Will FREX site turn into residential area?
Published Saturday November 21st, 2009
Talks | City wants new location for fall fair and raceway
The City of Fredericton and Fredericton Exhibition Ltd. are talking about relocating the annual fall fair and Fredericton Raceway to a new location.
"We've never really stopped pursuing a better location for the Fredericton Exhibition and the raceway," Mayor Brad Woodside said in an interview.
Over the years, negotiations have proceeded in an on-again, off-again fashion, but the talks were renewed recently when Horse Racing New Brunswick approached city council to talk about the possibility of investing its money in a raceway upgrade.
The city responded by showing the interested parties - including city councillors, harness racing and exhibition board representatives - a concept rendering by local designer Daniel Glenn. It depicts Wilmot Gardens, a downtown housing and apartment complex, built around a centre court of green space that would run from Odell Park to Wilmot Park.
"It's always been our premise that the exhibition could serve their needs in a better location and that land could be developed for housing and parkland with the closure of Saunders Street," Woodside said.
The concept plan proposes a variety of housing types to replace the aging Coliseum rink and adjoining Capital Exhibit Centre used for trade shows.
The schematic proposes a high-density apartment building with ground-level retail. The rendering shows established businesses such as Tim Hortons and William's Seafood remaining at their locations.
"It's actually a very beautiful proposal. They've been working on that for quite some time," Woodside said.
Coun. Stephen Kelly, who represents Sunshine Gardens and the downtown west end, said he expects residents in his ward will embrace the housing concept.
"I'm excited about the potential for the transition of the property and the urban park and the mixed residential use it could ultimately turn into," Kelly said.
He said he thinks this could be the right time for the exhibition and raceway representatives to seek renewal that could advance their interests.
"When you've been doing something for 150 years, it's not going to be easy to say, 'Let's go find another venue,' when it's been successful there for all that time," Kelly said.
"I hope they keep an open mind and they look at the whole package and that they look at the new opportunities to evolve the FREX."
At its present location, the FREX and the raceway are limited in their ability to grow and rejuvenate their product, Kelly said.
He said there's also an opportunity to consider including an outdoor concert venue at a new exhibition-raceway site.
City administrator Paul Stapleton is leading negotiations on behalf of the city and he's awaiting feedback from the exhibition and raceway interests.
Kyle MacDonald, general manager of Fredericton Exhibition Ltd., said he can't comment on the talks.
The process isn't expected to proceed quickly and the mayor said 2010 won't bring about any changes to the property.
"We've got to identify property for them and negotiate this. I wouldn't say it's that close. It's just an ongoing process," Woodside said.
The Fredericton Exhibition Grounds, located on Smythe Street, are owned by the city and are leased under a long-term deal with Agricultural Society District #34, the parent company of Fredericton Exhibition Ltd.
The Fredericton YMCA, which sits at the edge of the exhibition site, hopes to sell its property and relocate to a new building on Albert Street.
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Comments (16)
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I'm not a history buff, but personally I'd love to see it built to it's pre-1877 fire glory. But that is unlikely to happen.
However, there is an opportunity here to do something with these grounds other then build another eyesore apartment and shopping complex. Instead of building the Frex at a new location, why not develop or refurbish the current facilities?
I'm afraid the Frex will be moved to the outskirts of the city, making it inaccessible to many.
DC
Oh, yes...let's sell our already owned land and property for a few dollars to some local developper and, in return, we will go and spend millions of dollars on new facilities our tax payer and residents don't want. When we're all done (or during the final stages of construction), we'll annouce that we are over budget by 6-8 millions... Who cares...we're the city council...we are in charge here...We'll just raise taxes...
Sounds Familiar....
Moving it to the outskirts of town would open the door for a lot of development potential, and bring more people into the downtown area. This is a good thing for all sorts of reasons, from reducing traffic to less pollution.
There is also no reason that the development would have to be an "eyesore" and it also doesn't sound like it would only be apartment buildings, as some of the above comments imply. It looks like it would be a mix of different structures.