Saint John has adopted a building code allowing wood frame construction of up to six storeys which it’s hoped will spur investment and grow the city’s tax base revenues.
The city is paving the way in taking on the 2015 National Building Code which allows the construction of these types of buildings.
Saint John is the first city in Atlantic Canada to do this.
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) March 9, 2017
Project coordinator for Atlantic WoodWORKS’ Patrick Crabbe says that allowing these kinds of structures in Saint John will mean lower construction costs and the removal of red tape for developers.
“This is light-wood framing construction…this is your dimension lumber that the majority of our homes are constructed with so that’s really where the cost efficiencies come into effect, is because it’s a cost-effective traditional form of construction that everyone is familiar with,” says Crabbe.
“They can really conform to any type of modern architecture or traditional building landscape that exists in the city today. You can adjust the siding…so they’re really capable of fitting into any current urban planning landscape.”
Keith Brideau of Historica Developments, which renovates and rents out buildings in Saint John — most recently the apartments above the Bustin’s on Germain Street — was at the announcement in City Hall and praised the adoption of the building code.
“I just like that the city is working hard to try and identify ways to help the development community make a better return on their investment. This announcement…actually reduces the cost of development and encourages more density it’s going to make it a more attractive place to invest here in Saint John,” says Brideau.
“I think it’s going to make them look at Saint John a lot more closely.”
Also announced by the city is that they have issued a request for proposals for the parking lot at the corner of Canterbury Street and Princess Street. It’s 505 square feet and mayor Don Darling is also pitching it as a great chance for someone to build using this wood frame construction code. Brideau seemed to indicate that he might be interested in the property:
“I am looking pretty seriously at building a new building and the lot that the city actually put up for RFP today is a pretty important lot for uptown and I think there’s gonna be some people looking at it very closely and I think it’s going to encourage development in the city,” says Brideau.
