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City Close To Signing Deal For Coast Guard Site
SAINT JOHN - A long-awaited deal for the city's purchase of the six-acre Coast Guard site off Water Street for development purposes is "very close" to being signed, says the city's point man in the negotiations with the Department of Fisheries.
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Photo: Kâté Braydon/Telegraph-Journal
A deal that would see the city buy the Coast Guard site is just weeks away, says Kent MacIntyre, general manager of Saint John Waterfront Development.
"We're not talking months, we're talking weeks," Kent MacIntyre, general manager of Saint John Waterfront Development, said in confirming similar comments made by Mayor Ivan Court earlier in the week.
"Like the mayor said, we thought we would be there before the end of December," MacIntyre said.
"(But) we've got a couple of small legal issues we're settling with DFO. That should all come together very shortly."
The deal, he added, will involve the city's purchase of both the Coast Guard land and all the buildings on the coveted site.
"That will be a major step in the whole process (of developing the site)," he added.
"Once the city purchases the land, we will be an excellent position to go forward in dealing very seriously with developers. It is tough to deal in a serious mode when you don't own the property."
Even so, MacIntyre said, there is good interest in the Coast Guard property from private developers to whom it will be sold off in parcels as a part of a multi-phased development.
"It is the prime piece of property in Saint John," he said.
"It represents a great opportunity to be a catalyst for future development in the city."
The Hardman Group, which owns nearby Market Square, has expressed an interest in building a hotel, condominiums and an office tower on the Coast Guard site since the start of negotiations in 2005.
MacIntyre said it is also interested in an abutting parking lot property currently owned by the city.
"As we finalize things with The Hardman Group, we will have more to announce very shortly on what we will be doing on that site," he said.
Court had said earlier in the week that the deal to purchase the Coast Guard site, for which the city had set aside $3 million, was "really close" to being signed.
"We hope there will be development there by the spring," he said.
"We were hoping it would be signed by Christmas, so we hope it will be signed very shortly. That's all I can tell you. It has to be a legal document."
He referred all other questions to MacIntyre.
Bill Hardman, president of The Hardman Group, also seemed optimistic a purchase deal is close when contacted at this Halifax office.
"I can't elaborate any more than what the mayor has said," he said.
"What I can tell you is all parties have been working on this for a long while and we are getting close to moving forward. That will be good for the uptown area and we're looking for the original vision of the project to move forward.
"It is fair to say in today's world, it is very complicated to get multi-phased projects moving forward. It is very tough," Hardman added.
"Part of it, though, from our perspective is the city hasn't owned the land. It was owned by the federal government." He said that caused delays that were beyond the control of both the city and The Hardman Group.
On the positive side, he said, is the fact that nobody walked away from the table.
"It has caused everybody to be more committed," he said.
Asked again if a deal is close, he said: "Yeah, we are close to where the city and ourselves have a greater control over that property and moving things forward," Hardman said.
"I would say we are working toward having that agreement executed."
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