Developer Expects Fall Completion for the The Tides Apartment Complex
RIVERVIEW–As a Moncton developer forges ahead on two Riverview apartment buildings, he’s hitting pause for a development planned to go up at the location of the iconic Chocolate River Station.
John McManaman said he’s put plans for The Current, two 10-story, 150-unit luxury apartment towers at 395 Coverdale Rd., on the backburner while construction continues on another one of his developments.
The Tides is down the road at 230 Coverdale Rd. and McManaman, CEO of Thrive Properties (formerly Cordova Realty), told Huddle about a third of its 74 pet-friendly apartments have already been pre-leased.
McManaman broke ground for The Tides in July, after a year’s planning. He said he expects it to be complete by fall 2022 and to rent out the rest of its apartments before that point.
“We actually had people call us and we told them they were on a list – and they physically came into our office, sometimes on more than one occasion, just to make sure they’re on the list for the building. That’s how keen people seem to be on the location,” said McManaman.
This milestone comes as crews with Newco Construction finish construction on the building’s first floor.
“We think that bodes well for the large development we want to do at Chocolate River Station,” McManaman said.
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McManaman said he’s where he expected to be at the start of 2022 with the Tides. He noted that construction work has been occasionally challenging on account of the site’s tricky riverfront landscape and labour shortages.
“There’s not a lot of extra land and the project has underground parking…as well as a podium structure for additional parking next to the building. So it required extensive retaining walls, because of those constraints,” he said.
“We have to spend a lot of time planning in advance so that we’ll receive things on time. But you have to plan these projects out almost two years in advance to make sure the timing goes well.”
McManaman added a construction boom in Greater Moncton has made it difficult to find workers, with supply chain hitches also imposing a ceiling on how quickly the construction can be done.
Chocolate River Station
McManaman wants to finish pre-leasing for The Tides before progressing on the apartment towers he plans to build on the Chocolate River Station property. The building there is a former fire station that now houses the Holy Whale Beer Hall and the Riverview Information Centre.
McManaman, whose plan was criticized by locals objecting to the size of the proposed towers and plans to demolish the Chocolate River Station building itself, said the negotiations with the town to purchase the riverfront property in 2020 took longer than he expected.
Referring to recent speculations on social media that he delayed the Chocolate River Station apartments because he would have to build on clay, McManaman said “there have been so many misconceptions” about the site.
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“We do geotechnical studies on every project we do, and Chocolate River Station is located on bedrock – it doesn’t get any stronger than that,” he said.
“There were people who thought we were going to block off the trail. Part of the reason we’re building apartments there is because of the trail. We want to improve upon it and elevate the landscaping and vibrancy of the riverfront,” he added.
McManaman also plans to build a six-storey, 104-unit apartment building on Twin Oaks Drive, in Moncton, starting early this spring.
“We’ve done the service work and we’re going to take a break for a few months until March or April to start back at it.”
In addition to residential developments, McManaman recently purchased the former Bell-Aliant building at 555 Mapleton Road, with plans to set up Thrive’s head office in one suite and lease out the rest.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].