Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Why would Starbuck's want to put a drive-thru in the downtown anyway? If they want a downtown location, make it a storefront Starbuck's (like the Moncton one on Main Street). If they want a drive-thru, then put it out on Regent Street somewhere……..

Why wouldn't they want one?

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Why would Starbuck's want to put a drive-thru in the downtown anyway? If they want a downtown location, make it a storefront Starbuck's (like the Moncton one on Main Street). If they want a drive-thru, then put it out on Regent Street somewhere……..

Technically, they did both. They had a downtown location AND a location on Regent street somewhere.

That all said, my news was fifth hand overheard info. I was going to the bathroom in Chapters, and heard someone mention something about "wanted a drivethru but the city wouldn't allow it." On the way back, I think it was one of the baristas talking to someone else, but I didn't hear anything further I could make out, despite my attempts to eavesdrop.

[Dr.Devon]

Personally, I think that is a great location for a coffee shop. Ideally, it would occupy they 1st floor corner of a large mixed used commercial/residential development on that corner but that may be a ways off yet.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Dr.Devon

Personally, I think that is a great location for a coffee shop. Ideally, it would occupy they 1st floor corner of a large mixed used commercial/residential development on that corner but that may be a ways off yet.

Yeah, that corner is a great place for a large mixed development. Unfortunately, Fredericton may not be large enough to support something like that unless it was done in phases.

[Freddypop]

I can confirm that NEEDS on Douglas is now closed

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by Freddypop

I can confirm that NEEDS on Douglas is now closed

I noticed the Brookside Sobeys also is no longer 24h. Their hours are now 7-11 IIRC.

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I noticed the Brookside Sobeys also is no longer 24h. Their hours are now 7-11 IIRC.

Not sure if anybody else posted this but Sobey's on Prospect started 24h a few weeks ago, and it has been a god send during exams.

[Dr.Devon]

I heard some rumours about a couple of spots downtown. Word is that the place going in where the crepe place was is going to be a gastro-pub. It's a small space so I'll be interested to see how they lay it out but I like the addition of another dining option downtown - especially if they cook a mean steak.
The other rumour I heard is that the about-to-close NickyZee's was sold and the new owners are putting a sports bar in, at least on the first floor. The upstairs will still be a club of some sort. This is all pretty unsubstantiated but interesting nevertheless.

[OliverD]

Where exactly was the crepe place? A gastro pub sounds awesome, I love the selection of beer at the Ale House but their food is sub-par IMO. Would be great to have a place with awesome food and beer.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Where exactly was the crepe place? A gastro pub sounds awesome, I love the selection of beer at the Ale House but their food is sub-par IMO. Would be great to have a place with awesome food and beer.

Earlier in the thread there was comments about 4 new eateries on Queen street. (Though now that I think of it, I don't know where the Crepe place is either. ):

Originally Posted by Dr.Devon

I saw this Tweet from The Blue Door's Twitter feed last week - "4 new eating establishments currently in various states of development on Queen St. #wow"

He mentions the Crepe Place (renovations maybe), the new place in the old Garrison (to be called Vault 29), something at Georges, and a bakery/cafe across the street from Georges (Harley Mallory building I would guess). He also mentions just rumours as of now but it would appear as though the rumours they've heard indicate it's an eating establishment going in at Georges.

Very excited to see what this Vault 29 will look like - that old bank is such a great space.

[OliverD]

Was it this place at 540 Queen? http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant...Brunswick.html

[Dr.Devon]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Where exactly was the crepe place? A gastro pub sounds awesome, I love the selection of beer at the Ale House but their food is sub-par IMO. Would be great to have a place with awesome food and beer.

I haven't always been impressed with the food at the Alehouse but my last couple of meals there were great. I had smoke pork tenderloin with smoked wings, beans, and a cornmeal muffin a couple of months ago that was actually great. Last week I had a steak and cheese sandwich made with brisket that was equally good. I'd reccomend ordering something from the smoker; it seems to be what they are focusing on.

Crepe Suzette is the crepe place in question. I only ate there once and it was just ok. It semeed a bit of a stretch to think a crepe place would do any kind of business for dinner.

[OliverD]

I always enjoy their burgers and sandwiches, and the king philly was great when I had it a couple weeks ago. It's their other entrees I find disappointing.

Brewbakers food + Ale House beer would be a killer combo for me.

[Tridus]

I enjoyed the ribs at the Alehouse quite a lot, but found the burgers over priced for what you get. There's better burgers for less elsewhere in the city. My wife found the food alright, but not great.

Seems like the menu is pretty hit or miss.

[Taeolas]

The City is revealing a draft of their plans for Main street tonight on the North Side.

I'm planning on swinging by and taking a look to see what they decided (since I was at the planning open house last year). The draft will be on the city website after the meeting.

[KnoxfordGuy]

I see in Kingsplace there is a new kiosk going up in front of the dollar store and there is construction going on in the store across from the Running Room as well as in the old ScotiaMcCloud. I assume there are stores going there.

[bcav]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

The City is revealing a draft of their plans for Main street tonight on the North Side.

I'm planning on swinging by and taking a look to see what they decided (since I was at the planning open house last year). The draft will be on the city website after the meeting.

Link is live

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/communi...DesignPlan.asp

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by bcav

Link is live

http://www.fredericton.ca/en/communi...DesignPlan.asp

The planning session was interesting. It tied in with a lot that was talked about last time.

The big pushes I took away from that was in development guidelines (encouraging more development close to the road, with parking in behind; and encouraging more ties with the trail network). And landscaping guidelines (redo the sidewalks and roads; adding more greenery, trees and such to break up the long street views).

Finding solutions to the Canadian Tire and York Plaza lots are key.

They are suggesting that the Canadian Tire area become North side's Entertainment hub. Their examples had the Crappy Tire building be rebuilt as a cinema, but that's just an example. They are also proposing encouraging development of retail (cafes and similar) along the street in front of the building. Personally, I love the idea and hope it can gain some traction. practically, I'm not sure how it could be pulled off, but I'm hopeful none the less.

The roundabout craze continues; they also proposed adding Roundabouts at Main/Royal/Sunset (at the Stonebridge), at Main and Devonshire ( the entrance to Main Street Village) and at Main and Brookside; though they did acknowledge traffic studies would need to be done to confirm the viability of those areas.

Overall, they proposed branding Main Street as "Main Street Village", and trying to encourage a village/downtown feel while still densifying the area. Especially along the street itself, they want to encourage new development to replace individual houses with townhouses and mixed use development (commercial first floor, residential upper floors). They want to make the area more active at night, instead of shutting down at 5 as it basically does now.

Personally, as a resident of the area, I'm hopeful they can pull that off. Not sure I like the name necessarily; I think I'd prefer something to reflect it's origins a bit more (Nashwaak Village perhaps? ).

Overall, besides bylaws and zoning, there isn't much the city can do. They can rebuild the sidewalks and street layouts, but the rest of the development will have to come from the private side for the most part.

They are emphasising the need to connect to the trails more, both the old tracks trail to the north and the riverside trails to the south. Their visions with the backside parking, would allow new developments to treat the trails as their entrances. (Especially the Northern trail)

After the presentation, I was talking with some others, and the concern of that trail in particular was brought up. As it is right now, it is more of a crime trail than a use trail. IMO that's something that would need to be addressed at some point.

I'm thinking that it might be best to treat that trail, at least the Westmoreland to Sunset stretch of it, like a University trail. Clean up the underbrush, add lighting and maybe SOS contact posts along it; so people are more comfortable walking along it after dark. That might help cut down on the vandalism that it brings now.

[OliverD]

I just skimmed through the plan, but overall it's quite impressive. The streetscape is currently so bland and grey.

I've been pessimistic about the future of Main Street for some time. It's been quite clear since Canadian Tire departed that the future of retail on the northside is anchored by Two Nations Crossing.

However, if the city can actually make some of this happen, then Main Street could become a really cool place. I love the idea of converting the former Canadian Tire building into theatres. This would be a significant draw to the area and would spur business at restaurants and other shops in the area.

A strong residential component is also crucial to the success of this area. The residential developments in this area (Kingsley Court some time ago and the newer apartments on either side of the Westmorland street bridge) have been relatively low end; it would be great to see these balanced by some higher end townhouses and condominiums. I'm not saying really high end, just something that is a bit nicer and owned instead of rented.

It's a bit unfortunate that some of the Main Street developments over the past decade have had more buildings set back from the street rather than less. The Shoppers plaza redevelopment comes to mind, as does the Cox building across the street. Both used to have buildings much closer to the sidewalk.

Anyways, it will be interesting to see how this progresses. Done correctly, it could increase property values. Main Street doesn't have many buildings that are of much interest in terms of heritage or architecture so the potential to tear down and rebuild is there for many areas.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Overall, besides bylaws and zoning, there isn't much the city can do. They can rebuild the sidewalks and street layouts, but the rest of the development will have to come from the private side for the most part.

I wonder if it would be feasible for the city to provide incentives for the private sector to develop properties that meet the guidelines put forth by this plan.

After the presentation, I was talking with some others, and the concern of that trail in particular was brought up. As it is right now, it is more of a crime trail than a use trail. IMO that's something that would need to be addressed at some point.

I'm thinking that it might be best to treat that trail, at least the Westmoreland to Sunset stretch of it, like a University trail. Clean up the underbrush, add lighting and maybe SOS contact posts along it; so people are more comfortable walking along it after dark. That might help cut down on the vandalism that it brings now.

That's a great idea. When I lived in Devon I would frequently walk my dogs at night on this trail and it was very dark. Lighting would go a long way towards making this trail more usable.