[Moncton] Old Moncton High School Redevelopment (under construction)

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Good2go

@CBCMoncton · 7 minutes ago
The sale of the former Moncton High School to Heritage Developments is now official. Finance minister Cathy Rogers also announced the province is investing $4 million towards repairs to building with part of it going towards renovating the theatre.

Good news. This means that the Carpenters have completed their due diligence and have decided that it worthwhile to carry on with renovations to the old MHS.

With the loss of the TD banking centre to Champlain Place, this doesn't mean that renovations will begin immediately (although they could start removing asbestos at any time). I suspect they will hold off until they have a secured tenant (aside from securing and stabilizing the building).

The provincial money towards the auditorium however is encouraging. This part of the building could be immediately renovated for the Atlantic Ballet Theatre.........

[MonctonRad]

Excerpts from the updated CBC article regarding this file:

Part of the old Moncton High School will soon be converted into office space and the theatre will become a community arts centre, the provincial government announced on Thursday.

Heritage Developments Ltd. will purchase most of the property for $1 million, said Finance Minister Cathy Rogers.

The province will retain ownership of the heritage portions, including the theatre, and spend about $4 million to renovate the space

Heritage Developments has until 2019 to finish repairs to building, officials said.

It's still looking for a tenant.

Once the theatre renovation is complete, the provincial government "may convey the property to Heritage Developments if they meet certain conditions such as securing affordable leases with non-profit cultural organizations," officials said.

The Atlantic Ballet Theatre is counting on this space, so this is likely the "non-profit cultural organization" that they are referring to in this article. The MHS auditorium however would be the largest traditional theatre performing arts space in the Maritimes, therefore it would likely be valuable for a variety of performing arts uses. I could see Heritage Developments forming a partnership with a volunteer management board to oversee operations of the arts centre.

[McKay]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The MHS auditorium however would be the largest traditional theatre performing arts space in the Maritimes

Do you know how many it seats?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by McKay

Do you know how many it seats?

1,200 seats.

The Capitol Theatre has 800 seats.
The Imperial Theatre in Saint John has 852 seats
The Fredericton Playhouse has 709 seats.
The Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown has 1,100 seats
The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax has 1,000 seats
The Neptune Theatre in Halifax seats 479

[MonctonRad]

Official GNB news release regarding MHS:

News Release
Transportation and Infrastructure
Final agreement to protect former Moncton High School
31 May 2018
MONCTON (GNB) – The provincial government has finalized an agreement to save the former Moncton High School.

“Arts, culture and heritage are an important part of what makes New Brunswick the best place to live, work and raise a family,” said Finance Minister Cathy Rogers. “This project will identify the Greater Moncton region as the arts and culture hub of the Maritimes.”

Rogers spoke on behalf of Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Fraser.

Last summer, the provincial government reached an agreement in principle to save and redevelop the property, avoiding demolition of the building and maintaining the auditorium and gymnasium for community use. That agreement has now been finalized.

Heritage Developments Ltd. will purchase most of the property, except for the heritage portions which includes the theatre, for $1 million. The company will transform the remainder of the building into office space.

The province will retain ownership of the heritage portions of the building and will invest an estimated $4 million to renovate the former theatre to occupational standards, allowing for its future transformation to a community arts centre. Upon completion of the theatre renovation, the provincial government may convey the property to Heritage Developments if they meet certain conditions such as securing affordable leases with non-profit cultural organizations.

The former Moncton High School, considered one of the most significant architectural landmarks in downtown Moncton, is within walking distance of several local theatres and cultural facilities, including Centre Aberdeen, theatre l’Escaouette and the Capitol Theatre.

The project is expected to generate short-term employment in construction and, once completed, to generate growth in the tourism and arts industries. This is consistent with the multi-year New Brunswick Economic Growth Plan, the government’s framework to move the economy forward.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

1,200 seats.
The Capitol Theatre has 800 seats.
The Imperial Theatre in Saint John has 852 seats
The Fredericton Playhouse has 709 seats.
The Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown has 1,100 seats
The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax has 1,000 seats
The Neptune Theatre in Halifax seats 479

But.. where will they PARK?!?!

[MonctonRad]

The province is currently undertaking $4M in renovation work to the theatrical wing of the old MHS as part of the purchase agreement between the province and Heritage Management (before transfer of this part of the building into their hands).

Work includes:

- solar panels for the roof (to decrease costs to future non profit tenants)
- new roof
- new HVAC
- electrical upgrades
- masonry restoration

Work will be completed this fall.

[MonctonRad]

A community consultation and information session will take place at Resurgo Place on Thursday at 6PM regarding the proposed parking lot on the old MHS sports field off of Church Street, adjacent to Wheeler Blvd.

This development is felt necessary to make the old Moncton High School attractive to potential commercial tenants, and to allow parking for patrons attending events at the 1,200 seat auditorium in the old high school (future home of the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada and potential theatrical productions).





As part of this proposal are plans to renovate the Halls' Creek Playground bordering this property at 51 Marjorie Street, and provide an enhanced physical separation between the playground and the proposed new parking lot.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

A community consultation and information session will take place at Resurgo Place on Thursday at 6PM regarding the proposed parking lot on the old MHS sports field off of Church Street, adjacent to Wheeler Blvd.

This development is felt necessary to make the old Moncton High School attractive to potential commercial tenants, and to allow parking for patrons attending events at the 1,200 seat auditorium in the old high school (future home of the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada and potential theatrical productions).





As part of this proposal are plans to renovate the Halls' Creek Playground bordering this property at 51 Marjorie Street, and provide an enhanced physical separation between the playground and the proposed new parking lot.

This explains why we could see employees in the soccer field they where probably trying to figure out how much dirt, gravel, and pavement they would need. Also love the potential new park in the area.

[MonctonRad]

Former Moncton High field is turning into a 562-space parking lot
The parking lot plan had been opposed by some residents who wanted the green space to remain
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Feb 05, 2019 7:13 AM AT | Last Updated: 28 minutes ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-b...ncil-1.5005763

Final approval has been given by Moncton City Council to turn the former MHS sports field into parking for expected tenants of the MHS reconversion development.

"Now we get to work, get the building ready, ready for tenants," Ross Carpenter, the vice president of operations for Heritage Developments, told reporters after the council vote.

"Full-steam ahead."

In the plan, the former school's 1,300-seat theatre will become a community arts centre.

Carpenter said renovations at the former school, an iconic Gothic Revival-style stone building, have been going well with some "good surprises."

"The amount of asbestos that they thought was there was less," Carpenter said.

"I'm a heritage buff, so just being inside an old historic property is fun."

He said the work is still in the early stages as they install a sprinkler system and new electrical entrance.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Sandbagger

There is definitely something happening at the old Moncton High building. They have been doing indoor demo for a couple of weeks now and today there is a crew bringing in a substantial truckload of new drywall. Looks to be in the auditorium area but hard to say for sure.

Moved this to the MHS thread.

As noted in a post further up the page, renovations ($4M) to the theatrical wing of the building are a provincial responsibility, and are currently under way.

[MonctonRad]

I drove by the old MHS the other day (first time for months), and I noted that external masonry work is still ongoing on the theatre wing. There is quite a bit of scaffolding up.

[MonctonRad]

Nice photo of the auditorium at the old MHS, currently undergoing renovations:



The headline of the article is "Volunteer group has hopes and dreams for MHS theatre"

The rest of the article is hidden behind the T&T's hard paywall, so I have no idea what they are referring to.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Nice photo of the auditorium at the old MHS, currently undergoing renovations:



The headline of the article is "Volunteer group has hopes and dreams for MHS theatre"

The rest of the article is hidden behind the T&T's hard paywall, so I have no idea what they are referring to.

Not sure if its the same article or not but you can see some full length quotes from an article on the Heritage Management FB page

https://www.facebook.com/14582315208...3849854645775/

Lots of photos as well.

[MonctonRad]

Thanks lirette, I'm sure that must be the article accompanying the photo.

Strange, they make no comment about the possibility of the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada using the MHS auditorium for performances, or the gymnasium space in behind as an administrative and rehearsal facility. I thought that was pretty much set in stone as a future use.

Interesting to hear that there are other contact centres interested in moving to MHS and setting up shop in Moncton. Again, no firm contracts, but there have apparently been lots of expressions of interest.

[MonctonRad]

A couple of pictures of the renovations ongoing at the old MHS from Mayor Dawn Arnold's FB page:

[Good2go]

They have been pressure washing the stone exterior. Easy to tell what has been cleaned and what has not.

[BlackYear]

Snapped a few photos on Sunday. You can really see the fine details and the great work from up close. Nice job!

[MonctonRad]

Looks all nice and shiny!!

[OUIR@random]

Looks awesome, love it!