Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by Steeple Shanks

Just received word from the Capital Region Tennis Association. The foundation phase of the indoor tennis courts, at the Grant/Harvey arena, is complete and they are projecting a finishing date of February 2012.

Was wondering about that project. Haven't seen any details released re this project other than a spokeperson stating that details would be forthcoming in a few weeks. That statement was made during the summer. Are there any renderings?

[Steeple Shanks]

Originally Posted by Freddypop

Was wondering about that project. Haven't seen any details released re this project other than a spokeperson stating that details would be forthcoming in a few weeks. That statement was made during the summer. Are there any renderings?

I haven't seen any. Just know, from the article you refer to back in the summer, they say it is not going to be a bubble and it promises to be a state-of-the-art facility.

[Freddypop]

Published Wednesday October 5th, 2011

A4 By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN

mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com

Construction has started on Fredericton's $2.1-million signature indoor tennis facility to the delight of members of the Capital Region Tennis Association, Tennis Canada officials and politicians from all levels of government.

The tennis facility will be built adjacent the new indoor ice hockey arena, due to open in March, and will share its geothermal heating system to cut energy costs.

With six permanent indoor courts, the community tennis centre will encourage people of all ages to embrace the sport, while providing a centre where competitive play at all levels can be hosted, said Capital Region Tennis Association past president David Clark.

Clark, who's also the chairman of Capital Region Community Tennis Centre Inc. - the not-for-profit organization that will operate the facility - said growing tennis and making it accessible to leisure players and young people who can engage in sport for health and fun are equally as important as providing a venue for competitive tennis.

"It's a wonderful project. It will be the largest indoor tennis facility east of Montreal," said Mayor Brad Woodside.

"It's going to be very exciting for the tennis community in Eastern Canada."

Coun. Steven Hicks said the construction of the tennis structure will allow the city to add competitive tennis events to its growing roster of sport tourism events.

"This will be the marquis spot in eastern Canada for tennis, so we'll get some provincial tournaments and national tournaments, and we'll go from there," he said.

"Hopefully, everyone in the community benefits from this project."

With the foundation poured and work starting on the building - which was designed by Frank Goddard at Eastern Designers and Company Ltd. as his gift to the community - Clark said a corporate fundraising campaign called Let's Make Tennis Matter in New Brunswick has been launched to raise the remainder of the cash needed to complete the structure.

Tennis Canada donated $250,000 to start the project. Tennis enthusiasts pledged a matching $250,000 to begin the project. The Regional Development Corp. and the provincial government jointly committed a little more than $1 million, and Clark said he hopes to announce a major benefactor whose donation will go hand in hand with naming rights.

That leaves it to Clark and the Capital Region Tennis Association to come up with a shortfall in the order of $350,000.

At Tuesday's sod-turning event for the construction launch, Bill Johnson of Wood Motors gave the corporate fundraising drive a generous $25,000 kickstart, Clark said.

Tulla Bateman-Parkin, director of fund development with Tennis Canada, said the search for additional sponsors will expand beyond New Brunswick, to the Atlantic region and nationally.

"Our goal really is to open this up to everyone in the community, not just within Fredericton proper, but in the surrounding areas as well," Bateman-Parkin said. "It is a model project for the rest of the country. It's absolutely our mandate to grow the sport."

About six years ago, when Tennis Canada was courted by the Capital Region Tennis Association for funding support, it sparked interest in a national facilities program, which now helps communities design and build facilities.

"Tennis provides so many health benefits that we've now got it in schools across the country, community centres, so we want that passion that once someone plays tennis, they fall in love with it and want to play year-round," Bateman-Parkin said.

"One of the important parts of this project is that no child will be refused based on financial means, but it is an inexpensive sport to start."

"This whole project and what Tennis Canada is doing is to grow tennis at a community-based, grassroots level making it accessible to everyone," Clark said.

"This is an exciting time for local tennis enthusiasts as well look forward to the final phase of this project. We are committed to growing the sport of tennis in our region, with all ages and abilities and backgrounds," said Brent Howe, president of Capital Region Tennis Association.

"Our vision is that every child and teen in the city owns a racket and plays tennis 12 months of the year."

The courts will be built to international standards and accommodate all types of tennis play, including wheelchair tennis.

Clark said the city and tennis centre are in talks that could see the city transition its tennis program to the facility.

Fees to play at the facility will be set at nominal levels.

The tennis centre is also courting the provincial government for funding assistance to help operate some of its services.

It has also applied to Energy New Brunswick for assistance since the building's design will incorporate energy efficiencies.

The University of New Brunswick will also form a partnership with the tennis centre. Clark said he expects kinesiology students can be involved in internship and research opportunities and work opportunities at the facility.

The building will be complete late winter to early spring.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/c...rticle/1445325

[OliverD]

Noticed the crane for the new downtown apartment building going up today.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Noticed the crane for the new downtown apartment building going up today.

I can't wait for this place to be finished! I think looking down Queen after it is done will look so different from the area near Regent. I only think it will look different because it is being built where Queen makes a pretty sharp turn and I feel like it will kinda make the street look longer than it really is

[Taeolas]

As mentioned the crane is up, and I suspect they'll be pouring the foundation soonish. Looks like they've got rebar set up for 2 elevator bases and a stairwell base, as well as the actual support columns.

I know financially times are tough, but after this morning, I'm thinking the city really will need that third bridge Soon. Still, we've been really lucky through this 1-bridge period to not have more tieups this bad.

[OliverD]

The traffic this week has been terrible.

I'm trying to buy a place on the south side right now so I'm hoping I can say goodbye to the bridges for a while.

[cl812]

Call centre expected to create 150 jobs
Published Saturday October 8th, 2011
Company coming | Fredericton mayor pleased with recent job boom in capital city
A1
By ADAM BOWIE
bowie.adam@dailygleaner.com

A new call centre is expected to create about 150 customer service jobs for the capital region.

Global business solutions company Aditya Birla Minacs announced Friday it will launch a new service centre in Fredericton to serve its North American clients.

About 150 customer advisers will be needed to staff the facility, including about 20 per cent bilingual staff.

Recruiting is expected to begin immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday. Applicants will be able to drop by the 495 Prospect St. location, using the Entrance B doors.

Training is expected to begin Nov. 3 and the first client programs will be launched Nov. 28.

Anil Bhalla, president of operations for Aditya Birla Minacs' North American and European interests, said his company has enjoyed great success in this part of the world for these types of ventures.

"Minacs is always exploring new locations to support our expanding client programs and we find ourselves coming back time and again to Canada's East Coast," he said in a news release.

"The province of New Brunswick has consistently provided us with a wealth of superior talent, which is why we're confident that this new location in Fredericton will also provide the high calibre of skill and professionalism that our clients expect."

Mayor Brad Woodside said it sounds like great news for the local economy. "Since (Statistics Canada's labour force survey) came out, Costco has hired a number of people and this new announcement mentions 150 new jobs," he said.

"This should put the city of Fredericton at, probably, the lowest unemployment level in New Brunswick. It's good news. It's real good news."

He said those jobs represent new opportunities for many local residents.

"I think this is part of the city's economic growth," he said. "It's very, very important to have jobs available. There's a lot of places in the world right now where just the opposite thing is happening and people are going through a really rough time."

Woodside said some people view call centre jobs in a trivial light, but he believes these kinds of businesses often contribute more than most residents choose to see.

"Customer contact centres here in New Brunswick have not only provided an abundance of job opportunities for people, but they've also contributed a tremendous amount to the communities in which they're located - donations to the United Way, to various charities," he said Friday. "They're much more than just a customer contact centre."

For more information, people can go to: http://minacs.adityabirla.com/Career...itiesinNA.aspx.

Minacs employs 20,000 people across three continents.

It manages 36 centres in Canada, Germany, Hungary, India, Jamaica, the Phillipines, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/c...rticle/1446398

[cl812]

Currie's dream comes to life
Published Saturday October 8th, 2011
State of the art | New building shines light on generosity
A1
By CHRIS MORRIS
The Daily Gleaner

To Richard Currie, the brilliant new athletic centre that bears his name on the University of New Brunswick campus is more than just a building - it's a message from one graduate to all of the university's future graduates.

Sitting in the sunlight streaming through the wall of windows on the fourth floor of the centre, Currie - one of Canada's most respected business leaders - said he wants the students and the people of New Brunswick to realize this is a gift from "one of their own."

"People ask me, 'Why this building?" said Currie, who gave more than $20 million towards construction of the $62.5-million centre.

"Well, it's for the young people going here to realize the building is from one of their own. It's here to say to them, 'Look, after you finish university, if you're willing to pay what I call the emotional price in time, effort and so on, you can be a leader in any field you choose.

"Here is tangible evidence. That's what it's really here for - for students to look at and say, 'One of us. Right. One of us. There it is.' "

The Richard J. Currie Center, a state-of-the-art fitness and wellness facility for the university community and the public, was officially opened Friday.

Currie, 74, said he likes the fact the imposing, glass-and-brick structure overlooking the St. John River makes a bold, "in-your-face-statement" about UNB - his alma mater and where he now serves as chancellor.

"It says to the world that UNB has been around a long time and we expect to be around a long time in the future."

Currie's gift of more than $20 million - he refuses to say how much more - is the largest single private donation a New Brunswick university has received.

University officials were happy to indulge Currie's requests in relation to the building, including the fact that they spell center with an e-r on the end, not the common Canadian style of "centre" with r-e.

Currie said the e-r ending makes more sense, and that's what he grew up with.

"When I was a boy and you looked up the hockey scores for the Maple Leafs - it was all Maple Leafs in those days - the guy who played center ice for the Leafs it was always spelled c-e-n-t-e-r," he said.

"Sometime around the early '50s, it began to move towards c-e-n-t-r-e. I like center better. It makes more sense."

As well, Currie enjoyed his postgraduate days and early working career in the United States, where the e-r ending is the accepted spelling.

"I don't want to be glib about it, but I owe the Americans more than I owe the English or the French. So my American friends coming up to see it, they think it's pretty cool."

Currie, a New Brunswick native who grew up in a modest but giving home in Saint John, said his extraordinary philanthropy is rooted in his lifelong belief in the importance of giving back to one's community.

His accomplishments in the business world, especially those at the helm of Loblaw, are legendary in the country's corporate circles.

After Loblaw's market value grew by 350 times to $15 billion under his guidance, Currie brought his Midas touch to the parent company, George Weston Ltd., where share prices increased sevenfold during his tenure.

He was named one of the Globe and Mail's Top 10 Canada CEOs of all time, he was Canada's CEO of the Year in 2001 and he's an inductee in Canada's Business Hall of Fame.

Currie's name is associated with many donations, endowments, chairs, scholarships and other acts of generosity.

"If you want to be brutally honest about it, what else are you going to do with it?" he said. "I haven't been everywhere in the world, but I've been everywhere I want to go. At some point in time, how many good meals, how many good trips - how much of that can you stand?"

With files from Canadaeast News Service

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/c...rticle/1446458

[cl812]

City unemployment rate drops; province adds jobs
Published Saturday October 8th, 2011
D1
By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN and NATALIE STECHYSON
The Daily Gleaner

Fredericton's unemployment rate fell by a percentage point in September compared to the previous month.

The capital's unemployment rate is 6.4 per cent, according to the latest information released by Statistics Canada on Friday. The drop reversed a yearlong trend.

"That is definitely a good decline in the unemployment rate," said Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce. "We're happy to see that."

She said employment associated with a new school year seemed to boost the numbers.

She said the province gained 3,000 jobs, and Fredericton is the only one of the three major cities to have a big drop in unemployment.

"Obviously, a lot of those full-time jobs were here," she said.

In August, Fredericton had the highest unemployment rate of the three major cities at 7.4 per cent. Now the capital is in the middle, with Moncton showing an unemployment rate of 7.1 per cent in September, unchanged from August, and Saint John at 5.7 per cent, down slightly from 5.8 per cent in August.

Comparisons between the three cities must be done cautiously because Statistics Canada tracks Fredericton using a three-month moving average, and it records Moncton and Saint John with a seasonally adjusted figure based on their census metropolitan area.

Fredericton's unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent in September 2010.

Ross said the mood of the business community in Fredericton is positive.

"Certainly news like this encourages people even more," she said.

Fredericton labour force figure was 54,300, down from 55,100 in August.

The number of people employed in Fredericton in September was 50,800, compared to 51,000 in the previous month. In September 2010, Fredericton had 53,600 people working.

New Brunswick's unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 8.9 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada.

The province's unemployment rate also decreased by 0.9 percentage points compared to the same month last year.

"It is encouraging for our government to see the unemployment rate drop for the second consecutive month," said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Martine Coulombe in a statement.

"The work we are doing to create an environment that will promote private-sector growth and attract outside investment to the province is starting to show positive outcomes," she said.

Canada's unemployment rate fell to 7.1 per cent in September, down 0.2 percentage points compared to August

New Brunswick added 2,700 jobs to the economy in September- the largest monthly employment increase in at least three years.

This bumped the province's employment rate up 0.8 per cent from August, which was tied with Saskatchewan for the third-highest monthly percentage increase in the country, according to Statistics Canada labour force data.

Prince Edward Island came out on top with a 1.8 per cent employment increase over August, and British Columbia saw a 1.4 per cent increase. Other than Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, every province posted positive employment gains.

New Brunswick's increase in September followed a gain of 2,200 jobs in August after four straight months of losses. The most recent increase anywhere close to September's gain was in July 2008, when the province added 2,600 jobs.

The gains in New Brunswick were mostly in service industries, said Vincent Ferrao, an analyst with the labour and statistics division at Statistics Canada.

Jobs were added in retail and wholesale trade, educational services, health-care services and social assistance, and business, building and other support services.

"On a month-over-month basis, the gains were pretty healthy," said Shahrzad Mobasher Fard, an economist with TD Economics.

TD Economics expects New Brunswick to have an annual average percentage expansion in employment of 1.3 per cent in 2012 and 1.3 per cent in 2013, Fard said, but for 2011 it still forecasts a 0.4 per cent contraction.

The increase in jobs pushed down the province's unemployment rate 0.3 percentage points to 8.9 per cent in September. The September unemployment rate was higher than the rates to the west of the province, but beat the rates in Newfoundland and Labrador (13.5 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (9.4 per cent). Nova Scotia had an 8.4 per cent unemployment rate in September, and Quebec registered a 7.3 per cent unemployment rate.

New Brunswick's labour force grew to 387,400 in September, up from 385,700 in August. The province added 3,000 full-time jobs but lost 300 part-time jobs. Despite New Brunswick's month-over-month employment gain, employment in the province was 0.5 per cent lower than 12 months earlier.

Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 per cent - the lowest rate since December 2008 - after adding 61,000 new jobs in September. Gains were seen in educational services; professional, scientific and technical services; accommodation and food services; natural resources; and public administration.

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast....rticle/1446371

[Steeple Shanks]

Looked at the Riocan Website for the Corbett Centre. Noticed that there are solid lines around buildings that are already there and those are going to be... and dotted lines around future developments.

[Steeple Shanks]

Originally Posted by Steeple Shanks

Looked at the Riocan Website for the Corbett Centre. Noticed that there are solid lines around buildings that are already there and those are going to be... and dotted lines around future developments.

I meant to say: "solid lines around buildings that are already there and those that are in the process of being built... and dotted lines around future developments."

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

As mentioned the crane is up, and I suspect they'll be pouring the foundation soonish. Looks like they've got rebar set up for 2 elevator bases and a stairwell base, as well as the actual support columns.

They started pouring the foundation this morning.

[Taeolas]

The RIOCan Site Plan now lists that phase being cleared now for a site with a Bed Bath and Beyond, a Bouclair (leaving Regent?), a GAP, and an Oshkosh store.

Though I wonder how they're going to fit a Future Gas Station on the footprint where Costco already has their own gas bar.

Are they just clearing the site for the new building now and letting winter compact the earth, or will they start constructing in the winter? I don't think I've heard anything on the news about any new construction permits there lately.

While the rest of the pad locations haven't had much work done to them, the ground is already pretty flat and could probably be started any time really. I guess they just want to get tenants ready.

Tentative E2 seems to be the only footprint they have for a drivethru, for when/if Timmys opens up on the site. Probably the best area, since it would get the DriveThru lineups off the main roads too.

[Steeple Shanks]

Was at Costco today. Looks as though they are preparing the entire site for construction, not just the area where BBB is planned.

[Taeolas]

They're probably just flattening it out all at once, but won't do any real building except for the next phase, leaving the rest fallow for now.

On another note, any idea when the next phase will be built across from Brookside Mall? (Where M&M and Jessies and Mama's and so forth are? ). They cleared the area ages ago but don't seem to be doing much there.

And I was wrong about the TRA apartments; it looks like 2 stairwells and an elevator shaft, not the other way around. The concrete for the foundation base is poured and walkable now, so they should be able to start moving quickly.

[OliverD]

There's a foundation poured for the third building on Fieldstone Court (off Cliffe street below the high school). Looks like it will be a row of townhouses. The second building there is well on its way too.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

They're probably just flattening it out all at once, but won't do any real building except for the next phase, leaving the rest fallow for now.

On another note, any idea when the next phase will be built across from Brookside Mall? (Where M&M and Jessies and Mama's and so forth are? ). They cleared the area ages ago but don't seem to be doing much there.

And I was wrong about the TRA apartments; it looks like 2 stairwells and an elevator shaft, not the other way around. The concrete for the foundation base is poured and walkable now, so they should be able to start moving quickly.

Re next phase of West Hills Village....spoke to one of the guys working on it earlier this week. Said that they had dug the hole earlier this year and would start again shortly to complete the foundation before winter. Not expecting to begin building contruction till next spring. That Phase will be the larger of the 4 buildings and L-shaped like other the Hill Bros property at Smythe and Prospect (former Ponderosa)

[cl812]

Noticed the other day that the crane for the Forest Hill Towers II is now up.

[cj6286]

The next phase for Brookside West is coming along nicely. They're working on extending Heron Drive as well as Peters Drive, and creating an adjacent road to connect the two streets. Hopefully they connect it to James Street? I wouldn't be surprised to see houses popping up next spring! You can see where the streets will be from the cut trees in satellite view. http://g.co/maps/jtbuj
http://www.chippins.com/bw67.jpg

I also noticed they're finally finishing the Ashley Crescent neighbourhood. (Parallel to McKnight Street). It looks like they will begin some house construction before the first snow fall.