Granite Centre On Track To Become ‘The Dartmouth Crossing Of New Brunswick’
THE GRANITE CENTRE IN MONCTON IS EXPECTED TO BE FULLY BUILT AND LEASED UP BY THE END OF 2024. IMAGE: SAM MACDONALD/HUDDLE
Greater than half of the house accessible for lease at Moncton’s Granite Centre is spoken for, main one of many tasks builders to dub the rising retail hub ‘The Dartmouth Crossing of New Brunswick.’
“The positioning may be very lively and we’ve already leased up about 64 p.c,” stated Invoice Hennessey, the managing director with Colliers Worldwide New Brunswick – the actual property dealer signing tenants up for the Granite Centre.
Hennessey stated that he and his accomplice builders had been impressed by the success of Dartmouth Crossing and “see that as what we’re sort of monitoring in the direction of with the Granite Centre.”
At 64 p.c occupancy, tenants now are leasing – or are about to lease – about 186,500 sq. ft of the practically 300,000 sq. ft of retail house on Granite Drive
Hennessey advised Huddle that 16 tenants are coming to the retail plaza, the place Costco is its largest anchor enterprise.
Whereas three eating places have already been contracted, Hennessey stated extra are nonetheless in negotiation levels. When accomplished, Hennessey stated the complete complement of companies on the Granite Centre may probably carry not less than 200 new jobs to the town.
Companies which have just lately opened their doorways on Granite Drive, or introduced their intention to, embody Merely For Life, which just lately relocated from Dieppe, in addition to Taco Boyz, Wing’n It, and Boustan, chains which have come to New Brunswick from Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Quebec, respectively. All are scheduled to open quickly.
With about half of the tenants exhibiting curiosity within the Granite Centre within the meals sector, Hennessey stated the food-heavy choices arising are “the pure evolution based mostly on the dynamics of the world.”
He stated that there’s a rising demand for extra meals choices within the north finish with the expansion within the Caledonia Industrial Park.
“There may be not plenty of meals in that space of city, so for those who look alongside the Elmwood Drive hall, it’s difficult to discover a sit-down restaurant,” stated Hennessey. “It was sort of a deficit of meals in that space, with demand being what it’s.”
On high of that, he stated meals companies had been, and are, a few of the most aggressive bouncing again from the pandemic.
“The meals inquiries picked up dramatically relative to different retailers,” he stated.
The Granite Centre, positioned on the finish of Elmwood Drive, close to the Trans-Canada Freeway, can be simply down the street from the Caledonia Industrial Park.
The commercial park contains the 21,000-square-foot Walmart Distribution Centre that’s beneath building and slated to carry greater than 200 jobs to Moncton, and Perfect Roofing’s new, 80,000-square-foot headquarters.
“There may be plenty of power in that space and from a growth standpoint you’ve obtained new jobs going into Caledonia, and from a residential standpoint, Moncton’s developed as far west as it may well,” stated Hennessey.
“Should you have a look at the logical progress and growth for each industrial and residential, it’s up Elmwood Drive, the place you get 26,000 vehicles a day, the place you may get on and off the freeway simply, or entry downtown or Dieppe in 10 minutes. Should you have a look at the evolution of the town, the Elmwood Drive space is the subsequent logical place for growth to occur.”
Timeline
Hennessey stated that if progress continues at its present tempo, he hopes to see the Granite Centre totally constructed and at capability by the top of 2024. He stated labour shortages are the one actual impediment to progress on the retail plaza.
Building is underway for a brand new, 6,000-square-foot constructing on the southeast nook of the location close to Elmwood Drive, and negotiations are within the works for a 4,500-square-foot, sit-down restaurant on the southeast finish of the property.
The contractors behind the boots-on-the-ground work to construct properties for the various companies coming to the Granite Centre are RisePEI-based RCS Building.
RCS is one in every of three companions working collectively on the event – a trio that features Lumel Centre Developments, the proprietor of the 5 Dwelling {Hardware} areas in Higher Moncton, and the Grey Group of Prince Edward Island.
The builders are additionally in negotiations with two retail tenants in search of a 40,000-square-foot berth every on the Granite Centre.
Hennessey couldn’t launch any names however famous every new enterprise in the event that they signal leases, would require new building positioned on the north facet of Granite Drive. With these constructed, the plaza would come with 12 separate buildings.
Wanting ahead, Hennessey stated additional developments on still-vacant land within the west portion of the property close to Costco aren’t off the desk. Nonetheless, these are issues are for after 2024, as soon as the primary part for the Granite Centre is full.
Sam Macdonald is a Reporter with Huddle Today, a content-sharing accomplice of Acadia Broadcasting
