[Moncton] Riverview Developments

[riverviewer]

New playground for Riverview East School needs funding.

Full Play for All campaign brochure and pledge cards can be downloaded from Gunningsville School's website at http://gunningsville.nbed.nb.ca/news/riverview-east-school-playground-campaign

[MonctonRad]

Apparently the new Riverview East School won't be opening until after Christmas........

[MonctonRad]

This is the link for the Mill Creek Nature Park master plan. I don't think that the link for this document has been posted before:
http://www.townofriverview.ca/en/thi..._final_web.pdf

The name for this proposal is somewhat of a misnomer. This is so much more than just a "nature park"......





The proposals for the community centre are especially impressive, including:
- A two-pad arena
- Multi-purpose fieldhouse with walking track,
- Wellness and fitness centre
- Indoor tennis centre
- Indoor water and play park with adjacent climbing wall,
- Food service and lounge space,
- Senior’s activity centre with indoor and outdoor events (i.e. lawn bowling),
- Artificial turf and track stadium with 3500 viewing capacity and,
- An outdoor extreme park with skateboard and bike amenity.

The plans for an artificial turf football field with bleacher seating for 3500 is, I think, larger than the city of Moncton's Rocky Stone Field!

If this entire plan ever comes to fruition, it would absolutely transform Riverview and would forever change people's impressions of the town. I don't think any of this would ever have been contemplated without the construction of the new Gunningsville Bridge, and the construction of Gunningsville Blvd...........

[mylesmalley]

Ambitious idea, but color me skeptical. The park component of the project would be an excellent addition to the town, but it's going to come at a steep price, even if it's only built in stages over many years.

This would be the fifth (?) huge-scale mixed-use development proposed in the Greater Moncton Area in the past decade (Magnetic Hill GC, Vision Lands, Uptown Dieppe, Franklin Yard, Mill Creek). At the risk of sounding pessimistic, as of yet none of them have gotten very far at all, with the exception of Dieppe's, but that doesn't look anything like the original plan. Are we really that confident that Riverview, the town that has the worst record at attracting investment in the area by far can pull this together?

If done right, this would be a really neat part of town. I'm just afraid that the mixed-use part will just end up a sea of asphalt and strip malls when the town has a hard time getting interest in 6 story commercial buildings.

[josh_cat_eyes]

I just noticed some of those Mill Creek plans. I looked up the PDF and started reading, there is going to be a lot of stuff put in there! Like, they will have an arena bigger then the one in Dieppe where the Commandoes play. I wouldn't be surprised to see them relocate. Plus theres a boating area, which kind of makes up for the loss of Lake Petitcodiac.
It also notes that the Retail Centre will be "complete with a hotel"
There is a ridiculous amount of stuff involved in this project! I'm excited. They are doing a much better job then Moncton with their "vision lands" thing.

[jenike]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

I just noticed some of those Mill Creek plans. I looked up the PDF and started reading, there is going to be a lot of stuff put in there! Like, they will have an arena bigger then the one in Dieppe where the Commandoes play. I wouldn't be surprised to see them relocate. Plus theres a boating area, which kind of makes up for the loss of Lake Petitcodiac.
It also notes that the Retail Centre will be "complete with a hotel"
There is a ridiculous amount of stuff involved in this project! I'm excited. They are doing a much better job then Moncton with their "vision lands" thing.

So far it is all just pretty pictures and political talk. I have yet to hear anyone give a proposed date of development, any status updates on the project, and not even a mention of how Riverview plans to fund such a project. Unless they drastically change their anti-business stance in Riverview and the town starts earning revenues from other sources than just residential taxes, there is no way a project of that magnitude even gets off the ground.

[L'homard]

I paid quite a bit of attention to the public consultation phase of this project and you are correct, sir.
It seemed like whatever you threw at those developing this plan, it would stick to the paper.
Hotel? Sure!
How about a restaurant? Why not!
Let's have snowmobile and ATV and walking and skiing and running and dog-walking trails. Definitely!
I do hope it all comes to fruition but, yeah, good luck with all of that.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Well the good news is they plan on it being a public-private development. Maybe a company like RioCan can step in and develop it when the town. It almost reminds me of Dartmouth crossing, but smaller and with more emphasis on the recreational aspects.

[riverviewer]

Phase One of The Fairways is now open for sale of lots.

[MonctonRad]

The December meeting of the Riverview PAC will include a request for variance to allow rezoning of a property on Montgomery Avenue to Commercial to allow for construction of a new McDonald's restaurant, to be attached to the existing Irving/Circle K on Coverdale Road.







This development has been rumoured for at least a year, but it is nice to see some renderings, and it would appear that this development will likely proceed next year. Once the new McDonald's is built here, the existing McDonald's Express location in the PJC building down the road will be taken over by Jean Coutu to allow for expansion of the pharmacy…….

[MonctonRad]

Improved rendering of the proposed professional building by Cordova Realty on Gunningsville Blvd near Findlay Park………

[MonctonRad]

The new East Riverview School has now finally opened (halfway through the school year).

I really hate that name - so unimaginative. Given that we have a former Prime Minister of Canada from just down the road in Albert County, it might have been nice to use this opportunity to honour him - the Honourable R B Bennett Memorial Public School or something along those lines…….

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The December meeting of the Riverview PAC will include a request for variance to allow rezoning of a property on Montgomery Avenue to Commercial to allow for construction of a new McDonald's restaurant, to be attached to the existing Irving/Circle K on Coverdale Road.







This development has been rumoured for at least a year, but it is nice to see some renderings, and it would appear that this development will likely proceed next year. Once the new McDonald's is built here, the existing McDonald's Express location in the PJC building down the road will be taken over by Jean Coutu to allow for expansion of the pharmacy…….

I see that this proposed development has passed first reading at Riverview town council. A small thing, but still a victory in the campaign against the perception that Riverview is anti-commercial development.

I am neutral on this proposal, but it is important that Riverview shake it's (apparent) anti commercial development stance. There were a number of NIMBY's at the town council meeting, supported by a couple of town councillors, but the proposal passed first reading by a vote of 5-2.

[riverviewer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

There were a number of NIMBY's at the town council meeting, supported by a couple of town councillors, but the proposal passed first reading by a vote of 5-2.

I received pamphlets in the mailbox from a group of concerned citizens. The issue is that the drive-through will divert traffic into a residential neighbourhood instead of onto Coverdale road.

In the current proposal cars exiting the drive-through will enter the intersection of Montgomery and Dobson. Cars that can make a left on Montgomery will have no lights to access Coverdale. This will cause traffic jams during lunch and dinner rush hours. The other options either go up Montgomery to cut over to the lights on Blythwood, or straight onto Dobson until they hit the lights at Pine Glen. The residents do not believe this will be safe for the children walking to school to have that many cars using the grid of residential streets.

The NIMBY's are asking for egress on Coverdale road.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by riverviewer

I received pamphlets in the mailbox from a group of concerned citizens. The issue is that the drive-through will divert traffic into a residential neighbourhood instead of onto Coverdale road.

In the current proposal cars exiting the drive-through will enter the intersection of Montgomery and Dobson. Cars that can make a left on Montgomery will have no lights to access Coverdale. This will cause traffic jams during lunch and dinner rush hours. The other options either go up Montgomery to cut over to the lights on Blythwood, or straight onto Dobson until they hit the lights at Pine Glen. The residents do not believe this will be safe for the children walking to school to have that many cars using the grid of residential streets.

The NIMBY's are asking for egress on Coverdale road.

The NIMBY's may get their wish. The developer apparently has withdrawn his application before town council. He is reserving the right to bring back the proposal to town council, but for now the issue is dead.

[josh_cat_eyes]

The KFC in Riverview is now listed on Plaza REIT's site. I wonder if they plan on moving or building a new one.

[MonctonRad]

Apparently money has been set aside in the new provincial budget to start the process of renovating Riverview High School.

[MonctonRad]

further to the above:

The (Anglophone East School Board's) second priority, however, was approved, and Riverview High School will soon have more space for its students.

The school was built in 1977 and with 1,117 students, it has the largest student body in the district. In 10 years, the district predicts 1,164 students will attend.

A new addition to the school would accommodate student population growth, as the school is currently over capacity (at 104 per cent) and there is no shop/technology space for students in the community.

Repairs to Riverview High School were also prevalent on the district’s capital improvement project list. Recommendations to the school were: part two of exterior windows replacement/repair ($450,000), a fire door upgrade ($360,000) and emergency lighting ($108,000).

source:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=12396

[mylesmalley]

Hmm... that student number is a bit disturbing. Given the population growth in Riverview over the past ten years, they're either expecting very limited growth or a pretty dramatic ageing of the town over the next decade.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

Hmm... that student number is a bit disturbing. Given the population growth in Riverview over the past ten years, they're either expecting very limited growth or a pretty dramatic ageing of the town over the next decade.

A little bit of both I think.

Most population growth in the metro area will likely stay on the north side of the river since that is where most of the amenities and commercial activity is. At the same time, the population of the town will continue to gradually get greyer and greyer.

It is still encouraging to see that they expect the student population to grow slowly in Riverview. This means that they expect at least some young families to move into town. This is better than a lot of places in NB. The town itself will likely grow from (nearly) 20,000 to about 22,000 or so in the next decade. Meanwhile, Dieppe will likely hit 34,000 and Moncton might reach 80,000 during the same time frame.