The construction of a second $100 million project is underway in downtown Moncton, just a block away from the first.
The Hub City’s multimillion-dollar arena project has been receiving the majority of attention, but plans for a new high-end apartment complex were made before the city settled on the Highfield Square location.
The new complex will include two office buildings, a hotel and a fitness club.
“The Junction is coming along well,” said developer Vaughn MacLellan. “We started construction in July of this year.”
The building is set to open in phases. The gym will open this spring, with the hotel and the apartment complex both set to open in 2018.
The two office towers will begin operation the year after that, with everything scheduled to be complete in 2019.
“I think that the location of the land stood on its own, given the proximity to downtown, the new bridge to Riverview and some of the development around it,” MacLellan said. “But the downtown events centre was a bonus.”
Carol O’Reilly with the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce says the boom in development in the city's downtown is a good sign.
“It shows that there are people watching what's going on in Moncton and the Greater Moncton area,” she said. “It's also showing that these places are going to be very successful.”
O'Reilly says a vibrant downtown is key to any growing city.
“It's the heart of the community,” she said. “So when there is no clear downtown area that doesn't exist, things are more fragmented.”
The two $100 million dollar projects may be eye catching, but MacLellan says he expects to see even more development in the area.
“There's a good synergy to that. I think you'll see more of that unfold with the downtown events centre, where you'll see some more development,” he said.
The main floor of the offices and apartment building are designated to be either retail or restaurant space. The development sits across from the Via Rail station, a grocery and a pharmacy.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
