The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by PersonPlaceorThing

SAINT JOHN AIRPORT LANDS WESTJET

Saint John, NB January 17, 2007:

At a community, stakeholder and media event held this morning, John Buchanan, President & CEO of the Saint John Airport, His Worship Mayor Norm McFarlane and Denise Saunders, Atlantic Regional Sales Representative for WestJet....

Another step forward for Saint John!

There is clearly a wind of change

Thanks Personplaceorthing !

[MTL Lucas]

Originally Posted by HalifaxMtl666

Another step forward for Saint John!

There is clearly a wind of change

Thanks Personplaceorthing !

Agreed!

This is fantastic news - only more so because it would have been unthinkable just a few years ago!

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by HalifaxMtl666

Another step forward for Saint John!

There is clearly a wind of change

Thanks Personplaceorthing !

Agreed. This speaks volumes about how the outlook is changing for Saint John. I would also like to see a direct flight to a major US airport soon. I think that is also very possible in the near future.

[ErickMontreal]

Saint John Board of Trade applauds positive economic developments in municipal budget

January 16 , 2007

No increase in the municipal tax rate, $5.4-million new revenue in 2006, and a focus on the capital budget are just some of the reasons the Saint John Board of Trade is supportive of the budget released at last evening’s City Council meeting.

“Going over the figures, we can see that some much needed improvements will happen through the capital budget including $19-million to be invested in new police headquarters, a $11-million parking facility for the uptown area, and $7-million for City transit,” says Bob Manning, Chairperson of the Board of Trade. “Although there has been good progress on the budget, there still remains the City’s pension issue, that if not resolved will continue to take funds from projects that would create real growth for the City.”

Levels of service will not change this year from 2006 as the City works to resolve the pension issue. “In a year when the City has successfully generated additional revenue we would expect to see an increase in the level of services we receive,” says Manning. “Moving forward, we hope to see greater investments in infrastructure and programs. In reviewing the progress made over the past three years, we realize that cumulative service levels are up.”

The Board of Trade is also very pleased by Common Council’s decision, and the Mayor’s leadership, to once again hold the tax rate which will attract new businesses to our community and support positive economic development. “The job of Council is to make tough decisions and they have” continued Mr. Manning. “Council committed to hold the tax rate during their mandate and we expect they will live up to their commitment.”

[ErickMontreal]

Uptown officials welcome money for final phase of Water Street

Mary-Ellen Saunders
Telegraph-Journal

Published Monday January 22nd, 2007

Appeared on page C3
Uptown Saint John officials are happy that the city has given $800,000 to the final phase and completion of the Water Street restoration project, along with $165,000 to complete Harbour Passage through the uptown area.

"The city gave funding for the completion of the Water Street project," said city manager Terry Totten. "Everyone in the community would hope that the port association would be successful in building a new terminal but the city didn't include any money in the budget to purchase the property for the new terminal."

Ross Jefferson, General Manager of the Saint John Waterfront Development Partnership, said he thought the 2007 budget approved by common council last week was terrific.

The city is one of three partners for the $17-million upgrade of Water Street, which includes redeveloping Pugsley Park, St. Patrick's Park and St. Andrew's Park and the beginning and end of Water Street, and upgrading the cruise ship terminal with the Saint John Port Authority. Jefferson said the money makes it possible for them to go after money from other avenues.

"We think council's consideration for this was very good and we are very happy with it," said Jefferson.

Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton said the money given to waterfront development was an investment that would bring more taxpayers to the city and increase revenue in the future.

One thing that didn't make the list was the was money to purchase the Coast Guard site. The cost of the proposed Coast Guard site on Water Street is being renegotiated with the federal government. It had to be re-evaluated with a new consideration of how hard the land is to develop.

Totten said the appraisal would probably be completed this year but didn't expect a closing date in 2007. He said not knowing the purchase price made it impossible to put a number in the budget. He said a decision would likely be made by council this year and paid for in 2008.

Uptown Saint John general manager Peter Asimakos agreed. He said the process is taking longer than he would have hoped but added when the project is ready to go forward, it will.

"If we did arrive at a sales price, I'm sure we could find a way to get the money to make it happen if we really needed it," said Asimakos. "I think the (city) manager was just being realistic about how long the process would take."

[MTL Lucas]

I was very pleased when I read this article - the creeping gentrification that this shows, with the Imperial Theatre, the fine dining and the wine bar is a sign of the important change going on in Saint John - particularly uptown.


Published Saturday January 20th, 2007
Appeared on page C5


Imperial Theatre crowned by influential magazine

Mary-Ellen Saunders
Telegraph-Journal


The general manager of the Imperial Theatre says he takes risks no other theatre in Atlantic Canada is willing to take, and this month those risks paid off.

The Imperial Theatre was named best cultural venue in Atlantic Canada by the readers of Progress Magazine.

"Good theatres delight audiences. Great ones inspire artists," read the blurb in this month's issue. "Saint John's Imperial is a great theatre. With one of the biggest stages in the region, it has mounted some of the most intricate eye-popping performances in Canada, from full-scale ballets and operas to first run plays and musical extravaganzas. Beyond this, the old girl is a real piece of eye candy."

General manager Peter Smith was tickled pink to have his theatre crowned. He said it was really cool to see the theatre chosen, and the entire staff felt fabulous after seeing the article in the magazine.

"We try to be everything to everyone in greater Saint John in terms of live performances. I mean, we don't change their tires or anything," said Smith. "We care more about our people and giving the best possible experiences and I think we are willing to take more risks because there are shows people should have the opportunity to see."

Progress Magazine is a 13-year-old business magazine that covers all of the Atlantic provinces. Smith admitted he didn't know about winning a spot in the magazine until his friend from Prince Edward Island called to congratulate him.

His copy showed up on his doorstep Wednesday.

Smith said the article may have stretched the truth a little on a few of its bragging notes. The article claims that the Imperial has "the world's most advanced lighting and sound systems, along with a counterweight fly apparatus worthy of the Cirque de Soleil."

Smith said the circus shouldn't try swinging on the fly apparatus which he said is excellent but meant for curtains and lights, not people.

"We do not have the world's most advanced lighting and sound, that's in Disney World and worth millions and millions and millions of dollars," said Smith. "We do have a state of the art sound system and a good lighting system."

Among the 20 winners in individual categories, Saint John took four other awards. Opera Bistro won best fine dining and best dessert, Harbour Passage was named best place to stroll and Happinez Wine Bar won best place for a quiet drink.

[ErickMontreal]

Refinery moves to permit process

Daniel McHardie
Telegraph-Journal
Published Thursday January 25th, 2007


Irving Oil Ltd. is expected to announce it will move forward with the environmental impact assessment on its $7-billion second refinery project, the crucial next step for a project that if undertaken could transform the Saint John economy and have a sweeping impact on New Brunswick.

Kevin Scott, Irving Oil's director of refining growth, will outline how Irving Oil will move forward with the second refinery project's environmental assessment and permitting process to community leaders at a luncheon speech today.

Jennifer Parker, a company spokeswoman, refused to confirm any details of the announcement on Wednesday.

"What I can tell you is that on Oct. 5 we committed to get back to the community early in the new year with an update on the project, including our decision on whether or not to move forward on permitting the project," Parker said. "And we do hope to give the community an update (Thursday)."

There will be an hour-long technical briefing for media before Scott's speech and presentation to the luncheon guests. Irving Oil's spokeswoman admitted the company would not host a technical briefing for reporters if there wasn't a development in the project.

"That's a good point," Parker said.

The second refinery would be the first such plant constructed in North American in the last 25 years. A number of environmental, feasibility, socio-economic and market studies have been underway in the time since the possibility of a second refinery was first announced.

News of the looming announcement has been circulating around government and energy circles for more than a week. Irving Oil officials have been briefing or lining up times to inform community leaders and politicians on Wednesday and Thursday.

Interim Opposition Leader Jeannot Volpé, who had a chance to meet with the company on Wednesday, said the second refinery project is a huge step forward for New Brunswick and it could act as magnet for even bigger opportunities for the Saint John region in the future, such as establishing a petrochemical industry.

Volpé said the environmental assessment process is a critical phase so the company can fully explain to various levels of government and local citizens how the project will unfold.

"It's a process that they need to do and it could be a year and a half to two years before it is all finalized. But this is the way, 'How will we involve people, how will we involve different departments, how will we involve the federal government,'"‰" Volpé said. "This is a process and what they are setting in now, it is what should be done and then the process will start: one by one, step by step they have to put the process around, the procedure around so you can reach a point where they can give their approval."

Irving Oil announced in October that it was considering building a second refinery and has said the mega project would create 5,000 construction jobs during the building stages, 1,000 permanent full-time jobs at the refinery, and more jobs as the economy grows in the city.

While Irving Oil has been cautious about whether the project will proceed, it has already purchased 3,000 acres in the Red Head area; a new refinery would require 400 to 500 acres. The existing refinery is already the largest in Canada. As it stands, the region imports more than one million barrels of oil per day.

The best-case scenario for Irving Oil would see construction start by 2009 and finish by 2012.

A decision to press onward with the second refinery project isn't just an important development for the province but the scope of the initiative transcends just New Brunswick, according to Saint John Liberal MP Paul Zed.

"Just in North American terms, this is a huge, huge project," Zed said. "It's an important and significant day for New Brunswick."

Steve Carson, Enterprise Saint John's chief executive officer, tried to put the project into perspective by comparing it to Calgary's ability to land the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Enterprise Saint John head said it's important Saint John harnesses the project and is able to reap all the benefits from the construction and the various spinoffs.

"We have the opportunity to make this a transformational project, rather than just another mega-project," he said.

The province's Opposition leader said the refinery project fits in with the energy hub concept charted by the former Conservative government.

"This is a huge project for New Brunswick," Volpé said. "It is one more step to bring something even bigger because when you reach a certain size of economy, you can attach something else to it."

While the project has received support from politicians and business groups, it also raises a host of health, security and environmental questions, all of which are likely to become the subject of intense scrutiny in a federal-provincial approval processes.

David Coon, a spokesman with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said environmental groups are firmly opposed to the proposal.

"We can't afford a second refinery. The health hazards from the existing refinery are unacceptable," he said in an interview.

"From a climate change perspective, we can't be building more refineries and adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when we're trying to go in the other direction."

- with files from David Shipley, John Mazerolle and Canadian Press

[ErickMontreal]

Uptade : Study area map in projects section

Irving Oil Takes Saint John Refinery Proposal to Next Phase

Begins environmental permitting process with submission of Project Description to provincial and federal authorities

Saint John, NB – After announcing last fall that it was seriously exploring the opportunity to build a second refinery in Saint John, Irving Oil is starting the environmental permitting process by submitting for registration a Project Description of its proposed new refinery with the provincial and federal regulatory authorities. This filing is intended to initiate the provincial and federal environmental impact assessment processes that are expected to be required for the project. The proposed new refinery, with a capacity of up to 300,000 barrels per day, would be located near the existing Irving Canaport deepwater crude receiving terminal in the Red Head area of Saint John, N.B.

The new facility is intended to respond to the need for additional refining capacity in the Northeast, contribute to Canada’s development as an “energy superpower” and New Brunswick’s goal of economic self-sufficiency, and support Saint John’s True Growth strategy. It would add to the competitive position of the New Brunswick energy hub by complementing existing energy infrastructure and create more opportunities for new projects and companies to invest in the region. Together with the existing Saint John Refinery, this new investment would create a combined total of up to 600,000 barrels per day of refining production capacity.

A new refinery would cost approximately $5-$7 billion to build. It would create approximately 5,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs, as well as generate significant additional employment and business opportunities during construction and operation, including billions of dollars in spin-off activity and the creation of thousands of additional permanent jobs.

“Irving Oil has a reputation and a long history of being part of this community,” said Kenneth Irving. “We want to make sure we involve members of our community and that we do a good job of reviewing all aspects of the project that are important to those of us who live and work here. The feedback has been encouraging, so we are moving to the next phase of the project with some optimism.”

The provincial and federal governments determine the process that will guide the scientific assessment of the potential environmental impacts, mitigation measures and socio-economic impacts, and the public’s formal input in the process. Environmental assessment under the New Brunswick Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will involve a thorough review of the project that is expected to take between 12 and 24 months and will include public consultation.

Kevin Scott, Director of Refining Growth for Irving Oil, said, “We remain committed to using the best available proven environmental technology in the proposed second refinery, and we will work with regulatory agencies as this project moves through what we expect will be a very rigorous environmental approval process.”

In addition to the formal public involvement, Irving Oil is committed to sharing information and consulting the community on the refinery proposal. The company will hold its first open house for members of the public in February. Members of the public seeking more information on the project are encouraged to visit Irving Oil’s website at irvingoil.com or to call toll free at
1-888-525-1777.

Irving Oil will also continue discussions to identify opportunities to collaborate with community organizations and governments in initiatives focused on education and training, building business capacity, and enhancing the quality of life and standard of living in the Saint John area. “We are committed to working together with others so the broader community is able to maximize the benefits from this project,” said Mr. Scott.

For example, Irving Oil is a partner in the development of a five-year strategic plan for post-secondary education and research, as part of a community-led initiative to determine the needs of both students and employers in the Saint John region.

“The proposed second refinery represents an incredible opportunity for Saint John and New Brunswick to grow and to give people an opportunity to stay here or return home,” Mr. Scott said. Mr. Scott pointed to Irving Oil’s successful track record in major energy project development and operation but cautioned that the final decision to go ahead with the proposed refinery still lies ahead. “We are pleased with our progress so far but we know that the project must receive the continued support of the community, the approval of regulators, and the final investment decision of potential investors before it would proceed.”

In addition to focusing on the ongoing environmental and socio-economic studies required for the permitting process, Irving Oil will be moving to the next phase of conducting more detailed engineering studies, as well as evaluating potential partners.

This step marks the second major energy project Irving Oil has submitted for registration in recent years. In 2001 the company registered the Canaport LNG project, also in Saint John. That project was the first newly proposed terminal on the East Coast of North America to receive permitting approval, and is currently under construction with partner Repsol YPF. Completion is expected by the end of 2008. In recent years, Irving Oil has been involved with encouraging several energy investments in the region.

About Irving Oil
Founded in 1924, Irving Oil is a privately owned regional refining and marketing company with a history of long-term partnerships and relationships. Irving Oil operates Canada's largest refinery, in Saint John, N.B., which is located 65 miles north of the U.S border and has reached production rates in excess of 300,000 barrels per day. The refinery exports over 80 per cent of its production to the U.S., and accounts for 75 per cent of Canada's gasoline exports to the U.S. and 19 per cent of all US gasoline imports. In 2003, Irving Oil became the first oil company to receive a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Excellence Award, for its clean gasoline. Approximately 7,000 people currently work with the company.


Media Contact:
Jennifer Parker
Irving Oil
(506) 202-2992

[MTL Lucas]

The fact that Irving is moving forward with the creation of 5,000 temporary jobs, 1,000 permanent (and well paying) jobs, 7 billion of investments and adding to Saint John's energy hub is absolutely fantastic.

This investment could really transform the city.

Thanks for the update! Also - I noticed where they are looking to build the second refinery - its going to look radically different!

[MTL Lucas]

Ok everyone, we've focused alot on the concrete developments in Saint John so I wanted to share one of my more fanciful ideas about what Saint John should do - in this case - for transit.

When CN closed down its SJ rail link Southern NB was left with alot of relatively unsused rail lines. They have found limited utility for industrial shipment (NB Southern Railways) but are quite underused.

I propose, given that Saint John's commuter basin is primarily a horseshoe shape with Saint John in the middle and suburbs stretching up on either side of the Kennebecassis and Saint John rivers, to make use of the rail lines which run through them.

I know SJ Metro is small to consider rail transit - but given that most of the infrastructure (rail lines, stations in most cases) are already built, I think it could be quite economical and would add to the urban atmosphere of the city and its suburbs.

Anyway, I made some diagrams below for you guys to take a look at (maybe some day I'll get to see it actually put in place!) You'll have to click on the link to see them, I am not yet adept enough to make the pictures actually show up

The Metro view (This shows the revised stops (I killed the one in Renforth, at least to start) and the * marks the multi-rail yard where the trains would cross) -



The City view -



The Uptown view -



And a possible SJ-Lepreau commuter connection -



EDIT - I worked out some more details -

Since the track is only one line, only one train can operate at a time per direction. However, at the midway point (30km from the Westfield terminus and 34km from the Hampton terminus) is a mutli-rail area (6 rails, I believe - at the corner of Rothesay Ave and Spencer St) which would allow the trains to cross one another (it is very conveniently equidistant, meaning that trains could depart at the same time from both the Hampton and Westfield terminus and pass one another exactly at the midway point). The trains would travel at 100 km/h and assuming 5 minutes a stop (like on GO or AMT trains) it would be 35 minutes from Hampton (20 fom the Valley) to Uptown and 25 minutes Westfield - Uptown (30 minutes Westfield - East Side Shopping).

In the morning, you could have departures from the Westfield and Hampton terminus (6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:00) and similarly return trips for Westfield and Hampton at 15:30, 16:30 and 17:30.

During the day you could have departures hourly (bi-hourly to start to test demand).

I am sure of the following locations of the stops -

Hampton - Centre of town or near the High School

Quispamsis - The southwest Corner of Old Hampton Highway and Route 119 (the access road from the Gondola Point Ferry to the Highway)

Rothesay - The intersection of the Marr/Clark Road and the Gondola Point Road

Saint John East - The intersection of Rothesay Avenue and McAllister Drive

Saint John Uptown - Station St to the immediate west of Harbour Station

Saint John West - Southeast corner of Lancaster Ave and Fairville Blvd.

Grand Bay - Centre of Community (near shopping area new River Centre)

Westfield - Whatever constitutes the closest thing to the centre of the community near the rail line.

Additionally, nothing should stop there from being one or two daily returns to Fredericton. It would link the two cities, provide a useful alternative for student and government workers over buses or driving on that moose ridden two lane deathtrap they indulgently label a highway.

Price Tag? 12 Passenger cars (carrying 300 people each) + 5 locomotives = $79,000,000.00 plus $8,000.000.00 in yearly upkeep (numbers from the AMT). Also a one time expense of $50,000,000.00 to build maintenance facilities in Westfield, SJ and Hampton.

Let's assume we can get 10,000 reliable monthly customers (students, commuters, whomever) paying about $75 per month - we would be looking at $750,000.00 income per month, $9,000.000.00 per year allowing for more than self suffiency. This is not even considering extra random ticket buying customers, fares to and from Fredericton or advertising revenues. I believe it could be self sustaining. It just requires several levels of government to eat a one time expense of $129,000,000.00 and cough of up 2 or 3 million a year to ensure enough money is available to keep everything up to date thereafter.

I think it would transform the city - if Saint John wants to dramatically turn itself around, it must do many dramatic - and intelligent - things. I believe this is one of them.

[ErickMontreal]

Great idea Lucas

It could be interesting to know, how this kind of project could cost, as the most important part of infractructure are already built.

I am not sure but in the golden age of the city, i think, this one had a Traimway

Very well done

Thank you for sharing

[Ottawa]

Interesting proposal!

Indeed there was local rail transportation in the early days. A very brief history can be found at http://phad.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/a...t-john-nb.html

[Smevo]

Interesting proposal MTL-Lucas. It would probably need an addition of a couple railway sidings (if there aren't already any in place) as an added safety measure. As far as connecting to Fredericton, that would require a large amount of track to be laid as well as a new station in Fredericton. All the track in the Fredericton-Oromocto area was taken up and replaced with the Trans-Canada Trail.

[MTL Lucas]

Originally Posted by Smevo

As far as connecting to Fredericton, that would require a large amount of track to be laid as well as a new station in Fredericton. All the track in the Fredericton-Oromocto area was taken up and replaced with the Trans-Canada Trail.

Thanks for the feedback!

From this rail map I found from UNB there are two rail links from SJ to Fredericton -



1. From Saint John along the western banks of the Saint John River to Fredericton via Oromocto

2. From Saint John to Fredericton via Fredericton Junction and presumably through Lincoln (or that general area)

From this map of the Trans-Canada trail it would appear that it runs along the first route (along the river, which makes sense)



Maybe significant (read usable) remnants of the second route via Fredericton Junction still remain?

If not, I still say build it anyway - Fredericton and Saint John should work together instead of only with Moncton. Everytime I look at a map I am stunned to see how close Fredericton and Saint John are and to see how the poor transportation infrastructure between the two makes getting twice the distance to Moncton just as fast.

[ErickMontreal]

Great job Lucas


I would like to know if goverment has a plan to twice highway 7 between SJ and Fredericton soon or if this part is under construction now?

[bluenoser]

Really interesting stuff. Nice work!

Originally Posted by MTL Lucas

Everytime I look at a map I am stunned to see how close Fredericton and Saint John are and to see how the poor transportation infrastructure between the two makes getting twice the distance to Moncton just as fast.

I agree completely. The connection between the cities is really surprising. Is there not that much business done between the two? You'd think the province's biggest city (?) and its capital would have more of a connection.

[Smevo]

The TCT does run along the first line, however, there are also two trails that run along the second line, one being the Naswaak trail which heads in the direction of Miramichi, the other being the Vanier trail which splits off of the Lincoln trail (TCT) and heads towards Fredericton Jct. I like the idea too, but it would require a large investment. I'm not sure if any track remains toward Fredericton Jct outside the city, I know there's none through Lincoln or Oromocto.

As far as HWY 7 twinning, I'm pretty sure it's in the plans. Most of the focus has been on the TCH 2 twinning, but they did follow through with HWY 1 SJ to Moncton and there is one section complete on HWY 7. I'm not sure what the timeline for this is though, depends on what agreement the Lord Tories made, though I'm sure Graham will try to take credit for it in the next election.

Originally Posted by MTL Lucas

As we discussed on the first page of this thread, Enterpise Saint John measured Saint John's commuter basin as 175,000 people in 2005 which makes sense. Moncton has a bigger CMA but I am sure Saint John has a larger commuter basin and client population.

Ok, Enterprise SJ said "Regional catchment and commuter population of 175,000" but Downtown Moncton inc. said "Greater Moncton market population: 190,000" So I dunno where you get that from, and Moncton also has 1.4 million people within a 2 and 1/2 hour drive.

1. http://www.enterprisesj.com/en/index.php?id=14
2. http://downtownmoncton.nb.ca/dmci.html

[ErickMontreal]

Ok, Enterprise SJ said "Regional catchment and commuter population of 175,000" but Downtown Moncton inc. said "Greater Moncton market population: 190,000" So I dunno where you get that from, and Moncton also has 1.4 million people within a 2 and 1/2 hour drive.

1. http://www.enterprisesj.com/en/index.php?id=14
2. http://downtownmoncton.nb.ca/dmci.html[/QUOTE]

This is clear that the CMA of Moncton will surpass SJ nevertheless in my mind, SJ still remain the real urbain mind in New-Brunswick by far. Uptown Saint-John has a huge advantage in this issue. No offence to Moncton. Sj will need to deal with these new reality...

[ErickMontreal]

error