Canada Lands Co. brings new urbanist approach in New Brunswick

cleaned-up brownfield site in Moncton, New Brunswick, is expected to become a 53-acre collection of more than 900 apartments, condominium units, detached houses, duplexes, and rowhouses in a setting offering what its planners describe as a “predominant pedestrian feel.” Canada Lands Company (CLC) proposed a new urban development on the site of a former Canadian National Railway shop even though CLC had previously obtained zoning allowing the land to become a conventional subdivision. The company spent millions of dollars to clean up the site and had expected to go forward with a typical subdivision in the city of 61,000. About a year and a half ago, however, CLC decided to take another look at the possibilities, and sponsored a charrette. What ultimately emerged was a plan by architects and planners at Moncton-based Architecture 2000 Inc. for mixed housing, “green fingers” of open space, and a commercial center featuring restaurants, coffee shops, a grocery store, and relatively high-density residential use. The long, relatively narrow site enjoys access and views to Centennial Park, a wooded green area featuring nature trails, recreational facilities, and a lake. CLC’s proposal has won praise from government planners. A request to rezone several parcels so that the project can get under way is to be considered in October. Construction is likely to begin next spring, according to Raven Spanier of Architecture 2000. Chris Reddy, executive director of the Greater Moncton Planning District Commission, was quoted in the local Times & Transcript as saying that CLC’s new concept — which calls for diverse housing with amenities within walking distance — is “rapidly becoming the norm all over Canada” and is long overdue in the Atlantic province. A Planning District Commission staff report says the aim of the proposal is to generate “a sense of space and community” while fostering mobility and sustainability through a network of bike lanes, pedestrian trails, and access to public transit. In the development’s center would be a pond and trees. “Green fingers” would cross the property, and connections would be made between two large parks on the borders of the development. Draft design guidelines say the open space “has the potential to become Moncton’s Central Park.” CLC is a “crown corporation,” an entity owned by the federal government. Its chief mission is to buy — at market rates — land abandoned by the government and to develop it for profit. The company attempts to balance the need for profit against the goal of creating value for the community at large. In 1998, CLC began developing a 175-acre new urban development called Garrison Woods on the site of Canadian military housing in Calgary, Alberta. That project achieved a sales pace of more than 300 units a year, more than twice the rate of conventional suburban projects in the area. (See July-August 2002 New Urban News.)