The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

Aeropostale was supposed to be going into the old Sony Store / Quilts Etc. locations.

I noticed this fenced in area last night too...stange, a random expansion of the mall and it's been mentioned nowhere?

JL

If I was going to go out on a very large limb, and do some completely random and uninformed speculation (we're talking about loose association here)..............I would wonder about Best Buy

- We know that Best Buy wants into the Moncton market.
- Best Buy was going to go into the moribund Mapleton Power Centre project.
- There is no indication that the Mapleton project will be getting resurrected anytime soon. In fact, several prospective tenants in the project have moved into new locations elsewhere.
- The size of the worksite at Champlain appears about right for Best Buy.
- Although the expansion is attached to the mall building, I'm not sure there will be any connections to the mall corridors.
- Best Buy probably would not require any internal connections to the mall and may in fact prefer to have only a single outside entrance.

Any thoughts anyone?

[Phil_5]

Today I saw the construction/possible expansion at the Champlain Mall and the first thing that came to my mind was... BestBuy. It would be the perfect location for a consumer electronics retail store. I won't foget to mention that FutureShop was also located at the exact place a few years ago.

Great minds think alike

[cl812]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

If I was going to go out on a very large limb, and do some completely random and uninformed speculation (we're talking about loose association here)..............I would wonder about Best Buy

- We know that Best Buy wants into the Moncton market.
- Best Buy was going to go into the moribund Mapleton Power Centre project.
- There is no indication that the Mapleton project will be getting resurrected anytime soon. In fact, several prospective tenants in the project have moved into new locations elsewhere.
- The size of the worksite at Champlain appears about right for Best Buy.
- Although the expansion is attached to the mall building, I'm not sure there will be any connections to the mall corridors.
- Best Buy probably would not require any internal connections to the mall and may in fact prefer to have only a single outside entrance.

Any thoughts anyone?

I know the Best Buy in Portland, Me (South Portland actually) is located in the mall there (Maine Mall) and has an entrance outside and inside the mall.

[drewber]

Well it appears fredericton is slated to get a best buy open by fall next year so if it is best buy lets hope it can be completed before the christmas rush(though that only being 3 months I doubt it)

Originally Posted by cl812

I know the Best Buy in Portland, Me (South Portland actually) is located in the mall there (Maine Mall) and has an entrance outside and inside the mall.

[MonctonRad]

Save historic Mount A. building: architect
Last Updated: Thursday, August 5, 2010 | 2:14 PM AT
CBC News

A retired architect in Sackville is worried that a multi-million dollar centre for theatre and fine arts slated for Mount Allison University will mean the demolition of one of the university's most historic buildings.

Bob Eaton said the building, formerly a library dedicated to alumni who lost their lives in the First World War, is the heart of the campus.

The red sandstone building was built in 1927 by prominent Maritime architect Andrew Cobb.

Although it hasn't been home to library books since the 1970s, the library was revamped as the student centre and became a campus hub - housing the student union, campus radio station, and the campus pub.

Now the unused building's stone entrance is covered over with vines.

"I think this is a very special piece that tells a story that, if lost, is gone for good," Eaton said.

David Stewart, vice president of administration at the university, said no decision has been made about how or if the old building will fit into the new centre.

However, early design estimates suggest it would cost $5-million to retain the building, he said.

Stewart said the university hopes to announce the final design in the next few weeks.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswi...#ixzz0vj9gtajd

Personal note:

- ATV News tonight said that the new fine arts building/performance centre at Mount Allison is expected to cost about $30M. That's a substantial piece of infrastructure.

If you add that to:
- new stadium and new health professions building at U de M (about $30M total)
- new academic building, residence and rink at Crandall University (about $25M)
- expansion at NBCC Moncton (about $20M)

That's over $100M more in post secondary educational infrastructure in the greater Moncton region. That's nothing to sneeze at!!

[MonctonRad]

Moncton builds on downtown vision
Published Thursday August 5th, 2010

Toronto consultant returns to Moncton after four years, happy to see downtown core continuing to improve
By Brent Mazerolle
Times & transcript Staff

Four years ago, the Toronto consulting firm Office for Urbanism helped the City of Moncton develop a development vision for downtown. One of those involved was Office for Urbanism founding partner Antonio Gomez-Palacio, who has returned to the city this summer and seen significant progress.

The trick, says Gomez-Palacio, is, "there's never a moment when you can say, 'OK, we've finished our city. Everything's done.'"

In the summer of 2006, a three-day public symposium marked the community's efforts to reinvent itself. The symposium, led by the consulting firm, was held at the Capitol Theatre and in the streets of downtown Moncton. Drawing more than 100 people from all walks of life, the symposium generated hundreds of ideas that were incorporated into a new plan presented to Moncton city council that November.

The planning experts and the ordinary citizens who gathered argued that downtowns are not merely quaint neighbourhoods to be maintained out of some sort of warm fuzzy nostalgia about a community's origins. Rather they are the absolutely necessary heart of any community, and like the heart of a person, the thing you cannot live without.

Moncton needs to intensify and look inward toward downtown, they said, rather than investing money extending infrastructure to follow urban sprawl.

Among the key recommendations was that even one significant downtown project, like the proposed metro events centre that now enjoys the support of both community leaders and a unanimous Moncton city council, could be enough to re-energize a community. Gomez-Palacio was of course heartened by that evolution of thinking in the city, and noted in fact his firm was helping Regina, a city that's in many ways similar to Moncton, create such a facility in its downtown. Regina's project, for the record, comes with no public parking, yet another Canadian example of newer thinking on such venues, in which their real benefits come not from the diversions they offer, but the ambience and economic opportunities they bring to downtowns.

The consultant sees much else to celebrate in the past four years. The downtown residential development that was completely flat between the censuses of 1996 and 2006 (even as downtown employment nearly doubled) is now changing rapidly, not just with buildings that have gone up, but also with the large projects in the works, like those planned for east Main Street near Staples, and for the recently cleared block south of Gordon Street between Dominion and Cornhill.

"Residential units are the key to get things happening in downtown," he emphasized, repeating a key point of the Vision report. The multi-unit apartment buildings that have popped up along St. George, at the bottom of Bonaccord and on Gordon Street are all recent causes for celebration.

Stepping away from residential construction, projects like the "peace centre" being built within Central United Church to house a number of social agencies is also key. The project meets several goals promoted in the 2006 vision, in-filling within the core of downtown, preserving a heritage building, and with the planned addition that will eat up some of the surface parking between it and Seymour Street, putting pedestrians ahead of cars.

Though we all love the easy access to parking we enjoy in Moncton, plentiful parking is the sign of a lacking downtown. A successful downtown is built up and has so many people clamouring to be in it that parking is always a bit of a problem. Returning to the point about encouraging downtown living however, if more people chose to both live and work downtown, some of our parking crunch would disappear.

Speaking of pedestrians, one of the goals of the vision process was that Assomption Boulevard and the Vaughan Harvey extension to the Gunningsville Bridge would be pedestrian friendly. While that isn't quite true of all of Assomption Boulevard, the boulevard is parallel to the ever improving Riverfront Trail. As well, the same consultant who said in 2006, "Vaughan Harvey's high volume of traffic in no way precludes it being a grand pedestrian space," was pleased to find a tree lined roadway connecting to the Gunningsville Bridge, none of which was completed when he last visited.

And though the bizarre bicycle lane configuration in front of the Vaughan Harvey Boulevard Sobey's is the topic for another day, the broad sidewalk, attractive landscaping, and adequate separation between zipping cars and pedestrians does make the Gunningsville Bridge to Main Street corridor a mostly pleasant experience.

And speaking of landscaping, the city has taken the consultants' message of "Trees! Trees! Trees!" to heart, planting between 80 and 120 new trees in downtown in each of the years since 2006, even if that isn't always noticeable. That number doesn't count those that were part of the landscaping of the Vaughan Harvey and Assomption extensions.

The Marriott Hotel on Main Street is another excellent development incorporating many of the Vision document's development principles that wasn't here when the Office for Urbanism consultants left in 2006. It's a human scale development that brings eyes onto the street while in-filling vacant land, all while meeting higher design standards than Moncton might have demanded in the past.

Such developments are not only desirable, but a far better financial deal for the city than what comes from typical sprawling growth like northwest Moncton is experiencing.

"The cost of delivering services in various types of urban growth can be dramatically different," Gomez-Palacio said. "The cost of building something like a road or a subdivision is only about 15 per cent of the cost of maintaining it over a 30-, 40-year period. When you say, 'OK, we're going to create this new subdivision, but don't worry, the developer's taking care of the costs, that's only 15 per cent of your headache."

Pointing to the Central United Church refit in the absolute core of the city, he said, "with this site, you already have the municipal services in the ground, you're already paving and plowing the street. Getting anything to happen here comes at a zero increase in cost to the city."

All told, Antonio Gomez-Palacio thinks Moncton has made a fine start in a relatively short time.

"What people forget is this is a hard thing to do. It takes time to implement. These things don't happen overnight. I would fully expect that another four years from now there will be twice the things going on."


Personal notes:

- They are still talking about both of Valmond Robichaud's downtown apartment/condo projects, so although there is no definite eveidence of movement on either of those projects, I guess they aren't quite dead yet.....
- I appreciate what the consultant says about infill and the importance of getting rid of the surface parking lots downtown but it is important that it not be too difficult to find parking downtown or else you will just worsen the disconnect between the suburbanites who never venture downtown and the businesses located in the core. We need more parking garages!

[Phil_5]

Today I went by the expansion at the Champlain Place and I got a chance to talk to a construction worker. He told me that it IS an expansion of the Champlain Mall, but unfortunately it will not be a BestBuy. Instead he believes that the store will be a Linen 'N Things.
Here's some pics:

[kirjtc2]

It'd be pretty unlikely for it to be a Linens n Things - the whole chain went under two years ago.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

It'd be pretty unlikely for it to be a Linens n Things - the whole chain went under two years ago.

I agree, but Bed, Bath & Beyond is moving into the region to fill the void. It could be one of those.......

That's too bad, it would just further Champlain's reputation of being a women's-only "fashion" mall.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I agree, but Bed, Bath & Beyond is moving into the region to fill the void. It could be one of those.......

Too bad. A Bed, Bath & Beyond and Best Buy (that's a lot of "B"s!) would look great on Mapleton.

That's too bad, it would just further Champlain's reputation of being a women's-only "fashion" mall.

That's why I only shop in Moncton.

[mylesmalley]

I'm pretty surprised that nobody had any word of a mall expansion before construction started. What's give, gentlemen? Are we losing our edge?

As for getting rid of parkign downtown... that's a chicken and egg problem. How can we justify a parking garage if there is tonnes of available surface parking. How can we justify getting rid of surface parking if there's no parking structure to take the burden?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

I'm pretty surprised that nobody had any word of a mall expansion before construction started. What's give, gentlemen? Are we losing our edge?

Perhaps we are.............I for one however am not particulary well connected, just observant. I mostly just keep an eye out for new construction sites in the region, keep tabs on the media and troll the internet. I'm sure that there's a lot going on in the background that we never get to hear about.

As far as the mall expansion is concerned, I imagine that the expansion wasn't planned, just a "business opportunity" that presented itself. That probably explains why it happened so suddenly.

[bam63]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

I'm pretty surprised that nobody had any word of a mall expansion before construction started. What's give, gentlemen? Are we losing our edge?

As for getting rid of parkign downtown... that's a chicken and egg problem. How can we justify a parking garage if there is tonnes of available surface parking. How can we justify getting rid of surface parking if there's no parking structure to take the burden?

Hey, I think you guys do a great job with moncton's development current events.I check in a least once a day.

My two cents for the day,I realize its too late now but an example of parking garage vs surface parking, had the casino been built downtown chances are a parking garage would have been part of the project not to mention a large piece of surface parking would be gone too."Win/Win"

[mylesmalley]

Mayor, consultant agree downtown development will spur further growth
A1
By Cynthia Vukets
Times & Transcript Staff

Picture this: hundreds of hockey fans flooding out of the Metro Centre into local restaurants and bars then strolling home to stylish lofts or getting into cars parked underground and driving home.

That's what Mayor George LeBlanc sees when he imagines what downtown Moncton will look like in five, 10 or 20 years.

Moncton has made some progress with its four-year-old development vision for the downtown core, as Toronto consultant Antonio Gomez-Palacio told the Times & Transcript last week. But there is still much work to be done, and a recent debate at city council raised the possibility of redefining that downtown vision or sticking to it and forging ahead with a faster pace of development.

A discussion at city council last month about whether or not drive thrus belong in the downtown core has many wondering: what does belong downtown?

And what type of changes will we see as Moncton creates a new, higher density, sustainable urban core?

The first thing Moncton needs to concentrate on is the planned downtown Metro events centre, say the mayor and downtown planners.

"I think that's going to be the base for a lot of things that are going to happen," says Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc. (DMCI) head Lawrence Forbes.

"I see the new downtown centre as possibly having all kinds of potential uses attached to it or very close to it," says LeBlanc. "I don't really want to just see a rink in the downtown. I really would like to see a multi-faceted, multi-functional facility downtown."

LeBlanc mentions being at a hockey game at downtown Montreal's Bell Centre and seeing people leaving the arena and going directly into the bars and restaurants nearby, pouring money into the downtown businesses.

The more people that can be coaxed downtown to events at the centre, the more people will filter out into the greater downtown and begin spending money at downtown businesses.

"It's just a matter of demographics, just mass, critical mass," says Forbes.

Once people begin spending more time downtown to participate in activities at the new entertainment complex, it will be time to begin convincing people to move downtown permanently.

"We need people living downtown, not just working and then driving out of town," says Forbes. "It's great to have lots of workers but they don't necessarily buy or stick around."

Forbes says there are five apartment development projects nearly ready to break ground that would bring about 200 units of housing into the downtown core. Shortly after construction begins on those, there are another two mixed-use condominium developments slated for downtown.

LeBlanc says he sees mixed-use development shaping up as six to seven-storey buildings with stores and restaurants on the bottom one or two floors, and residential units above. Those residences could be condos, apartments or seniors living, he says, adding more people will lead to more new businesses.

"I see more grocery stores, more urban grocery stores," says Forbes, as well as delis and specialty shops.

"I tend to see the downtown as favouring more boutique shops rather than the strip mall types," says LeBlanc.

Greater Moncton District Planning Commission director Bill Budd says the city needs to create "gateways" at the east and west ends of the downtown core, to welcome people into the district.

"Within Moncton's downtown there is an opportunity to define our gateways into the downtown," he says.

But planning won't stop there. Budd says he would like to see a "fine-grain system of streets" pop up in the urban core. What that means is building more small streets. The more streets that exist, the less traffic flows on each of them, and the more opportunity for constructing businesses and residential buildings.

"(For example) in behind Assomption, you'd have a street parallel to Main Street, so what you can start to do is create a streetscape of buildings and a pedestrian-oriented environment that people relate to," he says. "When you think about downtown areas, we're trying to create more compact, pedestrian-friendly areas."

With all these proposed developments, one topic that comes to mind almost immediately for many is transportation and parking.

Moncton currently has a lot of public parking downtown. And that means a lot of wasted space, says Budd.

"We have large under-utilized blocks of land and parking lots," he says. "So if we were to say stand on the corner of Blue Cross and where Downing Street used to be and we look from that view to the (new) courthouse it's not very aesthetically pleasing. It's not pedestrian-oriented. It's just a sea of parking."

Forbes says these parcels of underused land should be developed.

And within those new buildings, says LeBlanc, you can integrate parking.

"It would be nice to get some more concentrated parking, i.e. parking garages, downtown," he says.

While the downtown entertainment centre may not have hundreds of parking spaces on its site, nearby condo buildings could have underground parking, or there could be several public parking garages scattered throughout the downtown.

Forbes also says there's a need in the city for better transportation.

Creating central bus stations on the east and west sides of the downtown could help increase public transportation, and ridership, he says. As would a free east-west shuttle system along Main Street.

Budd suggests a "park n' ride" system where transit users could leave their cars in the suburbs and jump on an express bus to the downtown core, thus decreasing traffic and ensuring a safe and quick commute to work.

But a more sustainable downtown would also be a place that's accessible by walking and cycling, says Budd. So the city should look at increased bike lanes and paths, and better walkways throughout the downtown core.

"You have a healthier city because of this mode of transportation," he says. "You're promoting a more mixed-use environment, so you're getting people living downtown, you're having more complete communities which are walkable, connected communities."

Those "complete communities" says Budd, are places where people can walk in a few moments to a grocery store, a bank, a library and a park.

A vibrant downtown is also home to more festivals and public events. LeBlanc says annual festivals such as the recent Mosaïq festival and the Atlantic Nationals car show, which is hosted every July in Moncton, can bring people downtown and help turn it into a gathering place.

He says he wants "buzz and excitement," which he hopes can be created through a few public initiatives such as an "artisans alley" on Oak Street. Instead of letting the lane go unused for most of the year every year, he envisions a summertime set-up where local artists and craftspeople could display and sell their wares.

LeBlanc would also like to see more public art and suggests a city/DMCI/downtown business collaboration to sponsor artists to create one piece of new public art each year. That could be quite a number of installations in the next 10 years or so, he says, and quite a change to the feel of downtown Moncton.

"I'd like to see us revisit the downtown visioning exercise and see where we're at but, more importantly, I'd like to see us take a look at some steps to see us really accelerate . . . some kind of investment attraction policy for downtown," says LeBlanc. "I always think public consultation is a good thing, but at the same time I think we also have to get moving here. Time passes quickly and I'd like to see us take some concrete action in the downtown now."

He says one of the first steps could be the city, which is a large landowner, calling for proposals for mixed-use developments on some of its under-used land in the downtown core.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

The first thing Moncton needs to concentrate on is the planned downtown Metro events centre, say the mayor and downtown planners.

Well, that's a no brainer...........the arena is the last best hope for the downtown

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

"I see the new downtown centre as possibly having all kinds of potential uses attached to it or very close to it," says LeBlanc. "I don't really want to just see a rink in the downtown. I really would like to see a multi-faceted, multi-functional facility downtown."

We have made this point many times here in our own forum. The arena should be integrated with a convention facility, a hotel, shops and restaurants. A transit hub and nearby parking should also be included.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Once people begin spending more time downtown to participate in activities at the new entertainment complex, it will be time to begin convincing people to move downtown permanently.

If you build it, they will come.......

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Forbes says there are five apartment development projects nearly ready to break ground that would bring about 200 units of housing into the downtown core. Shortly after construction begins on those, there are another two mixed-use condominium developments slated for downtown.

This is interesting. These would be small apartment building averaging 40 units each; presumably 4-5 stories tall. It sounds as if Valmond Robichauds two complexes at either end of the downtown core are still in the development phase.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

LeBlanc says he sees mixed-use development shaping up as six to seven-storey buildings with stores and restaurants on the bottom one or two floors, and residential units above. Those residences could be condos, apartments or seniors living, he says, adding more people will lead to more new businesses.

This is exactly what is needed on St. Geoge Street, and as infill between Main Street and St. George. You don't need to have especially tall buildings to create increased density.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Greater Moncton District Planning Commission director Bill Budd says the city needs to create "gateways" at the east and west ends of the downtown core, to welcome people into the district.

I'm not sure exactly what he means by this. The east and west ends of downtown are already pretty well defined, unless he means erecting signature developments of some kind. These would be better placed in the centre of downtown (although I would like to see more densification and increased heighth around the Vaughn Harvey/Main intersection.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Budd says he would like to see a "fine-grain system of streets" pop up in the urban core. What that means is building more small streets. The more streets that exist, the less traffic flows on each of them, and the more opportunity for constructing businesses and residential buildings.

"(For example) in behind Assomption, you'd have a street parallel to Main Street, so what you can start to do is create a streetscape of buildings and a pedestrian-oriented environment that people relate to," he says. "When you think about downtown areas, we're trying to create more compact, pedestrian-friendly areas."

An intriguing concept. The area south of Main has always been a maze of poorly connected sidestreets that have made little sense. This inhibits development. If the system of streets in this area was made more coherent and logical, this would be helpful. They already have done some rationalization in the area with the connectors they built to Assomption Blvd.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

"We have large under-utilized blocks of land and parking lots," he says. "So if we were to say stand on the corner of Blue Cross and where Downing Street used to be and we look from that view to the (new) courthouse it's not very aesthetically pleasing. It's not pedestrian-oriented. It's just a sea of parking."

Forbes says these parcels of underused land should be developed.

Amen!!

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

And within those new buildings, says LeBlanc, you can integrate parking.

"It would be nice to get some more concentrated parking, i.e. parking garages, downtown," he says.

While the downtown entertainment centre may not have hundreds of parking spaces on its site, nearby condo buildings could have underground parking, or there could be several public parking garages scattered throughout the downtown.

You are preaching to the converted. If we get rid of all the surface parking, we can get rid of the "booters" at the same time!

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Creating central bus stations on the east and west sides of the downtown could help increase public transportation, and ridership, he says. As would a free east-west shuttle system along Main Street.

Budd suggests a "park n' ride" system where transit users could leave their cars in the suburbs and jump on an express bus to the downtown core, thus decreasing traffic and ensuring a safe and quick commute to work.

Absolutely! If you want people to use the downtown, you have to keep it accessible.

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

But a more sustainable downtown would also be a place that's accessible by walking and cycling, says Budd. So the city should look at increased bike lanes and paths, and better walkways throughout the downtown core.

"You have a healthier city because of this mode of transportation," he says. "You're promoting a more mixed-use environment, so you're getting people living downtown, you're having more complete communities which are walkable, connected communities."

Those "complete communities" says Budd, are places where people can walk in a few moments to a grocery store, a bank, a library and a park.

If everything was in walking distance, and there were quality condo developments in the area, I would be tempted to move downtown when I'm an empty nester too!

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

He says one of the first steps could be the city, which is a large landowner, calling for proposals for mixed-use developments on some of its under-used land in the downtown core.

An excellent idea, but let's start with the arena/events centre. Everthing else will flow from this.

[MonctonRad]

The decrepit strip mall adjacent to the NBCC on Mountain Road is now completely vacant!!

I feel that an appointment with the wrecking ball is to be expected in the near future........

Given the size and shape of this property, I wonder if anything else will be moving in here aside from Swiss Chalet?

[ithree]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The decrepit strip mall adjacent to the NBCC on Mountain Road is now completely vacant!!

I feel that an appointment with the wrecking ball is to be expected in the near future........

Given the size and shape of this property, I wonder if anything else will be moving in here aside from Swiss Chalet?

I've never seen or heard of a second cup/swiss chalet store combo, but they are owned by the same parent company (Cara Operations). Wasn't there a rumor about second coming to Mountain Road?

[David_99]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Picture this: hundreds of hockey fans flooding out of the Metro Centre into local... bars then... getting into cars... and driving home.

Sorry, this is what my dyslexia read

[mylesmalley]

Drove by that new apartment building on Robinson. They've started putting up the walls on the main floor. Its only going to be four floors (I think), but it'll definitely add a lot of density to that end of downtown. It's great to see the gradual redevelopment of the St George area creeping down towards the King St end.

[MonctonRad]

Colour for the page:



The Dieppe International Kite Festival takes to the skies this weekend.