Provided by Town of Riverview
A Moncton developer has pressed the pause button on a twin tower apartment complex at the site of the Chocolate River Station on Coverdale Road in Riverview.
John McManaman is CEO of Thrive Properties (formerly Cordova Realty) says the project is on the backburner as he focuses on other apartment buildings he’s developing including one nearby at 230 Coverdale Road.
McManaman noted the construction boom in Greater Moncton has made it difficult to find workers, with supply chain hitches also imposing a ceiling on how quickly the construction can be done.
Called The Current, the proposed twin 10-storey luxury apartment towers with 150 units, retail space and two levels of parking was controversial when it was unveiled in 2019.
McManaman, who plans to demolish the Chocolate River Station building itself, said the negotiations with the town to purchase the riverfront property in 2020 took longer than he expected.
The building is a former fire station that now houses the Holy Whale Beer Hall and the Riverview Information Centre.
“There’s not a lot of extra land and the project has underground parking…as well as a podium structure for additional parking next to the building. So it required extensive retaining walls, because of those constraints,” McManaman said.
“We have to spend a lot of time planning in advance so that we’ll receive things on time. But you have to plan these projects out almost two years in advance to make sure the timing goes well.”
Referring to recent speculations on social media that he delayed the Chocolate River Station apartments because he would have to build on clay, McManaman said “there have been so many misconceptions” about the site.
“We do geotechnical studies on every project we do, and Chocolate River Station is located on bedrock – it doesn’t get any stronger than that,” he said.
“There were people who thought we were going to block off the trail. Part of the reason we’re building apartments there is because of the trail. We want to improve upon it and elevate the landscaping and vibrancy of the riverfront,” he added.
When the project was first announced, some residents were worried the town would lose its down-to-earth values.
An online petition began circulating which called it an “unnecessary, oversized” development.
With files from Allan Dearing and Sam McDonald, a reporter for Huddle which is an Acadia Broadcasting partner.
