The wheels of the once stalled Irving Oil HQ project are now back in motion with the Heritage Development Board approving the size and location of the project, also known as phase one, at its latest meeting on Wednesday evening.
The project came to a grinding halt after former city planner Jim Bezanson filed an appeal to the provincial Assessment and Planning Appeal Board over the height and setback of the 11-storey building which would go up next to the Imperial Theatre on King Square South — which is now a parking lot.
After Bezanson’s appeal was filed Saint John council ultimately amended the heritage bylaw through a fast-tracked process to clear the way for the proposed project. It received third and final reading at the last ever meeting of this council led by mayor Mel Norton on May 2. Recently re-elected Ward 3 councillor Donna Reardon, who is on the heritage board, voted against because of the process. She also withdrew from the Irving Oil vote at the board meeting with her reasoning being that she was a councillor.
#sjcouncil votes to give third & final reading to heritage bylaw amendment for Irving Oil HQ project. 8-1 vote. pic.twitter.com/ognUsCYd4Q
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) May 2, 2016
The meeting on Wednesday was the third time the project has been before the Heritage Board and there is still approval of phase two of the project for Irving Oil to contend with which includes such things as exterior materials.
“Subsequently, once they’ve through that phase two approval of the exterior finishes they should not have to come back to the board for any further approvals, unless they change their intentions about something,” says Heritage Board chair Bob Boyce. “For instance if they got approval of granite for something and came back because they wished to use a different material.”
Construction can begin before phase two approval from the board. It was originally scheduled to start on April 4 and the construction, once it does begin, is expected to continue for two years.
Irving Oil’s chief business development officer Jeff Matthews says no changes have been made to their design. He expects they’ll be back before the board in July.
“We remain very excited about the development,” says Matthews.
The Irving Oil HQ project was unveiled in February of this year.
Irving Oil unveils new head office that will be located uptown Saint John #HomeOfficeSJ #NewBrunswick #NB #SaintJohn pic.twitter.com/z0098bXjqv
— CHSJ News (@chsjnews) February 17, 2016
