[St. John's] The Official Project Thread

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Ropewalk needs serious help. My girlfriend lives in that area. It's run down, gritty, disgusting, and overall just really unappealing. After dark it's very unpleasant to walk around (though I can't really imagine running in to much trouble, it just looks like an unwelcoming place). The old Dominion building especially needs something done with it, whether or not that involves demolition or not. Apparently the whole building is infested with rats, though that really isn't surprising.

I just finished up 5 months of work in St. John's and rented a place near Ropewalk. I lived on Erley, which seemed like a tidy little street with fairly new homes, but aside from that the area was rather disgusting. I know that in the past the entire area around Mundy Pond had a bad reputation but aside from really poor aesthetic value, it seemed like a nice spot. My neighbours were all terrific for example.

Ropewalk is a great location for development and could easily be built up more densely. There is a huge empty lot behind Sobeys which is scattered with random debris (needs clean-up ASAP) and the housing on Pond View Court, as well as its neighbour cul de sac, is horrendous. The pond and walking trails would be an asset as well, everyone wants a park close by. Plus with all the open space it wouldn't be very difficult to accomodate more traffic and improve flow between Ropewalk and the parkway via Empire. As it stands, the area is a blight on the landscape but has huge potential. Step one, demolish the Dominion building and strip mall. I hate strip malls.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by Trevor3

I just finished up 5 months of work in St. John's and rented a place near Ropewalk. I lived on Erley, which seemed like a tidy little street with fairly new homes, but aside from that the area was rather disgusting. I know that in the past the entire area around Mundy Pond had a bad reputation but aside from really poor aesthetic value, it seemed like a nice spot. My neighbours were all terrific for example.

Ropewalk is a great location for development and could easily be built up more densely. There is a huge empty lot behind Sobeys which is scattered with random debris (needs clean-up ASAP) and the housing on Pond View Court, as well as its neighbour cul de sac, is horrendous. The pond and walking trails would be an asset as well, everyone wants a park close by. Plus with all the open space it wouldn't be very difficult to accomodate more traffic and improve flow between Ropewalk and the parkway via Empire. As it stands, the area is a blight on the landscape but has huge potential. Step one, demolish the Dominion building and strip mall. I hate strip malls.

A lot of the housing in that area is actually quite nice. Some of the homes are a little older than others, but most of which aren't eye sores or slum-ish. The obvious exceptions are the streets you've mentioned, which need serious help. The Ropewalk Lane area is pretty dead after the businesses close for the day, I think that's why I find it unsettling to walk around. Dark parking lots and sketchy bars, not my favorite things. I know the area as a whole has a bit of a bad reputation, but it is favorably located close to both the parkway, soon to be Team Gushue Highway Extension, a beautiful lake/walking trail, as well as downtown, and would be an excellent place to develop. If there was life on Ropewalk past 5pm maybe it wouldn't be such an unsettling place for whimps like me to walk about it

[ConundrumNL]

I've lived in the Ropewalk area for 25 years, and I'm constantly hearing the area referred to as a ghetto, which really upsets me because it's not nearly that bad. Sure, it's a little gritty and dirty, but I've never felt uncomfortable or unsafe walking the street at night.

The old dominion store area should be redeveloped, I would like to see another Churchill Sq. type area.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by ConundrumNL

The old dominion store area should be redeveloped, I would like to see another Churchill Sq. type area.

The old Dominion site on Elizabeth was redeveloped in to the current Lawtons building, yes? Dominion seems to have an awfully bad reputation of abandoning their old stores and not being able to sell them, I wonder why that is?

[statbass]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

The old Dominion site on Elizabeth was redeveloped in to the current Lawtons building, yes? Dominion seems to have an awfully bad reputation of abandoning their old stores and not being able to sell them, I wonder why that is?

Yeah, and don't forget the old Dominion store on the corner of Torbay Rd and Newfoundland Dr. What's up with Dominion?

[PoscStudent]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

The old Dominion site on Elizabeth was redeveloped in to the current Lawtons building, yes? Dominion seems to have an awfully bad reputation of abandoning their old stores and not being able to sell them, I wonder why that is?

Because Dominion is unionized another business cannot setup in their former stores for several years without a union. Yes, this sounds absolutely ridiculously stupid that it can't be true but I've heard several people say this.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

Because Dominion is unionized another business cannot setup in their former stores for several years without a union. Yes, this sounds absolutely ridiculously stupid that it can't be true but I've heard several people say this.

That's dumb. Really dumb. Their old stores are just sitting there, falling apart. Newfoundland Drive, Ropewalk Lane. Thankfully Elizabeth Ave got redeveloped, lets just hope they don't decide to abandon their newer stores, could be huge trouble.

[PoscStudent]

http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explo...c&user=2323027



http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explo...c&user=2948408


http://www.panoramio.com/photo/68842...=kh.google.com

[crackiedog]

Great looking project! Application states that the developer hopes to start construction almost immediately upon approval with an anticipated completion date of June 2013.

Public Meeting May 15th

EVENT NAME: PUBLIC MEETING: 345-353 Duckworth St. (former Avalon Telephone Bldg)
DATE : 15-5-2012

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012
AT 7:00 P.M. AT ST. JOHN'S CITY HALL

A public meeting will be held by the City of St. John's on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 to provide an opportunity for public review and comment on an application submitted by Henry Bell Developments Ltd. to redevelop and extend the former Avalon Telephone Building located at Civic Number 345-353 Duckworth Street. The Building is proposed to be redeveloped for approximately eighty (80) residential condominium units above a commercial level on Duckworth Street. Parking for the residential condominium units will be provided in the new parking garage that will be constructed by Henry Bell Developments Ltd. on the north side of Duckworth Street opposite the former Avalon Telephone Building.

The proponents have prepared a land use on this development project under terms of reference which were approved by the St. John's Municipal Council to provide detailed information on this development. This assessment report along with other background information may be viewed below. Copies of these materials are also available from the Department of Planning, third floor, St. John's City Hall. Enquiries on the application may be directed to the Department of Planning at (709) 576-8220 or e-mail planning@stjohns.ca

Any person wishing to make representation on this application prior to the public meeting may send their comments in writing to the City Clerk's Department as follows: (by mail: City Clerk's Department, City of St. John's, P.O. Box 908, St. John's, NL, A1C 5M2; by fax: (709) 576-8474; or by e-mail: cityclerk@stjohns.ca). Written and verbal representations may also be made at the public meeting, which will be chaired by a member of the St. John's Municipal Council. As information, written representations received will become a matter of public record.

In accordance with the City's policy on public notification, properties located within a radius of 150 metres of the former Avalon Telephone Building on Duckworth Street are notified in writing by the City of this upcoming public meeting. Notices are mailed to the property owners, business owners and occupants of buildings located within the 150 metre radius area. Property ownership information is based on data contained in the City's assessment roll.

Attachments:
Air Photo, Staff Report, Land Use Assessment Report and View Plane Analysis

[codyLawrenceDylan14]

Awesome stuff
here is the link to the LUAR: http://www.stjohns.ca/pdfs/AirPhotoS...neAnalysis.pdf

[statbass]

Originally Posted by crackiedog

Great looking project! Application states that the developer hopes to start construction almost immediately upon approval with an anticipated completion date of June 2013.

Thanks crackiedog, I just moved this to the Henry-Bell development thread...

**** EDIT: crackiedog has already posted this in the Henry-Bell thread. My apologies, I should have checked the other thread first.

[Copes]

Does anyone have much experience attending these public meetings? Do they tend to be interesting, or more of a procedural thing where not much worthwhile discussion takes place? Are they worth attending?

[statbass]

What will become known as the new campus of the RNC is still two years from completion. The entire project includes a building extension at Fort Townshend and the complete interior re-haul of the Old Annex across the parking lot. Chief Bob Johnston says part one of the project is now complete, which includes underground parking and a shooting range. Johnston says the buildings will also be geothermal.

He says construction on the main headquarters building is now underway and it should finish this time next year. Johnston says a tender will be called sometime this year for the final stage of development which is Memorial College.

http://www.vocm.com/sendbinary.asp?p....JPG&width=295

[rthomasd]

The RNC building project has got to be the slowest-progressing project in a lot of years. It's been going on for a couple of years and still has two years to go !! The steel went up very slowly and wasn't bricked-in for a year. Why do some projects seem to take forever to progress?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

The RNC building project has got to be the slowest-progressing project in a lot of years. It's been going on for a couple of years and still has two years to go !! The steel went up very slowly and wasn't bricked-in for a year. Why do some projects seem to take forever to progress?

They probably budgeted only so much per year (in phases), and bear in mind they have to carry on with normal operations during the construction. It seems rather slow though compared to other additions I have seen, even highrise vertical expansions, which have gone much faster while the buildings were still occupied.

[Arrakis]

In regards to the several posts about the abandoned Dominion stores. From what I understand is that Dominion (aka Loblaws) do not own the Newfoundland Drive, Ropewalk Lane buildings nor the Elizabeth Ave building which is now been redeveloped and were only leasing those locations from a local landlords. They did however own the Churchill Square location.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by techie

I think that you wil see changes in LeMarchant Road area in the next few years. I believe they are moving the courthouse to the Grace site? You'll see a lot of lawyers moving out of the downtown core to the historic houses around that area.

This rumour has been floating around for years now. There was an article in the telegram maybe even a couple of years back now that this site was one of a few being considered for a new courthouse. In fact, a law office recently moved out of that area in the past couple of months on LeMarchant Road across from Shoppers. Also, I would think that if there were immediate plans to construct a new courthouse we would have heard something in the recent budget.

Either way, something needs to be done with that site. It is prime for infilling with some detached dwellings or even some condos/apartment buildings. Bradbury Place is off Pleasant Street and comes to a dead end at that site, so that could easliy be extended to make way for new houses. I'm assuming the provincial government still owns it. They should sell it if they aren't going to use it.

[Architype]

There was this article "Grace site likely spot for new courts", last fall, here's the link:

http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Loca...r-new-courts/1

[statbass]

- Strong growth for construction, capital investment
- Oil production to dip
- Real GDP growth of 1.0 per cent in 2012, 3.5 per cent in 2013 (Canada's at 2.0 per cent in 2012, 2.5 per cent in 2013)

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND--(Marketwire - May 3, 2012) - Newfoundland & Labrador is likely to see a more mixed economic picture this year, with capital spending growth offset by declining oil production, according to the Provincial Monitor report released today by BMO Economics. Real GDP should grow 1.0 per cent this year, down from 2.8 per cent in 2011 and 5.8 per cent in 2010, but domestic demand should run quite a bit hotter.
"Construction and capital investment activity have been key economic drivers in the province in recent years, and early survey results suggest that growth will continue at a strong clip in 2012," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "Total capital expenditures are expected to jump 27 per cent this year, a similar pace to that seen in the prior two years, with resource industries leading the way. Major private-sector projects include the Vale nickel processing plant, development at Voisey's Bay, maintenance work at Terra Nova and further development of the Hebron offshore oil platform."

Source: http://www.marketwire.com/press-rele...mo-1652451.htm

[Copes]

I'd like to generate a bit of discussion regarding this article from the Globe and Mail today:

Does it make more sense to Rent or Buy?

Not too long ago I received an e-mail from a young couple in their early 20s who had just made the decision to purchase their first home after renting a house for the past three years.

“It was a no-brainer for us. It was either keep renting and throwing our money away or buy and start building equity.”

...

In many cities, it makes far more sense financially to rent a dwelling and build your equity by saving the difference between your rent and your ownership costs. Unfortunately, it is phenomenally difficult for many prospective new buyers to think logically about this due to the prevailing stigma against renting and the pressure exerted by well-meaning friends and family to “stop throwing money away on rent.” As I like to remind people, the majority of new buyers are still renters; they’ve just gone from renting space to renting money.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle2417996/

The article discusses the spreads in monthly mortgage payments versus monthly rent prices, and suggests that in most Canadian cities it makes more sense to rent a place than purchase a home. I myself am in a position where its time to make this decision, and I feel like the vast majority of young people in St. John's have the attitude presented in that article: "Why throw away rent when you can buy a house?"

I feel like the difference between St. John's, and other Canadian cities, is that the cost of a home isn't nearly as high as it is in places like Vancouver, Toronto, or even Halifax. The options seem to be paying $600/month for room in St. John's, or, get a mortgage with a buddy, buy a home worth under $200,000, which will likely have a 3rd bedroom that you can rent. The purchase seems like the cheaper option.

Is St. John's different than other cities, or am I just the delusional person in my early 20s that the Globe author is referring to?