Common Council has unanimously endorsed the launch of a neighborhood plan aimed at reviving South Central Peninsula next year and given staff the go-ahead to apply to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for funding.
The peninsula is one of three areas identified as candidates for a neighborhood plan with the others being the north end and the lower west side. It has been recommended that the neighborhood plans be implemented in that order.
It’s said that the estimated cost of this first neighborhood plan would cost no more than $180,000 to $225,000 and it would be completed within a year. Mayor Don Darling says it’s a one-time cost for the plan.
“The idea behind this is that with FCM’s support…half of that cost that’s quoted…we’ll have our staff participate with the whole development of the plan and the idea is that our staff will become more skilled by participating with the consultants,” says Darling.
A report from staff says there’s a need to take more deliberate action in the growth and evolution of Saint John’s core neighborhoods as they haven’t shown any signs of revival since 2012.
“Where does it make sense and which neighborhood do we start? And the central peninsula certainly made a lot of sense in terms of return on investment, in terms of the concentration over 10,000 jobs, in terms of the opportunity to grow the tax base in the central peninsula,” says Darling. “So that’s why it ended up getting chosen.”
Uptown Saint John has come forward offering $10,000 for this.
