'Grand re-opening' of Officers' Square in Fredericton this long weekend
The ‘grand re-opening’ of Officers’ Square in Fredericton will occur this long weekend, as site renovations near completion for a project that is over time and over budget.
“It’s done to the point we can deliver programming,” says Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers, in an interview Friday.
Garrison Fest will include four days of entertainment beginning Friday, with a return of on-site Canada Day events.
The festival will usher in a permanent performance stage and introduce new landscaping and seating locations within Officers’ Square. There is also improved accessibility in and around the historic grounds.
“It’s easy to get into,” says Gerald Mattix, who uses a mobility scooter. “Before it used to be like gravel. It was a little harder to run one of these over it.”
A mechanically chilled ice skating track inside Officers’ Square opened in December 2023, which doubles as a walking track during warmer months.
An enhanced electrical system is also part of site renovations, with additional lighting still to be added.
The project was initially projected to cost $9 million, with a timeline to be finished by 2022.
The project’s latest budget is now more than $14 million.
The renovation became a touchy subject in 2018 when plans to remove trees inside the square first became public.
There were additional delays after the discovery of an ancient paleo shoreline on the square’s southwest corner, as well as design changes prompted by feedback about a lack of green space.
Mayor Rogers says the contentious process “has been worth it.”
“It’s a wonderful community space,” she says. “We’re delivering programming, for free, to residents at a time when affordability is a real issue (and) at a time when people really need to gather and come together. That’s really what this space is all about.”
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Neighbour on the hook for $3,675 in damages due to ‘nuisance cedar’: B.C. tribunal
A B.C. man who reneged on a deal to split the cost of removing a tree with his next-door neighbour is now on the hook for the whole amount, B.C.’s civil resolution has ruled.
WestJet mechanics strike forces dozens more B.C. flight cancellations
Dozens of WestJet flights to and from Vancouver International Airport were cancelled Sunday, as a strike by airline mechanics continues.
She's still busy at 105. What secrets and science are behind Canada's 'super agers'?
There is ongoing research to better understand the relationship between social connection and healthy aging, and why the brains of super agers look different compared with their peers.
Several U.S. military bases in Europe on heightened alert amid possible terrorist threat
Several U.S. military bases across Europe were put on a heightened state of alert over the weekend, with the level of force protection raised to its second-highest state amid concerns that a terrorist attack could target U.S. military personnel or facilities, according to two U.S. officials.
A study identified 6 types of depression. Here’s why that matters
Scientists may be a step closer to that reality, thanks to new research that has identified six subtypes — or 'biotypes' — of major depression via brain imaging combined with machine learning.
Creators urge Ottawa to force disclosure of ‘black box’ AI system training
Canadian creators and publishers want the government to do something about the unauthorized and usually unreported use of their content to train generative artificial intelligence systems.
Some of Canada's wealthiest billionaires, according to Forbes
If you gathered all the wealth that billionaires currently have worldwide, you would have about US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes Magazine. But what about in Canada alone?
Nude beach etiquette: Lose your clothes, not your manners
Most of us have felt the freedom and delight that comes with stripping down to a swimsuit on a sunny day and wading into a cool sea, the horizon twinkling in the distance.
Charges pending after 3-year-old Edmonton boy struck, killed by truck in marked crosswalk
Police say charges are pending after a boy was killed and his mother and sister were injured in a crash in south Edmonton on Thursday.