The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[michael_d40]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Mice at city market is not something new. It has all the factors - located in an old densely populated area, heat, food smell, food droppings, doors constantly being opened and closed. No one is to blame but the owner - contaminated food can take the life of someone who’s immune system is compromised. Doing a quick check for rodent droppings is part of the tenant’s morning routine in the market even though the city takes measures to mitigate it. The chief medical officer made the only correct decision to be made. I hate to see it close but they need to accept responsibility.

In another note, can anyone confirm rumour that the parking garage overlooking St Andrew’s green was sold and will be torn down to construct condos?

Where is St. Andrews Green and this parking garage you speak of?

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

Where is St. Andrews Green and this parking garage you speak of?

Enter coordinates in a map

(45.2723133,-66.0624657)

Behind barbours general store, garage attached to National office building.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Enter coordinates in a map

(45.2723133,-66.0624657)

Behind barbours general store, garage attached to National office building.

Gosh I hope so, that "parking garage" is a huge waste of prime real estate, it barely holds more than a surface lot (so no real gain in parking density), and adds nothing to the streetscape aside from the rental car business on the Water St. side.

Speaking of Water Street, it is getting a new boutique hostel:

http://huddle.today/saint-john-getti...-the-bunkhaus/

BunkHaus Hostel, which will be located in Historica Developments-owned 36 Water Street, will aim to bring nice but affordable accommodations to Saint John’s uptown core.

Ingrid Woodhouse says she was inspired to open a boutique hostel in Saint John after researching and staying at them herself throughout her travels.

“I’ve always been interested in alternative living, urban living and small spaces,” says Woodhouse. “After seeing different hostels, I decided that it would be really cool to bring one to Saint John because most accommodations are very expensive. I thought it would be cool to have a hub for travellers to meet and for people from out of town that want to come in to see concerts or see events and want to experience uptown.”

....

The hostel will have a total of 22 beds and will offer a mix of both private rooms and custom timber-frame bunkbeds. There will also be a common area with a communal kitchen, a long harvest table for sharing meals and a lounge area. There will also be on-site wifi and laundry facilities. There are also plans to add a minibar as well as an outdoor patio with hammocks and heat lamps later on.

Woodhouse is still working to finalize rates, but they will start around $49 and increase base on the style of accommodation. She says BunkHaus will be a spot for anyone looking for a nice but affordable place to stay in Saint John.

[McKay]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

The building is government owned so they should be responsible for keeping it clean and a business should not be punished for their failure to do so

Forgive me, but that's like suggesting that the owner of a shopping mall should be responsible for cleaning all of the stores in it. Market vendors have to be responsible for maintaining their own spaces and equipment.

We're not talking about just mopping the floors, here. Restaurant sanitation is a big job and there are serious risks to doing it badly. I imagine that none of us clean our own kitchens to a commercial standard, but we prepare, at most, a few meals a day for a few people at a time. It's very different when you're constantly receiving, preparing, and cooking food to serve tens or hundreds of people every day.

[WharfRat]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

http://huddle.today/developer-plans-...of-saint-john/

Additionally information on the proposed redevelopment of the old Salvation Army building.

Wow, a 1200 SqFt 2 bedroom apartment is a really nice size unit.

With all these Reno/Refurbishment of buildings uptown perhaps SJ needs a dedicated thread, one showing the before and after pics. A shutterbug could start with the City Market maybe if the scaffolding is down?? Just a thought

[cdnguys]

Just a follow up to rumour about condos behind barbours general store, just heard from another person the city may move barbours general store again to free up that prime property for development. Be great if true

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Just a follow up to rumour about condos behind barbours general store, just heard from another person the city may move barbours general store again to free up that prime property for development. Be great if true

The placement of Barbour's in Market Square is very strange to me. It was moved there in 1967, right in the middle of the urban renewal program. It was placed there while traditional structures and historic buildings were being demolished all around the CBD, and Market Square would soon be surrounded by International Style masterpiece Brunswick House, brutalist monolith Brunswick Square, and Late Modern landmark City Hall. Just look at the aerial view. One of these things is not like the others.

This isn't an attack on Barbour's. I just don't understand the logic behind it.

Could moving Barbour's be related to the museum? It could fit right in on the coast guard site with a new building, or along the edge of Loyalist Plaza.

[cdnguys]

Just a side thought :
I was thinking of the nicest looking Class A office space in NB based on design or just pleasant to look at, and this is my list in no particular order :

Blue Cross Centre, Moncton
New Irving HQ, Saint John
Mercantile Centre, Saint John
Red Rose building, Saint John
Frederick’s Square, Fredericton
1234 Main Street, Moncton

Any other thoughts ?

[WharfRat]

Originally Posted by Franco401

Could moving Barbour's be related to the museum? It could fit right in on the coast guard site with a new building, or along the edge of Loyalist Plaza.

The great travelling Barbour store....time to put that bad boy on wheels

http://new-brunswick.net/Saint_John/images/stjh225.jpg

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Just a side thought :
I was thinking of the nicest looking Class A office space in NB based on design or just pleasant to look at, and this is my list in no particular order :

Blue Cross Centre, Moncton
New Irving HQ, Saint John
Mercantile Centre, Saint John
Red Rose building, Saint John
Frederick’s Square, Fredericton
1234 Main Street, Moncton

Any other thoughts ?

Are you referring to the office space [ie. interior] or the building itself? If we’re talking interiors, there are much nicer offices in SJ than the Mercantile Centre, such as the various parts of Centrebeam, 87 Canterbury, or even more suburban spaces like the .exp offices on Rothesay Avenue.

[Fischbob]

Don't forget about CenterBeam Place! And I've always had a soft spot for Brunswick House.

Speaking of 1967, here is a webmap where you can compare aerial photography of that vintage to today's - pretty cool: https://saintjohn.maps.arcgis.com/ap...eea8da1db530d9

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Franco401

The placement of Barbour's in Market Square is very strange to me. It was moved there in 1967, right in the middle of the urban renewal program. It was placed there while traditional structures and historic buildings were being demolished all around the CBD, and Market Square would soon be surrounded by International Style masterpiece Brunswick House, brutalist monolith Brunswick Square, and Late Modern landmark City Hall. Just look at the aerial view. One of these things is not like the others.

This isn't an attack on Barbour's. I just don't understand the logic behind it.

Could moving Barbour's be related to the museum? It could fit right in on the coast guard site with a new building, or along the edge of Loyalist Plaza.

The current location of Barbour’s actually was to allow for the construction of a new electrical substation which is located beneath it. The whole redevelopment a few years ago St. Andrew’s Sq., the Hooper sculptures and the General Store all hide the utilities (you can see the entrance around back in what would be the “basement” of the store) something which would have taken up a surface lot otherwise. The move across Water Street was supposed to also allow for the Coast Guard Development and Loyalist Plaza redevelopment, both of which we are still waiting for

Moving it again would be possible, but the new development would have to displace the substation again or require incorporating it into the new building as well.

[Sabien]

There was a crane and crew at 91 King street early this morning! (the crane is setup on S Market St). I also drove past a crew of ~10 people at the reno on the corner of Charlotte/Union - a busy Sunday morning in SJ! Can't wait to see some renderings.

[Fischbob]

Following on the heels of St. Andrew and St. David's United going up for sale, the Catholic Diocese has announced several church closures. From the Great Canadian Churches Thread:

Originally Posted by Fischbob

While we're on a Saint John kick, news of more impending church closures - this time from the Catholic Diocese: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...629517?cmp=rss

The 3 churches affected within Saint John city limits are:

Holy Trinity Church in Mount Pleasant

Source

St. Peter's in the North End

Source

St. John the Baptist in the South End

Source

Again, sign of the times as parishes deal with declining attendance and old, expensive-to-maintain buildings.

Anyone around here skilled in repurposing old churches? The list of potential projects is growing...

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Sabien

There was a crane and crew at 91 King street early this morning! (the crane is setup on S Market St). I also drove past a crew of ~10 people at the reno on the corner of Charlotte/Union - a busy Sunday morning in SJ! Can't wait to see some renderings.

IIRC the first priority of 91 King is getting the brown cladding off to see what the brick is like underneath. It'll be exciting to have that brown sheeting off finally.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

Following on the heels of St. Andrew and St. David's United going up for sale, the Catholic Diocese has announced several church closures. From the Great Canadian Churches Thread:



Anyone around here skilled in repurposing old churches? The list of potential projects is growing...

Holy Trinity and St. Peters are both amazing structures, in particular Holy Trinity is one of my favourites in the city, I hope it finds a buyer before it deteriorates.

[ColSJ]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...line-1.4629196

Another article on the Salvation Army building redevelopment. Perhaps we may see developers begin to venture further into the central peninsula. The south end needs a lot of work but has great potential. If developers begin to fix up neighbourhoods the city may feel obligated to do their part and fix up the roads and sidewalks.

[JHikka]

Since we're on a bit of a church kick lately:

Event Planners Want to Renovate Uptown Church For a Wedding Venue
http://huddle.today/event-planners-w...wedding-venue/

SAINT JOHN – Natasha Tobias and Paul Cooper plan to turn the former Cornerstone Baptist Church in Uptown Saint John into a venue for weddings and other events if Common Council agrees to rezone the property for commercial use.



Tobias says they already have 20 deposits to book weddings for 2019.

[CdnEh]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Just a side thought :
I was thinking of the nicest looking Class A office space in NB based on design or just pleasant to look at, and this is my list in no particular order :

Blue Cross Centre, Moncton
New Irving HQ, Saint John
Mercantile Centre, Saint John
Red Rose building, Saint John
Frederick’s Square, Fredericton
1234 Main Street, Moncton

Any other thoughts ?

IMO the design of Mercantile Centre really didn't age well. It looks super 90s.

Then again, a lot of the "newer" (ie since the 1960s) architecture in the city hasn't aged well. I'm dying for a reclad of Brunswick Square. I'm not sure what they could do to make it look a little better, but that stone sheeting or whatever it's clad with was a... choice.

Brunswick House still looks classy though.

[Ire Narissis]

I actually kinda like the Brunswick Square tower; it's like a neat fusion of brutalism and glass.

The shopping centre and hotel are pretty boring, though.