Construction of Two Five-Storey Buildings Has Begun on Fredericton’s Forest Hill Road
FREDERICTON – Construction began recently at 49 Forest Hill Road in Fredericton. The project was approved during the winter of 2022 and now the two 5-storey buildings are finally being built.
Keswick Ridge Properties Ltd. broke ground at 49 Forest Hill Road this past spring, as soon as the ground thawed from winter. This location will eventually be home to two new apartment buildings.
Each building will be five storeys high and will together house a total of 178 units. The units will be designed for “professionals and mature students looking for accommodation near the universities and other amenities.” Most will be one-bedroom apartments but 40 will be two-bedroom apartments (20 in each building).
There will also be a total of 198 parking spaces available between the two buildings. Ninety-eight of these will be underground parking, with the remaining 100 being surface spaces. Planning documents submitted to Fredericton council show this exceeds the minimum required amount of parking by roughly 20 spaces. They also show that they will be adding electric vehicle charging stations inside the underground parking lots for tenants to use.
Over the past year, there have been two other apartment buildings built in this same neighbourhood, making it a quickly developing area. Because of the changes in the area, there have been mixed thoughts from members of the surrounding community.
Since the development will be taking place in their backyards, some residents say they are concerned for their privacy with the height of the new buildings. Others say the Forest Acres Court is known as a kind of country living in the city and that is threatened by the development.
Charlotte MacLeod, a local resident of the Forest Arces Court area, spoke on behalf of her and her husband at the City Council meeting on January 24th, 2022.
“We, like our neighbours, are concerned with privacy, how this building will extend above the hill, and how it will impact our properties values, and finally the traffic congestion which had been talked about,” she said.
Others say they are fine with the development because of the ongoing housing crisis, especially with more and more students coming into the area every year. Despite their issues and concerns with the development, they are aware the city needs more housing in the area, just maybe not in this area.
Dr. Kellie Brown, another local resident of the Forest Acres Court area, also shared her thoughts on the new development at the same meeting.
“I am in favour of developing that property, and we badly need more housing for people, but I’m not in favour of rezoning,” she said. However, she acknowledged that the rezoning was liking going to be passed, and instead asked that they be aware of affordable housing costs.
Although the timeline for the project’s completion is unknown, construction appears to be progressing steadily.
With the majority of the Fredericton City Council being on board with this development, as well as having minor environment and traffic impacts, the development at 49 Forest Hill Road is seen to be a great addition to the Fredericton area.
Ryley Roach is a Huddle student intern, based in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].