The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by ithree

On my way home from work this afternoon I noticed that the area around the old Irving at the corner of Mtn. and Wheeler was fenced in. Does anyone know what the plans are for that corner?

The current rumour on the forum is that Second Cup is planning on opening a new cafe with a drive thru there.

[MonctonRad]

Elmwood Drive Sobeys development moving along
Published Wednesday August 18th, 2010

City to construct new road leading to plaza
by cynthia vukets
times & transcript staffT

Some Elmwood Dr. residents are worried a new Sobeys grocery store will increase noise and traffic in their area, but city staff and developers put a number of fears to rest at Monday's council meeting.

"What I'd like to do is just speak to the objections that we've received," said Ginny Cosgrove, of the Greater Moncton District Planning Commission. "The concerns expressed have to do with potential impacts on (residents') property."

Cosgrove said residents' main worries were increased noise, dust and traffic that the new development would create.

While council only received a couple of written objections, resident Marie Pittaway stood up at the meeting to talk about her concerns.

"Some of the concerns that I have have been addressed, but something that is a problem to me is the unsightliness of the property right now," she said.

"I have some real concerns about safety because it's dangerous enough now to cross the street. With the increase of traffic that is a further concern to me."

Pittaway mentioned children coming from nearby L'Odyssée, Le Mascaret and Forest Glen schools being forced to cross Elmwood through increased traffic.

But Cosgrove said the intersection will be "fully signalized," meaning there would be lights to guide those crossing the street.

Council is in the process of re-zoning the site of the former Filles de Jésu convent on Elmwood Drive to permit the construction of a Sobeys.

Part of the plan will involve building a new street, "Filles de Jésu Avenue," which will create an entrance to the plaza from Elmwood.

[C_Boy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The current rumour on the forum is that Second Cup is planning on opening a new cafe with a drive thru there.

Great... all we need is more traffic and cars trying to turn left at one of the busiest intersections in the city. I know things are worst right now because of all the closures and construction but it's still bad regardless.

[ithree]

Originally Posted by C_Boy

Great... all we need is more traffic and cars trying to turn left at one of the busiest intersections in the city. I know things are worst right now because of all the closures and construction but it's still bad regardless.

A no left turn sign would probably alleviate most of the problem. Those who want to turn left can proceed through the Zellers parking lot to catch the lights.

[MonctonRad]

Abridged from today's T&T

Explosion's scars remain
Published Friday August 20th, 2010

Downtown Moncton changed forever by August 2000 destruction of Dewey Building
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & transcript Staff

Yesterday marked 10 years since the landscape of downtown Moncton was changed forever by an arsonist's match.


It's been 10 years since an arsonist set off an explosion and fire that destroyed half a block of Main Street.
COLE BURSTON/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

The scar created by the August 2000 fire remains 10 years later. In the early hours of Aug. 19, 2000, a man named Eric Lefebvre, a member of the Hells Angels' affiliate Downtown Damners, set off an explosion that nearly killed him and would have killed anyone else who might have had the misfortune of passing by.

The intended goal was the destruction of a nightclub named Goodfellas, which occupied the ground floor of the Dewey building, part of an uninterrupted stretch of four heritage buildings on Main Street at Westmorland.

When Lefebvre lit the accelerant poured all over the building, the fumes ignited with explosive force, badly burning him and blowing Goodfellas and the adjacent businesses Colpitts Men's Wear and Crandall's Studio into the street.

Innocent people living next door in magnificent new loft condos in the Albion Block, until that night the hippest address in town, fled from their homes in the night to escape the danger. The old Moncton Transcript building, which had recently been painstakingly restored by Moncton lawyer Scott Ellsworth, was severely damaged, forcing Ellsworth to start the painstaking work all over again.

Like the Transcript building, the Albion Block was eventually repaired, with the condos restored and Egg Films and Hatch Media occupying the main floor. Colpitts Men's Wear has lived on at its Champlain Place location, and Crandall's Studio has long since bounced back in a heritage building on Church Street.

But the scar of that night 10 years ago remains as an empty crater in the heart of downtown.

Bob Holmes, who owned the Dewey Building, after many years of effort and title searches and paperwork, has now consolidated all the vacant land under his sole ownership.

In a fashion typical of the old downtown cores of many a city, the ownership was exceedingly complex, with the property turning out to be four separate parcels.

Holmes and his lawyers just tracked down the legal heir to a tiny triangular sliver of land and bought it from the Halifax resident a bit more than a year ago.

For many of the past 10 years, multiple ownership of the land would have been an obvious impediment, but with it now consolidated under one owner.

"I would love to develop it," Holmes said. "I have a concept for it with retail on the ground floor and a boutique hotel upstairs." Holmes said he'd love to see a Starbucks as the ground floor anchor.

However, for now at least, "it's a matter of financing," he said.

Still, a decade after Moncton lost so much in a single night, there might be finally hope that downtown can one day soon move on.

Personal note: I approve any tasteful redevelopment in this location. This is an important block in the downtown. Any new development has to take into consideration the heritage properties on either side. As such, development proposals would have to be of a proper scale, and should include a facade that complements the adjacent properties. I like what Holmes suggests, including the idea of a Starbuck's on the ground floor.

[BlackYear]

This would fit very nicely in that spot. It's a shame that no one has stepped up and invested something in this prime retail location.

[MonctonRad]

Yes, that would be absolutely perfect.

This would be an ideal location for a downtown Starbuck's too, both Assomption Place and the Blue Cross centre are within three blocks. The new courthouse is also just down the street.

Hopefully something like this will happen in the near future.........getting clear title to the land is a huge step forward for any potential redevelopment plans.

[MonctonRad]

New Courthouse Taking Shape


Moncton Law Courts building expected to be complete by mid-November
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & transcript Staff

There's still plenty to be done before it's completed late this fall, but the new Moncton Law Courts building is starting to look less like a construction site and more like a building.


GREG AGNEW/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

And what a fortress (of Vengeance?!?) of a building it will be, with so many security elements in place, people will one day marvel at how long the region made do with the inadequate law courts now in place.

Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister Bernard LeBlanc and Local Government Minister Chris Collins visited the site yesterday along with members of the news media to get a sneak peek at the $55-million regional justice centre.

The facility will cover about 12,150 square metres (135,000 square feet) and have 15 courtrooms, two hearing rooms, holding cells and chambers for the judiciary. It will also have offices for court services administration personnel, public prosecutions, lawyers, sheriffs, police and officials from the departments of Public Safety and Justice and Consumer Affairs.

Though there's much finishing work to be done - most walls are still being taped and plastered, the elevators are still just shafts and a few of the windows are just holes - it's already apparent much of the safety will come through separation.

There's a segregated corridor that runs all around the basement of the building to move prisoners and their guards to their own elevators to their own entrances to courtrooms. A completely separate, secure corridor system will allow judges alone to get to and from their vehicles in their underground garage in their own elevator, while other courthouse staff and the general public will have their own ways to move about the building.

"There are cases (in the current facilities at Assumption Place) when you have the accused and judges finding themselves together in the same elevator," Collins said.

"It's a great facility and it's going to create a safe environment both for the accused and our legal profession."

Collins also said he was excited the original plan for a nine-courtroom Moncton courthouse was grown into a 15-courtroom regional justice centre, something he believes will have a spinoff on downtown development as more members of the legal profession seek offices closer to the courts.

In the extremely unlikely event a prisoner could escape from those guarding him, automatic lockdowns of various parts of the courthouse are triggered, lessening the chance of the escapee getting far or harming staff. Everywhere there are secure checkpoints to control access between various sections of the building.

Other improved security features are holding cells right off the courtrooms where disruptive prisoners can be placed but still monitor the proceedings affecting them via close circuit TV. Currently, judges must choose between weighing risks to safety with Canadians' basic rights to take part in judicial processes affecting them.

As well, a huge improvement for those testifying in exceptionally sensitive cases, there is a room in the building that allows testimony through two-way teleconferencing.

"The new courthouse will be an impressive addition to the Moncton region and to our provincial judicial network," said LeBlanc.

"It is truly impressive, and I wish to congratulate all the men and women who are working on the structure."

Springhill Construction Ltd. of Fredericton is carrying out the work. Final touches, as well as flooring, painting and ceiling work, are underway, while electrical and mechanical work is nearing completion.

And in a bit of added good news, the damage done to the building by vandals two weeks ago will not delay the project in any way, officials said yesterday.

[MonctonRad]

Champlain Place Update:

- The Laura Superstore has opened next to Sears
- The renovations for the new Aeropostale are complete, it looks like it could open anytime.
- A new mens clothing store (StockHomme) has opened in the old Randy River location
- A new home decor store (Country Lane), has opened in the old Sam's location next to H&M
- They have completed the footings for the mini-expansion of the mall next to Urban Planet. This might be for a Bed, Bath & Beyond.
- Renovations are ongoing at Chapter's at Crystal Palace for a new Indigo Kids childrens book section.

There will be no vacancies at the mall. That's kinda impressive!

[NBNYer]

There is a fairly large dental/medical center which should begin construction in the next few weeks at the corner of Lady Ada and Mapleton. It's a very modern-looking 3-story glass and steel building. It's should look great at that location and hopefully help revive development in that "port-royal estate" development that never really went anywhere after Future Inn was built. I saw a rendering and it will be quite impressive from street level. (and no I don't have a rendering to show, unfortunately) Source is good on this.

Also: that Starbucks rumor on Main sounds good. I just hope Starbucks agrees to such a location. I was in town recently and was kinda disappointed about how early Tim's and Timothy's close downtown.

Hopefully, the rumored up-and-coming residential developments will change this by preventing the "emptying" of downtown after 5pm.

[MonctonRad]

Good news about the medical/dental building at the corner of Lady Ada and Mapleton.

The interminable construction on Mapleton Road over the last two years or so (as well as the worldwide recession) really put the kibosh on any new retail development in Port-Royal Estates and also sank the Mapleton Power Centre project.

Hopefully now that the end is in sight for the Mapleton Road and overpass construction projects, things will start to take off here again.

[MonctonRad]

Abridged from yesterday's T&T

Breast cancer centre to be created
Published Saturday August 21st, 2010

New deal will see centre, Atlantic Cancer Research Institute share renovated space at former Vanier school
by jacques gallant
Times & transcript staff

The provincial government will enter into a long-term lease with Le Centre de Santé Dr. Georges-L. Dumont Hospital Inc. to allow for the breast health centre and the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute to be housed in the neighbouring Vanier Complex.


RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
Dianne VanDommelen shows Chris Collins, minister of Local Government, centre, and Victor Boudreau, minister of Business New Brunswick, some of the new plans for an integrated breast health centre that will be at the old Vanier School property.

The announcement was made yesterday by Business New Brunswick Minister Victor Boudreau, speaking on behalf of Health Minister Mary Schryer at the soon-to-be transformed centre, which ceased being a French intermediate school in 2005. While the specifics of the lease are still being negotiated, Aldéa Landry, chairwoman of the board of Vitalité Health Network, indicated that this agreement will offset the renovation costs, estimated at $18 million.

"This lease is incredibly important for the Centre de santé to be able to proceed," said Landry. "It's an extraordinary partnership, because it creates a link to the Centre and to the Atlantic Cancer Institute. We have 60,000 square feet (5,575 square metres) to play with here. So we have more space for the breast cancer centre, and we have space liberated at Georges Dumont. It's a win-win situation."

At yesterday's announcement, Dianne VanDommelen of Architects 4 stated that the entire interior of the Vanier Complex, constructed in the 1960s, will be demolished, and that construction will hopefully begin within a year.

"We wanted to modernize the Vanier building and give it a contemporary appearance, so we will first of all be constructing an atrium on the ground floor which will serve as the building's new entryway," said VanDommelen.

"We will also be expanding the Vanier building to house additional research and vacant offices. On the first level will be the main entrance to the two departments to be housed in the building: the breast health centre and the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, with whom we worked closely during the planning. The (top) level will for now be vacant space."

Personal note - While this is a substantial project and this is a good news announcement, to me what this means is that the plans for that impressive LEEDS certified building (whose rendered pictures everyone on this thread had been admiring last year) have been shelved.

That building was to have been built at the old Vanier School site, and the two major tenants were to have been the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute and the proposed Breast Health Centre.

It would appear that the government has opted for a lower cost model for this project instead, involving renovations to the old school building.

[mylesmalley]

Downside, lower height. Positive, probably a lot cheaper. Politically safer decision.

[Lrdevlop]

Metro wants IKEA

Shoppers hopeful, but Swedish retail giant says no expansion plans in the works for Atlantic Canada

by Aloma Jardine
Times & transcript Staff

Nancy FitzGerald of Riverview admits she is obsessed with IKEA.

Craig Fitzgerald, husband of Nancy Fitzgerald, relaxes in his home in Riverview, which is decked out in Ikea furniture and decor.
"My house is pretty much an advertisement for IKEA. I've had everything delivered through the years," she says. "I'm a huge fan, maybe one of their biggest."

It's FitzGerald's fondest dream to see the Swedish retail giant open a store in Moncton and she does everything she can to let the company know it.

Almost two years ago, she started a Facebook page, Bring Ikea to Moncton, that shows she's not alone. At last count, there were more than 3,500 members on the page and more join all the time.

"It's affordable and there is a variety for everyone's taste and I think we are just the perfect place for it," she says. "We have a huge French university with a European population that are used to having IKEA and who need affordable furniture.

"We have a huge number of condos going up that are affordable, but they need to be furnished, and I think our contractors could really benefit from the cabinetry that they offer."

FitzGerald says Maritimers love IKEA so much that she knows of many people who rent moving trailers and make the trip to the nearest store in Montreal to stock up.

When IKEA Canada started its own Facebook page recently - it has less than 3,100 fans so far, just by way of comparison - a huge number of the posts on the site have been asking the company to bring a store to Moncton specifically, with another significant number advocating a store in the Maritimes in general.

IKEA Canada's corporate communications manager Debbie McDowell was checking out the Facebook site yesterday.

"We're so grateful that we have such a loyal fan base out in the Maritimes," she says.

Not that it comes as a surprise that Monctonians and Maritimers desperately want to see an IKEA store built here.

"It's not really news to us because we know we have such a valuable group of customers in that area," McDowell says. "The Facebook site and social media might be highlighting it more, but we were aware of that."

That being said, McDowell doesn't have any good news for those loyal fans. "We still have no definitive plans to expand out on the East Coast," she says. "We are heading into a heavy expansion period, but we're focused on a new store in Ottawa and a new store in Richmond and we are expanding into a new area in Winnipeg in 2013."

Unlike many of its competitors, IKEA expands very slowly. There are only 11 stores in the country and new ones come along very infrequently. "We are a destination store," McDowell says. "We take great pride in making sure that when we do expand that we know it is going to be a success."

It isn't only Moncton residents who would be thrilled to see an IKEA open in Moncton.

Kevin Silliker, a business development officer with the City of Moncton, says it's something the city has been pursuing as well.

"We would definitely love to have an IKEA, it would give us an incredible advantage with regards to being a shopping destination," he says. "It would be unparalleled."

However, Silliker says convincing IKEA to settle in the city is a long-term project.

"We have talked to them, but it is a very intensive relationship that you have to build with them," he says, "We think it would be a great fit, but it's not a retailer that is just going to pop up and make a decision quickly. It took Winnipeg seven years to work on building that relationship."

Then there is the fact that IKEA has already been burned in Atlantic Canada. It had a store in Halifax at one point, which shut down.

"There is that history that we have to address and we would have to show why it would work here. They see Atlantic Canada as being a very, very small market," he says.

"We have talked to them, we have talked to other stakeholders that would have a vested interest in seeing them here, but it is not an overnight slam dunk. We certainly haven't given up hope either."

McDowell says they have a long list of criteria they look at when deciding where to expand. Population and a good site are two of the main ones.

"We're looking for about a million people," she says. "And site accessibility is really big for us as well. It needs to be the right site with access to major highway transportation and public transportation as well."

Are they aware that there are 1.3 million people within a two-and-a-half hour drive of Moncton?

"I'm sure our property and expansion group (knows)," she says. "We do get a lot development companies contacting us but we are very careful and cautious about where we do enter into new markets."

That's disappointing to FitzGerald, but doesn't in any way dampen her enthusiasm for her campaign.

"I go to IKEA fairly often because I am based in Toronto (for her job as a flight attendant) and I ask every time," she says. "I've had more leads..."

But they never seem to materialize. She says about three years ago she was told a piece of land had been purchased here, but nothing ever came of it. In the meantime, both Halifax and Saint John have started their own Facebook pages lobbying IKEA to bring a store to their cities, though the Halifax site has only about 360 members and the Saint John site 925.

FitzGerald still believes Moncton is the best location, and numbers back that up. Retail sales in the city were expected to top $2 billion in 2009 - 26 per cent higher than the average for Canadian cities.

McDowell says even without a store locally, IKEA fans can shop online and have their items shipped.

FitzGerald has done that in the past, but she says shipping has become more expensive in the past few years. So, she'll continue to push for an actual store. She continues to post anything she thinks might be helpful to the cause on the Facebook site, including Moncton's phenomenal housing starts.

"IKEA aside, Moncton deserves a pat on the back. We've been weathering this economic slump really well and I think IKEA should look at that," she says.

[mylesmalley]

An almost identical article was published last winter on that facebook group. I think it's great that people feel that passionately, but I really dont' see it happening. IKEA only targets large markets, or at least that's been the trend of late. And realistically, I doubt we could support it in a market our size, or at least not without putting good local companies out of business.

[OliverD]

I agree, and I love IKEA. It just isn't realistic. Just look at how long it has taken the company to break into the Winnipeg market, which is a city of 900,000. They do seem to be getting a bit more aggressive in terms of expansion, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for a store in the Maritimes. I'm pretty content with stopping at the Montreal or Boston stores when I'm on a road trip, or getting larger items delivered.

[mikeohara]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

On the subject: Moncton eyes better bike, pedestrian system

And the light's back on top of the Aliant Tower. It looks better than it did before.

Yes, it finally is -- took them long enough, and its only the upper beacon thats working, the midway marker lights are still out. I cant help but wonder what is going on there.. or even if the tower is still being used, none of the dishes are lit up anymore, and the top of the tower (the top deck) isn't lit anymore...

Considering the age of the tower, cant help but wonder how much life it has left.

[mylesmalley]

It'd be a real shame to see it go. Even if it doesn't serve much practical purpose, it's a significant portion (and most distinctive feature) of the Moncton skyline.

[riverviewdood]

The old Irving building on Mountain Rd. is almost completely bulldozed I saw earlier today.

[mylesmalley]

Does anyone know what the land behind NBCC and the old Irving on Mountain is being saved for? That seems like pretty prime real estate for apartments or some kind of retail, being pretty-well completely flat and adjacent to Wheeler and Mountain.