Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Blue Blazer

I am serious. I like to joke around , but when I am joking you would know it. I don't like going downtown. Its all about location. Easy Access equals more business. I admit I like Taco boys a bit more but I wouldn't say it was 100 times better

There's no "lack of parking" downtown. That's a myth. Parking for a business like that downtown is mostly irrelevant anyways. They're catering to the thousands of people who work in the downtown core M-F 9-5. And outside of those hours there is plenty of available free parking.

It didn't fail because it was downtown. The product wasn't great. Most of the people I've talked to about it greatly prefer Taco Boyz and weren't really fans of Burrito Jax.

I do hope we get a Taco Boyz location downtown. It would do very well.

[cl812]

I personally found Taco Boyz to be superior in food quality and price point. Parking wasnt really an issue, as there are often spots in the tannery right in front of the door.

I am hoping for a northside location, but downtown seems more logical.

[Taeolas]

I think you mean Jax. Boyz are the survivors.

I'd love a north side location and there are some good potential spots maybe; but downtown is more likely.

I almost want Boyz to take over the Jax location to prove it ISN'T parking as teh failure issue; but the Jax location was tiny compared to their current location. Maybe if they could take over the ice cream place next door they would have enough room. It could be an opportunity to cobrand with it too; offer the creamery as a dessert option with the meal.

[cl812]

^^^

Yeah I meant parking at Burrito Jax wasnt an issue, but I was referring to Taco Boyz as having better overall product. I see now the way I worded it wasnt clear. Thanks for pointing that out .

[JonaQuiro]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/busine...rket-1.4303299

And Payless is on its way out of Canada. It'll be interesting to see what will take its place in Regent Mall.

[Blue Blazer]

Originally Posted by JonaQuiro

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/busine...rket-1.4303299

And Payless is on its way out of Canada. It'll be interesting to see what will take its place in Regent Mall.

Yup that was going to happen the usa stores just went under it was only time.

[Taeolas]

Could be anything. It moved from a higher profile corner near Walmart to make room for Lawtons, to a mid-hall location near the food court a few years back. The mall doesn't seem to have too much trouble filling those mall-slots up, so I'm sure it won't be empty for too long.

What might be more interesting to see is how Regent fills the spot. They don't have many vacancies, but depending on who wants to move (especially with Carleton Cards shutting down too), they may move some existing tenants around to consolidate space for a bigger store. Carlton Cards is a big space by itself, and Just Cozy has finally left (longest pop-up shop ever I think), so the mall may want to move things around near the food court.

I could see the mall pressuring "Spring" to move to the Payless spot (similar sizes) to double the space available when Carlton Cards moves out.

[Taeolas]

And in road news. City Seeks Input into Feasibility of Constructing a Roundabout on Route 8 near College Hill Road

The City of Fredericton is seeking input from residents on plans for a potential Roundabout on Route 8 near College Hill Road, unveiled at a meeting of the City’s Transportation Committee today. The roundabout would enable a direct connection between College Hill Road, Route 7 and Route 8, including the Dr Everett Chalmers Hospital and the Universities.

Residents of the College Hill / Southwood Park / Skyline Acres area of the city are invited to a meeting Wednesday, February 20th at the Liverpool Street School, 50 Liverpool Street, from 6:00-7:30pm to discuss the plans and feasibility study in detail.

Residents unable to attend the meeting are invited to view the plans and submit their feedback by completing an online survey on the City’s website at www.fredericton.ca/activetransportation.

A recently unveiled mock-up of a possible roundabout in the area shows how it could potentially:

Improve connections between Route 7, Route 8 and College Hill (including Universities and Hospital).
Improve trail connection to Skyline Acres through Reading Park; College Hill and University campuses; to Hospital; and the Uptown District.
“This roundabout could completely transform how motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians access the College Hill / University area of the City,” said Coun. Kevin Darrah, Chair of the City’s Transportation Committee. “We’re looking forward to exploring the project’s potential.”

The feasibility study for the College Hill Roundabout was made possible by a funding grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) 2018 Municipalities for Climate Change Fund. It is one of three projects being explored with the FCM funding, all three of which were identified as major transportation gaps as part of the Active Transportation Connection Plan completed in 2016.

Public input will form the basis of further discussions around a future plan and its development.

The survey for the College Hill Roundabout will be available for viewing and discussion on the city’s website until March 15, 2019. Residents have until then to submit their comments online, or by contacting Service Fredericton at 506-460-2020 or service@fredericton.ca.

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by JonaQuiro

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/busine...rket-1.4303299

And Payless is on its way out of Canada. It'll be interesting to see what will take its place in Regent Mall.

It sad to see another business close for good. I feel bad for the 2,400 employess soon to be out of work.


Here is another aritcle about the closure: https://business.financialpost.com/n...ped-for-market


(I too, wonder what will replace their spots in Regent Mall, McAllister Place, and Champlain Place?)

[bcav]

Originally Posted by OliverD

There's no "lack of parking" downtown. That's a myth. Parking for a business like that downtown is mostly irrelevant anyways. They're catering to the thousands of people who work in the downtown core M-F 9-5. And outside of those hours there is plenty of available free parking.

It didn't fail because it was downtown. The product wasn't great. Most of the people I've talked to about it greatly prefer Taco Boyz and weren't really fans of Burrito Jax.

I do hope we get a Taco Boyz location downtown. It would do very well.

*Like Post

[Natalia]

http://www.iheartradio.ca/the-fox-10...cton-1.3745401

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Natalia

http://www.iheartradio.ca/the-fox-10...cton-1.3745401

That’s from nearly a year ago.

[Taeolas]

Fredericton experiences near record levels of development in 2018

Strong private sector investment and an increasing population spurred development activity in Fredericton to near record levels in 2018.

The total value of construction for the year reached $134.8 million, up $16.8 million from the previous year. That’s $20.8 million above the 10-year average.

Good to see us doing so well. Staying above 100 million is excellent to see. If next year is as good as this year, we could easily crack 150 million. (With the courthouse off the books that might be harder; but we have the Regent Street building to look forward to, along with the Prospect renovations for Marshals and I'm sure more major projects).

[OliverD]

There's more details available in the development committee agenda package: http://www.fredericton.ca/sites/defa...c_open_pkg.pdf

- 61 single detached dwelling starts
- 292 multiple unit starts

Single unit starts were down to 17% which is the lowest ever. I think construction costs for single detached dwellings are just to high in relation to market values right now.

Anticipated projects for 2019:
- Knowledge Park cyber security building (already under construction I believe)
- 75-95 Regent Street office building
- 23 Main Street mixed use building

That last one is news to me. There's a render in the package and it will have eight residential units. There's also a map showing an anticipated mixed use building with four residential units on Main Street around Douglas Ave.

[Taeolas]

23 Main street looks like it will take over the little house on the corner there. The city is already planning on taking up some of that land space to expand the road and sidewalks on the north side of Main around that intersection too. Overall it looks like a decent addition.

I wonder if the townhouse part of 215 main is counted for too? For the summary it seems like it is only counting the 16 single bedroom units on the second floor.

The city also released plans for Main Street's urban plan

Basically it follows the master plan. All new development will hug the street. Buildings will be a minimum of 2 stories, a maximum of 4 stories, up to 6 stories on corners. Vinyl siding and similar 'cheap' construction materials will not be allowed. Wood will be encouraged but steel and other siding/building materials are allowed. Also the design rules should be more relaxed to allow contemporary designs and not be as historically bound as say the downtown core is.

All in all it looks like a good set of plans for the North Core.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I wonder if the townhouse part of 215 main is counted for too? For the summary it seems like it is only counting the 16 single bedroom units on the second floor.

Don't think the townhouses are counted as there wouldn't have been building permits for them yet.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I wonder if the townhouse part of 215 main is counted for too? For the summary it seems like it is only counting the 16 single bedroom units on the second floor.

According to the proponent:

The main structure is 13000 Sq Ft of commercial space on ground floor and 16 one-bedroom apartments on the 2nd floor. Expected to be completed by late May (we will see).

Work will then begin on 16 condos at the back of the building and completed in November

[OliverD]

Condos implies they will be sold and not rented?

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Condos implies they will be sold and not rented?

In the traditional sense ...yes. But he may also rent depending on the uptake he receives. IMO the latter is the likely scenario but could be wrong.

Note that he refers to them as 3-floor condos (parking garage on level 1, kitchen, laundry, living room on level 2 and bedrooms on level 3)

[OliverD]

It will be interesting to see the design of these townhouses, and how they interact with the trail behind them. It does sound like a pretty solid development overall. Just wish that the building fronting on Main Street was 3 or 4 storeys tall.