[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Too long; Didn't read?: Height is nice, but density is better. Scarcity of land will push buildings higher.

I read it all!

I agree completely with what you have said. As land in the core gets built on, what remain will indeed increase in value and this in turn will push a need for height so that the developers can make their money back.

It's just that Moncton is the second largest city in the region and you would normally expect more in the core than what we already have. I guess I'm just impatient!

Good to see you posting again. Haven't heard much from you in the last month.....

[Resurgo]

I would rather see a nice brick or stone 4 storey building go up than a 10 storey eye sore.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

It's just that Moncton is the second largest city in the region and you would normally expect more in the core than what we already have. I guess I'm just impatient!

You have to grow out before you can grow up.

[mylesmalley]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I read it all!

I agree completely with what you have said. As land in the core gets built on, what remain will indeed increase in value and this in turn will push a need for height so that the developers can make their money back.

It's just that Moncton is the second largest city in the region and you would normally expect more in the core than what we already have. I guess I'm just impatient!

Good to see you posting again. Haven't heard much from you in the last month.....

Made a serious effort to take a real vacation this summer

As for how Moncton fares compared to our peers... I'm inclined to disagree with you actually. Saint John has a ridiculously well built core for a city of our size. Peers outside of the region like Bangor, Saguenay, Peterborough and Brantford all have relatively unimpressive downtowns. Kingston and Trois Riviers are all in a similar grouping too, although they're a bit further along.

I'd actually argue that we're only really behind Saint John in CMAs between 100k and 150k. And you can't forget that with few exceptions, all of our peer cities have had a lot longer to build up.

[pierremoncton]

“We are going to design it to make sure it’s very attractive. It’s going to be high-end condominiums and we have to sell them. We are going to do something to make sure the building fits the site.”

Like those "luxury" condos off Vaughan Harvey that look like they were built with Legos?

I'll show my pessimistic self out.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

all of our peer cities have had a lot longer to build up.

Exactly...Saint John is the oldest city in Canada apparently, and Halifax, Charlottetown and Freddy are not far behind in terms of when they hit their stride.

Before the 60's most cities were very focused on their core, because many people didn't have cars... and for some reason it was considered ok for a family to live in higher density than a 2 acre "rural estates" type situation.

Moncton only really hit its stride in terms of building in the 50s/60s/70s thats when the majority of our downtown was built and it was smack dab in the middle of "suburb mania".

That said I would argue that next to Halifax we have had the most urban infill in the last 10 years of any city in the Maritimes. Its not all 10 story buildings, but a ton of 4/5 floor ones...and I'd rather a few 4/5 floor infill buildings over one 7 or 8 floor building any day!

Myles hit the nail on the head...as our downtown becomes cramped (something I see happening in about 10 years)...we will start to see more height...but for now we will have to be happy with the infill, and push for high quality!!

[mylesmalley]

Here's a bit of trivia for the group.
Statscan dropped the Urban Area definition in the last census and replaced it with Population Centres. Moncton is considered a Large Urban Area. CMAs cover a lot larger area than the city itself, but the Population Centre number reflects the main built up area in a CMA. Anyway....

When adjusted for the growth in the size of the Population Centre, Moncton's density was
819.9 per km2 in 2011, and 742.2 per km2 in 2006. This represents a 10.5% increase in density in the city over just five years! We're obviously a far cry from Toronto or Halifax, but that's a serious movement in the right direction.

[Philbilly]

Well they cut dozen of trees on assomption boulevard, i quess there not doing so well in that area .i hope they find a way to better grow them in the futur to help the downtown area image.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Philbilly

Well they cut dozen of trees on assomption boulevard, i quess there not doing so well in that area .i hope they find a way to better grow them in the futur to help the downtown area image.

They were diseased, infested with some form of tree borer. They plan to replant with a different species this fall.

[acrew79]

Originally Posted by mmmatt

Exactly...Saint John is the oldest city in Canada apparently, and Halifax, Charlottetown and Freddy are not far behind in terms of when they hit their stride.

Before the 60's most cities were very focused on their core, because many people didn't have cars... and for some reason it was considered ok for a family to live in higher density than a 2 acre "rural estates" type situation.

Moncton only really hit its stride in terms of building in the 50s/60s/70s thats when the majority of our downtown was built and it was smack dab in the middle of "suburb mania".

That said I would argue that next to Halifax we have had the most urban infill in the last 10 years of any city in the Maritimes. Its not all 10 story buildings, but a ton of 4/5 floor ones...and I'd rather a few 4/5 floor infill buildings over one 7 or 8 floor building any day!

Myles hit the nail on the head...as our downtown becomes cramped (something I see happening in about 10 years)...we will start to see more height...but for now we will have to be happy with the infill, and push for high quality!!

Not to split hairs.. ( and this is splitting ...) but Saint John iwas the first incorporated city in Canada... St John's ( nl) was the first incorporated city in North America... now since NL joined Confederation in 1949 .. technically.. St John's is now the oldest city in Canada.. Just sayin.. hehe POKE POKE Anyway.. this has no bearing on the conversation.. just thought id throw my two cents in there.. just because

[mmmatt]

One of the 100+ unit apartment buildings on Carson Dr has started up...they have some walls for the 1st floor up. Looks like it will be quite large!

I know its arguable as to what forum this belongs in but its technically inside Wheeler...although just barely haha

[MonctonRad]

According to the agenda for the August meeting of the GMPDC (http://www.gmpdc.ca/webcura/files/832.pdf), it appears that Oulton College is planning to build a student residence, presumably on the vacant lot behind their new academic building.

[MonctonRad]

I don't think the old Oulton College location is going to be incorporated into this development:



There is a sign up on the property stating "prime development opportunity". I would think that if AshVerd had acquired this site, that the sign would not be necessary. It would appear therefore that the old Oulton property is for sale.

With the AshVerd development next door likely proceeding next year however, this should be a desireable development site and hopefully won't be on the market too long.

[David_99]

I saw the owners of Adrian's Cycle moving out of their building yesterday. There also doesn't appear to be anything going on at the old Midnight Magic building. Would be nice to see all of that bulldozed.

Also the white apartment building on St George & Archibald has been torn down, making way for the new 6 story apartment complex to proceed.

I walked through Highfield Square yesterday. Eerily empty. All that's left is 3 stores; a Betty Rubin's, Passage & a small jewellery outlet, all huddled together.

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by David_99

Also the white apartment building on St George & Archibald has been torn down, making way for the new 6 story apartment complex to proceed.

haha beat me to it...So glad to see some action on this file...definitely one of the most promising projects for downtown right now!

Heres the renders for this 7 floor building in case anyone forgets:

[mmmatt]

Originally Posted by David_99

Betty Rubin's, Passage & a small jewellery outlet

I dont know about the rest but I asked at Betty Rubins and they will be moving out to Shediac Cape...downtown frontage too expensive for them.

On another note the former Richards Meat Market on Milner has now become Oh! Samosa...take out and catering apparently...sounds interesting.

[mylesmalley]

I really want to see that apartment building happen. Downtown has seen a dozen or so smaller buildings, but that would be a real test-case for larger scale developments in the core.

[David_99]

Originally Posted by David_99

I saw the owners of Adrian's Cycle moving out of their building yesterday.... Would be nice to see all of that bulldozed.

Wish granted! Nothing left but a big hole in the ground!

[BlackYear]

A little more St-George street news, anyone know what's going on at the former Cadman's Funeral Home building?

Major renovations are currently being done. I never saw a For Sale sign, so I'm assuming the owner is getting out of the funeral business and perhaps into something else. ie: restaurant or bed&breakfast or something else.

[MonctonRad]

More on the (ex) Adriaan's Cycle building. According to the T&T, it was bought by the owners of Zio's Pizza and they plan on building a small commercial building there.