Two 17-storey apartment buildings along Moncton’s Riverfront will go ahead, despite much opposition from residents.
It was a packed house at the public hearing held at Moncton City Council this week. Some expressed concerns about potential flooding while others expressed worries about the environment.
Resident Helen Branch stated, “A park is a park. A park is an area that we go to see nature. We don’t want to see concrete, we don’t want to see buildings. In my opinion, these two towers, 17 storey concrete stories with their patios, parking lots, with everything added, just don’t correspond. It actually goes against my definition of a park. A park is a precious thing.”
Monique Arsenault also spoke out with concerns, “We the people need more places to relax, to connect with nature. Don’t take away this unique natural landscape on the unique Petitcodiac River. Building enormous structures in that location, destroying a natural landscape for the benefit of the city coffers and corporate profit is going to be imputable to you city councillors.”
Councillor Paulette Theriault says she was one of the first to support this project, but in the end, she voted against.
“I was one of the first to support this project, and I still think that development is important, but I’m listening to the citizens, and some of their concerns are also very important. As it was mentioned, if we live in a democracy, how can we fix this? We just go ahead and support the developer, or can we find a way to make some compromises?” Theriault stated.
Developer John Lafford reassured residents that millions of dollars would be spent to get the site ready before the building begins, and also assured that flood mitigation is also part of that planning process.
Director of Planning and Development Bill Budd explained to City Councillors that they see this as a major improvement at this location, “There was a lot of rigorous review and administration is 100 per cent behind this recommendation. It will help make the park animated. It will provide infrastructure for people walking by using the park. There are a lot of benefits and it’s fairly compact, and it’s not sprawling out onto the Riverfront Park.”
The two towers will include 377 units, along with ground-floor businesses and a patio leading out on the Riverfront Trail. It will sit on the piece of land off Assomption Boulevard where the Northumberland Dairy once stood but hasn’t been utilized for several years.
“It has very little impact on the Riverfront Park system, and there are other benefits. The developers agreed to provide a certain 10 to 25 per cent of affordable housing throughout the building. Of the sale of the lands, 10 per cent will go into the housing reserve to help stimulate more housing projects for affordable housing, and then 90 per cent is proposed to go into implementing improvements in the Riverfront Park that benefit the public,” Budd adds.
“If we want to revitalize the downtown core, we need to start densifying and creating economies of scale. This will serve as a catalyst for more development. From a sustainable growth perspective, this is in line with your urban growth strategy.”
The final vote was 7 to 3 in favour of the project, with nay votes coming from Councillors Paulette Theriault, Daniel Bourgeois and Monique Leblanc.
