The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[Ire Narissis]

They did say at one point that they were starting with the interior first, but even that would still require a building permit so the lack thereof is a bit suspicious.

I noticed a few days ago that one of the windows near the corner adjacent to the City Market is missing; there's an open gap above the plywood. Not a great situation there...

[SJTOKO]

Projects like these do NOT have to "take time". This is a typical Saint John attitude. Historica does not waste any time at all. If you take a look at this "company's" previous projects, it becomes painfully clear that they have no experience tackling challenges this big. In fact, just a glance at their website will tell you that. It's a shame. They will likely sink all of their money into hiring architects and consultants, and we might see a rendering or two before Christmas. In early 2019 their funds will likely be drained and they will try to sell the building for a much higher price (including the drawings, structural analysis etc in the package) and we can pretty much be guaranteed at that point that the building will sit empty for another decade. The building on the corner of Union (next to the comic store) was purchased around the same time, and look at the progress they've made.

[Sabien]

Here’s an article from April that has more background on the developers, not sure how reliable the source is, but it seems like he did some digging. The last few paragraphs are incredibly discouraging:

http://thelostvalley.blogspot.com/20...lding.html?m=1

But I’m trying to stay positive regardless...

I think that they bit off a lot with multiple projects in Saint John, and that they’re just running behind because of it.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Sabien

Here’s an article from April that has more background on the developers, not sure how reliable the source is, but it seems like he did some digging. The last few paragraphs are incredibly discouraging:

TheLostValley is a great resource and it's one I enjoy reading on occasion, but the author doesn't strike me as a positive source in general on anything that's happened in the city after, say, 1970 or so. Taken with a grain of salt.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by JHikka

TheLostValley is a great resource and it's one I enjoy reading on occasion, but the author doesn't strike me as a positive source in general on anything that's happened in the city after, say, 1970 or so. Taken with a grain of salt.

Everything with a grain of salt for sure. I’d like to remain positive. I know the groundwork & preparation for any project takes a whole lot more time and effort than actual work once shovels hit the ground or hammers hit the nail so to speak. Especially renovation/repurposing of existing structures, trust me I know firsthand. That said, reality is sometimes problems arise of varying nature so time will tell. I’m a glass half full type so I’ll remain optimistic.

[CdnEh]

What's the tea on the construction next to the Canadian Tire gas bar on Rothesay Ave?

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by mark smith

It's not going to happen

Thanks so much for your lovely contribution.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by CdnEh

What's the tea on the construction next to the Canadian Tire gas bar on Rothesay Ave?

New Kia dealership

[JakeNB]

91 King
So it appears that no one has any hard information about the status of this project. I do note that their other project at 70-76 King also appears to have stalled and the blue tarps over the facade have been there for weeks. Curious.

[Sabien]

The demolition has begun! Last week the street-side parking lot was partially excavated and the little green warehouse came down. As of this morning, the smokestack and that end of the building is a pile of rubble.

Watch webcam here (updates every 5 seconds)

I wonder if those trees by the parking lot will be saved - it takes so long to develop any green space, it would be great if they could find a nice way to incorporate the existing trees into any future plans - instead of starting off from scratch.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by Sabien

The demolition has begun! Last week the street-side parking lot was partially excavated and the little green warehouse came down. As of this morning, the smokestack and that end of the building is a pile of rubble.

Watch webcam here (updates every 5 seconds)

I wonder if those trees by the parking lot will be saved - it takes so long to develop any green space, it would be great if they could find a nice way to incorporate the existing trees into any future plans - instead of starting off from scratch.

Thanks for posting the link. Didn’t realize there was a camera there. Looks a lot different. Demolition is the first step. I also agree it would be nice if they could save the trees.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by RR Drummer

Thanks for posting the link. Didn’t realize there was a camera there. Looks a lot different. Demolition is the first step. I also agree it would be nice if they could save the trees.

Just mention it on one of the Fredericton FB groups, and they'll have a group down there to not only try to save the trees, but to have the entire site declared a heritage site to be protected from any development before you can hit "Submit"

[Whaler]

Originally Posted by JakeNB

91 King is looking worse than ever. Does not appear to have been any work done to date and no activity is visible. Anyone have any idea what's going on?

The owner lost the partners in this project.
Everything is on hold and possibly the building could be for sale soon.

[Fischbob]

Stumbled on some interesting info re: City Hall in this Monday's Council Agenda Packet (Item 17.1)

In an amendment to the City's lease agreement for City Hall, the landlord is listed as a (relatively new) numbered company, and signatories to the agreement show Keith Brideau as one of the directors. In other words, Brideau has either acquired, or is in the process of acquiring the City Hall complex.

This is likely the "next level" deal Brideau was referring to in this article from May, shared here previously. It's certainly unlike any building Historica has ever tackled before.

The terms shared in the lease amendment suggest that the City is still planning to consolidate its offices in the lower few floors of the building (now for an occupancy date around the end of 2019 rather than 2018), but what plans are for the upper portion of the tower is now up for speculation. As it stands now, there are a few miscellaneous tenants other then the City, but a lot of vacant space too. Will the space remain commercial, or are we going to see some kind of residential conversion of the upper floors? Regardless, this is a very interesting turn of events.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

Stumbled on some interesting info re: City Hall in this Monday's Council Agenda Packet (Item 17.1)

In an amendment to the City's lease agreement for City Hall, the landlord is listed as a (relatively new) numbered company, and signatories to the agreement show Keith Brideau as one of the directors. In other words, Brideau has either acquired, or is in the process of acquiring the City Hall complex.

This is likely the "next level" deal Brideau was referring to in this article from May, shared here previously. It's certainly unlike any building Historica has ever tackled before.

The terms shared in the lease amendment suggest that the City is still planning to consolidate its offices in the lower few floors of the building (now for an occupancy date around the end of 2019 rather than 2018), but what plans are for the upper portion of the tower is now up for speculation. As it stands now, there are a few miscellaneous tenants other then the City, but a lot of vacant space too. Will the space remain commercial, or are we going to see some kind of residential conversion of the upper floors? Regardless, this is a very interesting turn of events.

Yes, quite interesting indeed!

[Ire Narissis]

I've always been of the mind that the ceiling heights in that tower are awfully low for commercial use, but they'd be fine for residential units. Interesting potential there...

[ColSJ]

With the recent construction of the Irving parking garage and the new Irving World HQ set to open within the next few months it had me thinking what traffic will be like in this small congested area. Between the school and HQ you'll have around 2000+ people which means lots of foot traffic, lots of car traffic and lots of school buses. Below I provided what will be the most used roads in the area by regular commuters, employees of Irving, students/parents and buses. I included where I think the city should add in traffic lights to increase traffic efficiency and safety of pedestrians. Interested on everyone's thoughts...

[McKay]

Originally Posted by ColSJ

Below I provided what will be the most used roads in the area by regular commuters, employees of Irving, students/parents and buses. I included where I think the city should add in traffic lights to increase traffic efficiency and safety of pedestrians. Interested on everyone's thoughts...

The use and configuration of traffic lights or other controls (like stop or yield signs) is an engineering decision guided by publications from the Transportation Association of Canada. Much of what determines the choice of traffic controls is the measured volume of traffic at each intersection. There are set thresholds called "warrants" that would normally have to be met to go from, say, a two-way stop to a set of full traffic lights (or to add an advance left turn to existing traffic lights).

One of the reasons for this approach is to avoid overusing signals to the detriment of traffic flow. If you were to put lights at every intersection, a lot of traffic would be sitting at red lights even in the absence of any conflicting traffic, while a stop sign allows a driver more flexibility to move when it's safe. Also, obviously, traffic lights are pretty costly compared to signs so are only used where necessary.

The City of Fredericton has an extensive traffic model that allows them to predict what will happen when various changes are made to the system, including a new source of traffic, a street closure, a change to signalization, etc. I'd be interested in knowing if Saint John does this as well. If they do, the City probably already has an idea what changes might be required.

[JHikka]

I didn't read through the documents but most large-scale projects like this require a traffic impact study. I'd be curious to know if there was one created for this project.

[JakeNB]

Originally Posted by McKay

The use and configuration of traffic lights or other controls (like stop or yield signs) is an engineering decision guided by publications from the Transportation Association of Canada. Much of what determines the choice of traffic controls is the measured volume of traffic at each intersection. There are set thresholds called "warrants" that would normally have to be met to go from, say, a two-way stop to a set of full traffic lights (or to add an advance left turn to existing traffic lights).

One of the reasons for this approach is to avoid overusing signals to the detriment of traffic flow. If you were to put lights at every intersection, a lot of traffic would be sitting at red lights even in the absence of any conflicting traffic, while a stop sign allows a driver more flexibility to move when it's safe. Also, obviously, traffic lights are pretty costly compared to signs so are only used where necessary.

The City of Fredericton has an extensive traffic model that allows them to predict what will happen when various changes are made to the system, including a new source of traffic, a street closure, a change to signalization, etc. I'd be interested in knowing if Saint John does this as well. If they do, the City probably already has an idea what changes might be required.

The Citi should open up the end of Waterloo to allow access to Haymarket Sq. Would alleviate some of the traffic at the Crown/Union intersection for those going north or east.