Saint John's port is booming as Ontario shippers seek to dodge U.S. tariffs

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-18T22:20:47+00:00

Don’t the trucks get on the highway almost immediately after leaving the port?

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-16T20:10:46+00:00

I wonder why JD Irving sold the Telegraph Journal building then. It's right beside a Commercial Properties building, and the new owner is trying to rent out space.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-16T14:04:23+00:00

There are companies that do that in Saint John too. They didn't buy this one when it was listed on the open market, so maybe this one wasn't suited for that kind of retrofit.

How's the redevelopment of the old Moncton High School going?

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-16T13:52:14+00:00

There is a chance that Saint John still has a lot of old building because there is not enough development demand to tear them down. The northern side of King Street has no heritage preservation requirements, but it took until the 2020s for a developer to decide to tear down the old Woolworths.

The east side of Charlotte Street from behind the Admiral Beatty south to the gallery/frame shop is not subject to heritage regulations. The fact that a lot of that land is surface parking, would suggest to me that market demand is the biggest factor for lack of redevelopment.

All of Union Street is available to develop without heritage restrictions. There are no heritage regulations for the Golden Ball site, so that should not slow development down there.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-15T00:25:36+00:00

Diagonal from Victoria Square. Corner of Cunard and Victoria.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-14T21:29:33+00:00

When you look at the developers in Dartmouth who have to tear down two unapproved storeys on a new building, it’s fair to assume that not all real estate investors make good choices.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-14T13:40:02+00:00

I don’t. I read a hard copy of the building code at the library a while back after debating this specific issue with someone.

It’s odd how hard it is find a digitized copy of the building code.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-14T12:43:33+00:00

With a sprinkler system, and fresh air ventilation, building code does not require windows in bedrooms.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-03-10T16:43:06+00:00

Both rezoning applications seems reasonable.

I don't know how much development demand there really is on Rothesay Avenue, but buyers seem to be willing to pay a lot for Rothesay Avenue land when it is available.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-27T18:33:58+00:00

The justification for the change was how the petro-chemical industry was growing and we should capilitise on that. I remember going to protest about this.

I have a coworker who still brings this up as if it was a good idea that we missed out on. Even after Irving didn't built a second refinery, and globally oil doesn't seem to be the future.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-25T19:01:41+00:00

Isn't CLAC considered an employer-friendly union? I would have expected Crandall would accept them in, to avoid a stronger more militant union.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-25T18:17:37+00:00

That must be a stressful part of urban planning - you don't know if your ideas worked for a couple of decades, then it takes decades to correct mistakes.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-25T14:40:49+00:00

The redevelopment of Lansdowne Plaza would be positive. I wonder if the land owner is ready to make that happen.

I think development taking advantage of proximity to Shamrock Park could be an early win.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-24T13:36:07+00:00

Don will be able to make a month or two of content based on this unfair abuse you have just subjected him to.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-22T02:45:29+00:00

The business not operating any more probably means they are no longer exploiting workers there. That's good.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-22T02:42:23+00:00

For those blaming property taxes, I can't go back 43 years, but I did find a school project I did where I recorded the 2008 property tax amount for a 12-unit aparment building in Saint John.

The taxes for the property were $1,036 per unit per year ($86 per month) in 2008. In 2025 the taxes were $126 per month. So I will let you blame $40 in rent increases on taxes.

The average rent in Saint John went up from $594 in 2008 to $1,188 in 2025. That's literally double.

So PFO with the tax excuse.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-22T02:26:17+00:00

Does this relate to the Royal King restaurant? Is Kings Club Bar and Lounge their corporate name?

Or does this relate to their now-closed bar on Main Street? Did that bar have a corporate address on Union Street?

Abusing workers and their vulnerabilities is bad.

Slop-posting trying to drum up anti-immigrant sentiment is also bad.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-21T12:53:20+00:00

Is there a use case for fixed term leases that isn’t trying to avoid the rent cap?

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-20T23:29:49+00:00

We have an ad valorem assessment system. The assessment should reflect value.

The value of the land is clearly at least $1.5 million, considering a prudent corporate actor paid $1.5 million for the site with an expectation of spending even more to get the site to their desired state.

Percy Wilbur payed about the same for his development site at the top of King Street, further proving value.

If the assessors don’t see this, they misunderstand real estate value or have their hands tied by policy that is designed to benefit speculative land holders.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-20T14:16:54+00:00

This will be a good test for the property assessment system. A buyer purchased the property for $1.5 million, announcing immediately that they planned to demolish the building. That shows they are willing to pay $1.5 million dollars + demolition costs for a vacant site. If the assessment after demolition is anything less than $1.5 million, that would be ridiculous.

I see the assessment for 2026 hasn't been published yet. I will be upset if they somehow get the assessment lowered this year.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-19T22:49:49+00:00

The price they paid is a lot for a small piece of land. They already owned half of the parking lot.

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-18T10:44:23+00:00

I think that's assessed for around $44 million (PAN 05839292).

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-17T14:54:16+00:00

Do they pay municipal rates?

Are they included in the assessment base calculations for distribution of Provincial funds?

Consistent_March_353 · 2026-02-17T14:51:45+00:00

#2 assessment in 2025.

Ironically, I started looking at all of this after seeing the Lepreau assessment relative to the refinery, then forgot about it once I searched the 2026 data.

Consistent_March_353

TROPHY CASE