Developer Plans to Construct New Office Building in Downtown Fredericton
FREDERICTON – Commercial Properties plans to construct a new building in downtown Fredericton that could include a mix of “Class A” office space, retail outlets and residential units, the company announced Tuesday.
The 92,000-square-foot building would be located at the corner of Regent Steet and King Street.
“This is a prime location in Fredericton and we expect significant interest from the community,” said Paul Moore, General Manager of Commercial Properties, in a news release.
“In addition to being a premium location for new offices, we also think it has significant potential for retail and even residential space.”
There hasn’t been a new building with Class A commercial office space in more than 20 years in downtown Fredericton. Now there could be three with another two other major developments on the horizon.
In late January, Ross Ventures announced that it had secured an anchor tenant for a new office building on Carleton Street in downtown Fredericton.
In late February, Kileel Developments Inc. announced that it’s planning to construct a building with up to 75,000 square feet of office space at the corner of King Street and Westmorland Street. The company is currently negotiating with potential tenants and needs commitments to fill 75 per cent of the space to proceed with the development.
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The Commercial Properties building is still in the planning phases, and no date has been set for construction to begin. The proposed six-story building will take up only a portion of the available land, making additional development possible.
“This is a very strategic location and we would like to leave room open for other future projects,” said Moore.
Mike O’Brien, the mayor of Fredericton, says it’s an ideal location for a mixed-use building with the market demand for new downtown housing, commercial and retail space.
“[It’s] one of the prime available downtown sites in the province,” said O’Brien in an interview with Huddle. “There’s a tremendous desire for more residential in our downtown. The marketplace is demanding it. We’re growing steadily every year and there’s pressure on our development community to provide more housing availability and rentals in our downtown. People are moving from the outside areas into our downtown so we need it.
“Our retail component [is also] full and we’re very happy and excited about that. But there’s a waiting list of merchants and commercial ventures that would like to be in our downtown core.”
Krista Ross, CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, says the new buildings could create new opportunities for outside companies to move into newly available space.
“It’s nice to see people investing in the future development and growth of our community,” said Ross in an interview with Huddle. “Having three impending developments is certainly encouraging. Hopefully, they find tenants for the new buildings and at the same time open up space for new businesses to come to Fredericton.”
Saint John architects Murdoch and Boyd will design the new building that will blend traditional and contemporary elements, including a brick façade on the lower floors with glass on the upper floors.
Commercial Properties owns and operates many buildings in New Brunswick, such as Brunswick House and Centerbeam Place in Saint John and Commerce Place in Moncton.
Several of its largest properties have achieved Gold status in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or BOMA Best certification.