Saint John’s Brunswick Square up for sale

Perhaps the most prime piece of real estate in uptown Saint John, N.B., has been put on the market.

CBRE Limited and TD Securities Inc. have published a flyer for the sale of Brunswick Square and all of its assets. The property offers hundreds of thousands of square footage in both commercial and office space in its shopping area and office towers, a 250-room hotel (currently a Delta), and a nine-story parking garage offering more than 700 spaces.

The brochure says the property is currently sitting at an overall occupancy rate of 54 per cent (55 per cent of office spaces are being filled while only 52 per cent of retail spots are being used). It also notes the space provides “the opportunity to acquire a strategically located mixed-use asset that is ideally positioned for significant revenue upside through leasing, repositioning, and redevelopment.”

First opening its tower in 1976 (followed by the retail portion of the property and parking garage over the next few years), Brunswick Square was once the heartbeat of the uptown core, but a stroll through in shopping areas in the present day reveals most of the storefronts to be empty. The most recent vendor to leave the Square was breakfast chain Cora in mid-March.

“Other than Lawtons and the bank, there is really nothing in there,” says uptown resident Vernon Bent. “When it first opened up it was really, really, really busy. I mean we had stores all around up and down but now everything is just not that.”

“It’s the centre of the city, which is really good, but it’s empty,” says Isabel Veinot. “Having nothing to do it makes it so there’s nowhere for the high school kids to go eat lunch, there’s nothing to do for everyone…that works around here when they are on a lunch break.”

Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie admits the city has fielded numerous calls in recent years over the lack of action happening on the property.

“We have had a lot of complaints over the years that things are not going well in Brunswick Square,” admits the Deputy Mayor. “We’d want to see (the new owners) have more focus on filling the spots in Brunswick Square obviously and making it more progressive and be apart of the growth in the uptown.”

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MacKenzie is pleased to see the site listed for sale, saying the property has the potential to become almost anything.

He also says the prime piece of real estate is coming on the market at the perfect time given all the growth happening around the uptown core.

“With the waterfront development going on and the uptown bustling and growing by leaps and bounds, the new owner of this place is really going to do well,” MacKenzie believes.

Some ideas he has for the space include pickle ball courts, restaurants, or even some apartments to help with the housing crisis.

Resident Ryan Massey remembers what it was like when the space first opened, and he also has some ideas for what could be added to reimagine the space.

“I just looked at one of the upper levels and said they should just turn that into a dance club,” Massey says with a smile. “A big one with parking galore and everything in the garage, so switch it over to entertainment more than retail and offices.”

Envision Saint John: The Regional Growth Agency agrees Brunswick Square could use some fresh ideas.

“That sort of urban mall type setting, I think those sort of things we have really seen the popularity of that type of space diminish over the years,” says Envision Saint John CEO Andrew Beckett. “For a city that has a lot of things going on, a lot of vibrancy in our uptown area, Brunswick Square currently doesn’t reflect that type of energy. We are hopeful with the sale of the property it will see a new owner come in with some imagination of what the property could be and add to that vibrancy in our uptown area.”

Beckett adds Brunswick Square is in close proximity to a number of popular uptown locations including TD Station, the Imperial Theatre, and the Waterfront Container Village. Combining those with recent housing developments on going, Beckett also believes it’s the perfect time for a buyer to take advantage of the opportunity.

“If you go around on the street level in the uptown there is an awful lot of things going on,” Beckett says. “We’ve got great restaurants, a lot of different bars, good energy in the area especially when cruise ship passengers come in and there is all types of great things for them to see in the uptown area. But then you walk through Brunswick Square and it’s empty, and that just doesn’t reflect the overall character of the uptown area.”

The sale price for the property isn’t known. The current owners of Brunswick Square, Slate Office REIT, did not respond to request for comment, while the group who listed the property declined to comment on the matter. 

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