CONSTRUCTION IS PICKING UP PACE ON A NEW APARTMENT COMPLEX GOING UP ON LADY ADA BOULEVARD IN MONCTON'S NORTH END. IMAGE: RICE CONTRACTING
After a tough winter, a local contractor is once again moving along with the construction of a new apartment complex in Moncton
John Rice, owner and co-founder of Rice Contracting Ltd., told Huddle that January and February’s wintry weather made pouring cement difficult, slowing progress on a 102-unit apartment building going up on Lady Ava Boulevard, near the new Kent Building Supplies and the Four Points Sheraton Moncton.
“The snow, wind, and cold weather slowed things down. It hurts business when you’re doing concrete because you have to heat the underside of the slabs. On windy days, the crane can’t run and when it’s minus 30, it’s pretty cold up there to be working, too,” he said.
But Rice noted things started turning around at the start of March.
“We kept going for those months, shoveled snow and tried to pour on the good days, but it was much slower. So now, there’s better production.”
Rice expects construction to conclude on the building, a development by Quest Properties, around January or February of 2023. The completed apartment complex will include apartments ranging from 800 to 1,200 square feet.
“It’s a very different thing here in Moncton, to have this much work,” said Rice, who has been building in Moncton for almost 30 years.
The only other impediment at this point for Rice is getting people to do the work. Like many businesses in Greater Moncton, Rice has been dogged by labour shortages that show no sign of letting up anytime soon.
“The big problem is getting people; in trades, we’re short of people. I think it’s been coming for the last 20 years but nobody’s really paid attention until now,” Rice said.
To mitigate these shortages, The Moncton Northeast Construction Association–of which Rice is a former board member and president–has been pushing for more trades representation in schools.
“A lot of contractors invested to provide a program for schools with materials and that kind of thing to teach trade programs. To a certain extent, it’s been helpful,” he said.
That considered, Rice says another root problem of the work shortages at construction sites these days is due to the fact that an entire generation is missing” from those sites.
“If you look on construction sites, it’s people in their twenties and fifties and sixties,” he said.
Rice Contracting, founded in 1992, is responsible for the work behind several fire stations in Greater Moncton, including the Riverview Fire and Rescue headquarters, the Botsford Street and Hildegarde Drive Moncton Fire Department stations, and the Dieppe Fire Department headquarters.
Currently, Rice is also building a new location for the Eastern Prosthetic Clinic on Horsman Road. Rice Contracting also is responsible for the building housing the Riverview town hall, the East Side Mario’s location, and numerous apartment buildings in Moncton.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle Today Reporter in Moncton, an Acadia Broadcasting content sharing partner.
