Councillors also received a 23-name petition against it.

Ward Coun. Mike O'Brien held an open house last week to try to dispel fears.

John Howard Society representatives participated in the session and explained to a number of neighbours that most of the residents will be social assistance recipients or the near-homeless, not hardened criminals.

Business Fredericton North questioned the city's decision to reduce the required number of parking spaces for the project.

The planning advisory committee agreed to cut the requirement for 29 parking spaces to 25 spaces, saying residents are unable to afford a vehicle and need access to nearby services and amenities such as public transit.

"Our municipal plan does allow some consideration for reduced parking for affordable housing developments," O'Brien said. "The 25 parking spots will be quite adequate."

The plan encourages the city to incorporate affordable housing projects within its boundaries, O'Brien said.

"The shelters are overloaded and a lot of the people who are in shelters, if they had an opportunity to live in a spot like this, could better their lives," O'Brien said.

Although the John Howard Society does operate halfway houses in the province, this application isn't for a residence for ex-convicts, O'Brien said.

"Everybody deserves a place to live," said Coun. Scott McConaghy, who backed the project.

Coun. Stephen Chase said he'd like to see more residential space incorporated into the downtowns of both sides of the river.

Mayor Brad Woodside said he was proud that council faced the affordable housing issue head on.

"I think what we're really providing here is that everybody deserves a home in dignity and this community is showing that it can be done, it is being done and those that are completing these developments are doing a darn good job at it," Woodside said.

The mayor said as projects are successfully developed over the years, it will be easier to have the public support such housing options.

Pugsley

Feb 24, 2009, 4:25 PM

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 25, 2009, 3:24 AM

That plan looks decent to me.
Alot of trees and lakes would make it a nice little area to drive through.

cl812

Feb 26, 2009, 1:16 PM

Province buys market
Published Thursday February 26th, 2009
Deal closes Friday | Price for property is $1.1 million
A1
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

The provincial government is set to acquire the Boyce Farmers Market property for $1.1 million.

The Daily Gleaner has learned the transaction is to be completed Friday as part of a deal that will see the City of Fredericton lease the downtown landmark. Operation of the weekly market will be left to a not-for-profit board, Newmarket Properties Inc.

The city's five-year lease, at a nominal fee of $1 a year, begins April 1.

Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne and Fredericton-Silverwood MLA Rick Miles, who both worked behind the scenes on the deal, said the province and the city are doing all they can to ensure market patrons don't notice any change in the coming months.

"It will be a seamless transaction. It will be business as usual," Byrne said Wednesday.

The $1.1-million price is below the $1.5 million York County Properties was seeking. It's also above the 2008 property assessment of $800,500.

The purchase was approved by the provincial cabinet earlier this month.

"We're pleased that the market will continue to exist long into the future and be a venue for local vendors, local produce and products (such as) samosas," Byrne said.

The market is integral to the local economy, he said, and it's an icon for culture and tourism.

"This ensures it will continue to be in operation," said Byrne, who's among the throngs of Fredericton residents who have plenty of memories linked to the market.

He remembers getting up early on Saturdays as a child and heading down to the market with his father, Paul.

"We'd watch the crowds, watch the market being set up, talk to vendors and I'd have a treat of fresh-baked cookies,'' Byrne said.

Today, he likes to get a little taste of everything.

"I like the fresh-squeezed orange juice, fresh bread, samosas and whatever else catches my attention. That's the beauty of the market. It has something for everyone."

Byrne said separate boards are being set up for the market building and for the Saturday operations.

He said Fredericton-area MLAs felt strongly that the province needed to buy the property. The province leases the market property on weekdays to provide parking for civil servants.

If the province hadn't used its first rights to purchase the building, the property could have gone onto the market to be sold to commercial or residential developers.

"We could not risk that this property might undergo a different use."

No staffing changes are planned, he said.

Miles said all four local MLAs worked hard on the file.

"It touches home with a lot of people. It's important to us that the market remain," he said.

Miles said the market has always been part of home for him. When he was stationed in Germany as a radar operator with the Canadian Forces, he thought about what people would be doing at the market on Saturday.

"I missed not being able to go," he said. "And when I would come back, I made sure I went."

Former mayor Elbridge Wilkins said it wasn't his preferred outcome, but he's happy with it nonetheless.

"I'm very pleased that the government is taking it over and the city is going to help operate it," he said.

"It's the second best thing that could happen," said Wilkins who was the York County council member from Douglas in 1966 when county councils were being disbanded and the council had to find a way to protect the council's assets.

His preference would have been to see a market board get the $1.1 million so it could invest in improvements.

"This is a lot better than it landing in the hands of someone else and being pressed out of existence," he said. "I think it's going to work out."

The market, which opened in 1951, came about when English immigrant William Walter Boyce, who made his money in agriculture and lumber, left $40,000 out of his estate to the Municipality of York to build a market to replace the former Phoenix Square market.

While some have questioned whether York County Properties had the right or the authority to sell the market, Byrne said the province has no concerns.

"We were aware of some of the concerns over the property. We did seek a legal opinion over whether York County Properties had legal ownership and the right to sell. We were satisfied they had the requisite rights to sell the property."

Ken McGeorge, executive director of York County Properties, said it also sought legal advice on the issue.

"There have been all sorts of lawyers looking at that question and there is no question we own it. The title is free and clear of any encumbrance. The only restriction was that we offer it to the province first."

McGeorge said the group had always planned to sell to someone who would maintain the market under its current vocation.

He said the board of York County Properties, which also operates York Care Centre, wanted to divest itself of the market and devote its efforts on health care for the elderly.

----

Water supply won't be affected
Published Thursday February 26th, 2009
Up the hill | Wellfield officer says impact from Costco minor
A1
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Building a Costco store at the University of New Brunswick's Corbett retail centre will have virtually no impact on the city's drinking water supply, says Fredericton's wellfield protection officer.

The development at the top of Regent Street doesn't fall within the city's wellfield protection area. Even so, the Corbett Centre was reviewed by a hydro geologist who was asked to provide the city with advice on the proposed location of the Costco store.

"The groundwater contribution to the (drinking water) aquifer from the Costco development footprint would be less than one-tenth of one-half of one per cent," said Kathy Edwards, the city's wellfield protection officer.

"If this contribution is removed, the water will simply be replaced by an increased amount from the river.

"The effect on groundwater withdrawals from the downtown plat will be negligible."

Members of the Friends of the UNB woodlot and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick have raised concerns about the impact of developing the area for retail shopping, contending it will affect water recharge in the Fredericton area.

Their concerns were raised at a recent public meeting called as part of a Department of Environment review of a modification to the shopping centre's environmental impact assessment approved in 2007.

As a point of principle, the two groups oppose any type of big box or retail development on the university owned wetland.

The developers have submitted a store layout design that reconfigures storm water management ponds controlling surface runoff from the parking lot and wholesale bulk store building.

Because of the design change, storm water management ponds have been repositioned and reshaped requiring a return to the province for approval of an amended environmental impact assessment.

The City of Fredericton and the provincial government mapped out a wellfield-protection strategy for the capital city in order to protect the deeply drilled wells in the downtown core that draw up water supply that's recharged by the St. John River.

In the downtown areas closest to the drilled wells, the city has banned dry-cleaning establishments and provided financial incentives to relocate them because the chemicals used in the cleaning process could destroy drinking water.

Storage of petroleum products and other potentially water-contaminating products are strictly regulated in the downtown core, but even in the downtown, the city hasn't banned gasoline stations.

"We've looked into recharge and what impact the (Costco) development might have," Edwards said.

"The bulk of our recharge for our aquifer comes from the St. John River through the ground."

Surface water also recharges the ground, but the groundwater contribution from the Costco footprint isn't significant, she said.

Edwards said Fredericton has a vested interest in checking on the impact of development on water supply.

As for concerns about a proposed gasoline bar as part of the Costco development, Edwards said gasoline stations are permitted in the wellfield protected area.

"The technology today is far and above what it used to be in terms of protecting land and water, compared to what it was," Edwards said.

The strictest rules on protecting the city's water supply are imposed in the downtown area, closest to wells.

What the Regent Street wetland does control is storm water and the absorption of rainfall from the top of the hill, which is naturally absorbed into nearby Corbett Brook.

City engineering and public works director Murray Jamer said the city requires all developers to create storm water management plans when they develop property.

So, whether it's a housing subdivision or a retail shopping centre, Jamer said the onus is on the land developer to deal with storm water attenuation to a standard of zero net increase in peak flow.

"For any development, it's the developer's responsibility to attenuate whatever increase in flows there may be," Jamer said. "With every new development, we make that a requirement."

Through techniques such as creating water detention ponds, engineers can come up with ways to slowly release collected water back into the natural environment, in this case, gradually back into Corbett Brook.

----

Province to invest in five local businesses
Published Thursday February 26th, 2009
Hard to come by | Official says it's difficult for small businesses to get capital
A3
By DON MACPHERSON
macpherson.don@dailygleaner.com

The province is expected to announce financial support for five businesses today in and around the capital region.

Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne is expected to announce more than $300,000 from the NB Growth program will help create 24 jobs and maintain 25 others spread out among five businesses.

Among the businesses receiving funding is Howell Ventures Ltd. in Upper Kingsclear, a company that manufactures hand controls for disabled drivers.

Today's announcement is scheduled to take place at the Howell Ventures facility, The Daily Gleaner has learned.

Howell will create three jobs with the funding, which will also go to supporting 11 jobs.

A government source told the Gleaner that in total, more than $300,000 in government funding will be doled out among the five businesses.

The other four businesses involved in today's announcement are:

* the Learning Bar Inc. in Fredericton, which received funding for its expansion to meet the growing demand for its services as an online school-survey provider;

* E9 Group Inc. in Lincoln, which has developed a social-networking web application with an environmental focus and will get startup funding;

* Fredericton-based Lawrence Wood Products, which receives funding for expansion;

* and Jemseg's Gebhardt International Cedar Homes Inc., which gets funding for diversification and improved productivity.

The funding comes from the province's $3-million NB Growth program, which was established in October 2007.

The source said today's job announcements are modest in scope compared those made at previous government job-creation news events, but it's in keeping with the philosophy that most job creation happens at the small-business level.

It's difficult for small businesses to access capital, especially in the current economic climate, he said Wednesday.

The NB Growth program not only puts funds in the hands of those businesses, the source said, but that financial support in turn makes the businesses more attractive to other sources of capital.

The program provides eligible entrepreneurs with up to $100,000 to establish a new company and up to $60,000 to expand or improve an existing one.

John Smith

Feb 26, 2009, 4:56 PM

Hello all. I'm a first time poster and long time lurker.

Thanks to all who have been posting the Fredericton updates and all the replies. As a former Fredericton resident and someone who is looking to return, this is a great little resource to keep me up to date.

:)

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 26, 2009, 7:56 PM

:previous:
Welcome aboard.

:cheers:

cl812

Feb 26, 2009, 8:04 PM

Welcome

corda

Feb 28, 2009, 1:21 PM

Hey folks, here is a plan I found for the proposed Knowledge Park off ther Web site. Looks pretty nice. This is my first posting...former Frederictonian living in Toronto now. If this is built, then congrats!

http://www.knowledgepark.ca/en/pdf/knowledge-park-master-development-plan.pdf

Great find.
I'm surprised to see two buildings planned for the grounds surrounding the Hugh John Flemming Centre... much better plan than I expected. I pictured 14 more identical buildings along Knowledge Park Dr. beside the three already there.

cl812

Feb 28, 2009, 3:31 PM

Hotel company eyes Fredericton
Published Saturday February 28th, 2009
A3
By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

Rodd Hotels and Resorts will be looking to partner with an existing business and won't be looking to build a new hotel or resort in Fredericton, says the company's CEO.

The P.E.I.-based company announced this week that it's no longer for sale and it will focus on expanding its business and being more competitive.

The company is eyeing Halifax, Saint John and Fredericton as potential expansion sites.

"We would like to extend the reach of the brand," said CEO Ian Hurst.

"We wouldn't look to build. We're looking for an existing hotel and we would run it under the Rodd brand."

Hurst said the company isn't anywhere near announcing a presence in Fredericton.

"We're just announcing that we would like to do this," said Hurst.

The company also announced it's looking for $4.5 million in refinancing to reinvest in employees and properties.

----

Governments splash cash on 'shovel-ready' projects
Published Saturday February 28th, 2009
A3
By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

Millions of dollars in provincial and federal infrastructure funding will soon be flowing into communities across New Brunswick to create hundreds of jobs and protect the environment.

Premier Shawn Graham and Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson told reporters the provincial and federal governments will spend $38.2 million on 32 "shovel-ready" projects.

Municipalities that receive funding will contribute $19.1 million, bringing the total investment to $57.3 million.

Thompson couldn't say exactly how many jobs will be created as a result of the projects, but said it would be in the hundreds.

Graham and Thompson made the announcement at the legion in McAdam. The village will receive $63,092 for a study of its wastewater collection system and $16,894 for a new chlorination monitoring system.

St. Stephen will receive $2.4 million to separate combined sanitary and storm water flows and renew existing water mains.

The community of Browns Flat will receive about $1.65 million for wastewater infrastructure.

Thompson said provincial and federal politicians from across New Brunswick will be rolling out the rest of the projects in their ridings.

"I think in probably the next week or so, most of them will have been announced," he said.

"There's obviously projects coming for, for example, Fredericton, and (MP Keith Ashfield) will be making those (announcements)."

He said many projects will have a green focus, but not all of them.

"They're high-priority projects which have been identified by the communities," he said.

Graham said the province wanted to put money into projects that will stimulate the economy and protect people's health.

"I'm confident today that with the investments that we're making, we're going to provide a more safe and reliable drinking water to our citizens," he said.

"We're also going to be dealing with sewage systems and the discharge of water in a more effective and safe manner."

Graham said communities across New Brunswick have been seeking funding to help them complete these kinds of infrastructure projects for years.

"It's important that we make timely investments in this aging infrastructure so we don't have a disaster occur where people's lives are in danger," he said.

"By working a partnership, at all three levels of government, we're making timely investments that put the security of our water and drinking systems at the forefront."

The premier said each community that receives funding has made arrangements to secure its portion of the necessary funding.

"We've been doing our work with the communities," he said.

"They've made applications for these funds. They have the matching dollars in place and they're ready to go, and so are we."

McAdam Mayor Frank Carroll said the funding will allow the village to improve water services and protect the environment. St. Stephen Mayor Jed Purcell said the projects will put people to work in his community over the next few years.

Harvey Mayor Winston Gamblin said his community will keep an eye on the rest of the announcements.

"We've got a couple of applications in, so we'll see what happens in the next little while, and whether we've been approved or not," he said.

Funding for these projects is contingent on the completion of all contractual agreements with the municipalities, including pending environmental impact assessments.

A second round of proposals will be called soon.

mylesmalley

Feb 28, 2009, 7:01 PM

I'm thinking of putting together an interactive project map for Fredericton like the one I put together for Moncton. I'm definitely going to need some help putting it together though. Any thoughts/suggestions?

xxFamilyGuyxx

Feb 28, 2009, 7:36 PM

I'd be happy to help.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Mar 1, 2009, 6:59 AM

Some of you may know that the Fire Facility webcam at fredericton.ca says it's offline but if you go to the first page of this forum it is still working.:yes:

John Smith

Mar 1, 2009, 5:40 PM

:previous:
Welcome aboard.

:cheers:

Welcome

Thanks. :)

I doubt I'll have much to say, but as a member of other boards it is always nice when the lurkers pop up to say hello.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Mar 4, 2009, 3:13 AM

Thanks. :)

I doubt I'll have much to say, but as a member of other boards it is always nice when the lurkers pop up to say hello.

Yeah more people should join like you. We need more people in the New Brunswick threads, especially this one.:yes:

xxFamilyGuyxx

Mar 4, 2009, 3:14 AM

Fredericton Makes List of Renovator-Friendly Cities

Fredericton, NB (February 27, 2009) - Fredericton has been named one of the "Top Five Renovator-Friendly Cities" in Canada by Canadian Contractor magazine. New Brunswick's Capital City joins Calgary, AB, Barrie, ON, Maple Ridge, ON, and Woodstock, ON on the list. An honourable mention was given to Airdrie, AB.

"This is a really nice honour for Fredericton," said Mayor Brad Woodside. "We have enjoyed record-breaking development over the past few years and new housing starts have been high. Despite all that, residents have continued to show pride and invest in their homes by carrying out renovations."

Fredericton was recognized not only for its recent record-breaking building activity, but for creating a renovator-friendly environment by identifying and establishing heritage preservation areas. Eight such neighbourhoods were identified in 1997, as part of the City of Fredericton Municipal Plan. The St. Anne's Point Heritage Preservation Area was established in 1984, and has approximately 350 privately-owned residences.

With some of the country's oldest housing stock, there are always homes to renovate in Fredericton. The heritage preservation area designation comes with a high set of development standards. The magazine goes on to indicate that with the heritage and cultural affairs division being part of the Development Services Department, the process of obtaining a heritage building permit has been streamlined.

With the federal government's new tax incentive for home renovations, and the downturn in the economy resulting in a decline in new housing starts and a refocusing on urban redevelopment, heritage preservation and improved efficiencies, Canadian Contractor set out to find the most renovator-friendly cities in Canada.

After six weeks of research and 50 interviews, the magazine tracked down dozens of cities willing to share their renovator-friendly stories. The list was eventually narrowed to the top five cities. The complete story appears in the February/March issue of Canadian Contactor magazine (www.canadiancontractor.ca).

Fredericton is one of the Top Seven intelligent communities in the world for 2009 and is a leader in green technologies. The municipality proudly supports heritage and culture initiatives and is a Cultural Capital of Canada for 2009. Residents enjoy an enviable and balance lifestyle.

Fredericton.ca

Dmajackson

Mar 4, 2009, 3:49 AM

I just heard Freddy is being considered for a relocated QJMHL team!

I really hope you guys get it. The Mooseheads needs a new team to develop a rivalry with :tup:

kirjtc2

Mar 4, 2009, 4:09 AM

I doubt it will happen. UNB owns the Aitken Centre....they were notoriously uncooperative with the Fredericton Canadiens and seem even less so now.

Even if it does happen, there will only be the same number of teams in the Maritimes, since it looks like Bathurst is gone.

xxFamilyGuyxx

Mar 4, 2009, 5:17 AM

Nope Won't happen:

It looks like the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Lewiston Maineiacs will be relocating to Boisbriand, Que., just outside of Montreal.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/rss/article/562243

cl812

Mar 4, 2009, 1:48 PM

Nope Won't happen:

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/rss/article/562243

That was actually denied, because of the team already in Montreal, so it might still happen, but not likely. If the team were to come here they might have decent attendance for the first couple seasons, but it would eventually drop off as the novelty wears off.

University hockey is as good or better than Major Junior anyway and UNB bearly draws 2,500 a game, so not great attendance given the relatively cheap ticket prices ($10). I personally would like to see the team come here, but Fredericton isnt a good hockey town.

cl812

Mar 4, 2009, 1:53 PM

Maineiacs talking to UNB about 'partnership'
Published Tuesday March 3rd, 2009
QMJHL | Franchise officials interested in forging a relationship with UNB
B1
By BILL HUNT
hunt.bill@dailygleaner.com

Officials with the Lewiston Maineiacs are exploring options with the University of New Brunswick which would allow them to move the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise to Fredericton next season.

Maineiacs president and governor Matt McKnight said he and majority owner Mark Just have "reached out to find out whether people from UNB would take a call or have a meeting," to discuss whether the Maineiacs could share the 3,673 seat Aitken Centre with the building's prime tenant, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

They met with officials from the university at the Colter Room yesterday and watched the UNB Varsity Reds face the Acadia Axemen in the second game of the Atlantic University Sport Men's Hockey Conference semifinal last night. McKnight preferred not to reveal who has been involved in the conversations representing UNB, but said the officials with whom he spoke "seemed receptive to investigating the opportunity," of striking a "partnership" with the Maineiacs.

He said Fredericton is the team's only choice to relocate the struggling franchise. An attempt to shift the franchise to to the city of Boisbriand, near Montreal, was denied by the owner of the Montreal Junior, making Fredericton the number one choice.

"Fredericton right now is where all our efforts are," he said. "We're not really investigating other opportunities at this point in time."

He said the challenge from the Maineiacs' perspective is "to come up with some sort of game plan that would align a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team with the UNB Varsity athletics program, not just with the hockey team, so that the university stands to benefit as much as our team would."

"It's not co-existing," he said. "It is by partnership. That's the only way we see the model working. Without that framework in mind, we wouldn't even be talking to the university unless we thought the athletics program at the university could benefit from this."

He suggested, for instance, that the Maineiacs have the infrastructure in place to develop "a strong marketing and sales component that will benefit the major junior team, as well as the men's hockey program as well as the other sports that fall under the athletics program. That's the only way we're thinking this could possibly work," he said. "We don't see the benefit to the university of simply leasing out the building to us. That wouldn't make any sense from the university's standpoint. We cetainly are not thinking of it that way at all."

He said he has not spoken personally with UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall about the prospect.

"But unless he would be favourable to the concept, it would be a dead issue before it even starts," said McKnight. He would have to buy into the program. Obviously, he has one of the best university men's programs in the country. If he doesn't see positive value or benefit to some form of partnership, it's certainly not going to work. In any agreement, unless everybody wins, it's not going to be a good deal."

The UNB men's hockey program is already among the most successful in the country. Average attendance at 14 regular season home games this season according to the Atlantic University Sport men's hockey site, was 2,495.

The club drew more than 3,000 fans for a pair of exhibition games against the Boston College Eagles and University of Maine Black Bears.

MacKnight said the fact that the team's recently-hired head coach, Don MacAdam, has strong ties to Fredericton and the university -- he was UNB's head hockey coach for seven seasons before departing on a professional coaching career, is a happy coincidence.

"When we hired Don, we hired him because he was the best available person at the time," he said. "That happens to be a benefit that he brings to the table." The club's head scout, Roger Shannon, is also a Fredericton native. Shannon also holds the position of general manager with the Varsity Reds.

McKnight said the wheels must turn quickly.

"I would say within two weeks from now, we would have a pretty concrete idea if we're going to be going forward with this or not," he said. "My feeling is, we'll have a good sense on whether this can come to fruition. I don't foresee us having the final operating agreement within two weeks, but if we have the agreement in principle on the table, the i's and t's can be dotted and crossed."

One agreement would have to be on the name. Would they be the Fredericton Reds?

"We want to help align the entire program together," said McKnight. "There would have to be a co-branding in place so that when the Major Junior team is playing outside the area, it's basically flying the flag of UNB. And vice-versa when the UNB V-Reds are playing outside the area, that people can see the tie-in and the relationship and the correlation between the programs. They've got to work seamlessly together."

The Maineiacs have four regular season games remaining in their QMJHL schedule, all at home. The team is in last place in the Central Division with a 21-41-1-1 record and will miss the playoffs this season.

-----

Wait and see approach
Published Wednesday March 4th, 2009
Maineiacs | Dickie says UNB prepared to listen to proposals regarding jr. franchise relocating in the city
B1
By BILL HUNT
hunt.bill@dailygleaner.com

University of New Brunswick athletic director Kevin Dickie says Lewiston Maineiacs officials were "kicking tires" in a bid to find a home for the wayward Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise, "and for me, it was an opportunity to listen."

Dickie was among the UNB representatives who met with the Maineiacs brass, including majority owner Mark Just, team president and governor Matt McKnight, Maineiacs head scout Roger Shannon and coach Don MacAdam in the Colter Room Monday.

"These discussions...if they're good people and good partnerships, we have them all the time in different sports. You take a look at the people involved here...you're going to give them the time and space to talk to you. It would have been wrong for us not to take the time," said Dickie.

Now what? Dickie is not sure.

"At the end of the meeting, we kind of looked at each other and said 'What's the next step?'" he said. "Over the next couple of days, the different constituents at the university will voice their opinion and provide some information back to them."

But he said his focus as the school's athletic director is "maintaining what we've built and trying to make it better."

He said the university made some "tough changes" in athletics last year, reducing the number of varsity programs to eight from 14. "We did that based on the fact that we needed to change the financial model. Quite frankly, we're very happy with the financial model right now, even in these tough economic times."

Dickie said he won't allow anything to threaten the success of a men's hockey program he called "the best program in the country.

"I want to make this crystal clear," he said. "I'll be damned if anything is going to negatively affect all the hard work and passion and dedication and perseverance that's gone into building this program into the best program in the country...we will never, ever compromise that happening.

"If somebody can convince me that they can make it better, and they can convince (UNB head coach) Gardiner MacDougall that they can make it better and they can convince the university they can make it better, hey...today and 10 years from now, I'm willing to listen. We like our program right now. If there's something out there that can make our program better, I'm all ears."

McKnight said in a story published in Tuesday's The Daily Gleaner the Quebec League operation was interested in a "partnership" with the UNB athletic program. He said the Maineiacs "wouldn't even be talking to the university unless we thought the athletics program at the university could benefit from this."

Dickie hasn't heard firm details of how the Maineiacs' move could enhance the school's athletic programs other than in marketing efforts. He doesn't believe the parties are on the same page in the negotiation process.

In fact, there have been none.

"We just met for the first time (Monday)," he said. "That's the first time a couple of people met a couple of people. I don't know where a process like this starts and ends, but we're at about a one. If anything were imminent, there would be some pretty key people at the university that would have known prior to picking up the paper (yesterday)."

Dickie said there's no timetable in place for further discussion. He characterized the Monday meeting as "a meeting with good people who wanted some of our time and wanted to hear us out. We left them and we thought it was positive.

"Our focus is our overall program, and also men's hockey. Why would we consider anything that doesn't make those things the best they can be? The best part of being the athletic director at the University of New Brunswick is that we're the big game in town.

"There would have to be outstanding reasons to be a part of changing that," Dickie said.

-----

Doesn't sound like the University is going to go for it, given it will likely hurt their attendance. In many respects i must say i dont blame the University, but it might also be a good for them and help to promote their program