St. Stephen pins development hopes on 2 blocks of downtown land
St. Stephen is looking for development proposals for two key blocks of land downtown.
The border municipality purchased the properties over the past few years to assemble into blocks of adjacent lots in hopes of spurring commercial and residential development.
"We do have specific ideas in mind and we've been reaching out to some developers and saying, 'Here's what we have to offer, here's what we'd like to see developed,'" said Derek O'Brien, the town's chief administrative officer.
O'Brien said the town centre has seen continuous growth since the opening of the Garcelon Civic Centre near the St. Croix River in 2014.
One block of land is on Milltown Boulevard on the downtown waterfront, and the second is on nearby King Street.
O'Brien said the town would like to see commercial developments on the ground floors with apartments or condominiums on upper floors.
He said there's a growing list of older people who want to live in the town's centre.
Some may get an opportunity to live in St Stephen's former town hall.
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The building is being renovated by Heritage Development, a Moncton-based property developer that also owns the nearby Ganong Building, where Ganong once made its chocolates.
Ross Carpenter, the president of Heritage Development, said work is underway to fix structural problems with brickwork on the exterior of the 1880s-era building, which was designed by Thomas Fuller, the architect behind the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.
The company has received grants from both the town and federal government and has just finished putting a new roof on the former post office.
Phase 2 of the project, set to begin in September, will determine the layout of the interior, but that mix may include apartments, Carpenter said.
"We're investing in St. Stephen," he said. "We're in it for the long term."
Brent Bilsky has caught that downtown fever.
He is including apartments in his development almost directly across the street from the former town hall.
Bilsky and his wife, Gwen recently purchased a 70-year-old former warehouse, which they are renovating to create a gym on the ground floor and five apartments upstairs.
"There's a need for middle and higher-end apartments in St. Stephen right now," said Bilsky.
"There's quite a bit of a shortage there."
Bilsky said he hopes his gym, Infinity Fitness, now on the edge of town, will attract students from the downtown's St. Stephen's University as well as office workers on their lunch hour.
He said a "wellness corridor" already exists in the downtown with the civic centre, waterfront walkway, a gym, yoga studio and physiotherapy clinic.
