(Google Maps)
A new land-zone bylaw change will allow for residential development in the area of East Point Shopping.
Horizon Management, owners of East Point Shopping, plans on constructing three buildings—consisting of up to 200 units—with retail shops on the bottom floor.
Senior city planner Mark Reade says retail centres like East Point need mixed-use development to thrive.
“One of the things we realize as planners is that with the advent of things such as online shopping, the retail landscape is changing. There’s a lot less built brick and mortar retail,” he said during a council meeting.
Residential development is not currently allowed within the city’s regional retail centres, but the new bylaw would create a new zoning category to accommodate it: Regional Commercial Residential.
This is how the land at areas of East Point will be rezoned.
Reade says the mixed-use model is becoming more popular as people look for a more comprehensive shopping and living experience.
“Across North America we’ve seen an evolution of retail centres. Places such as the Yorkdale Mall in Toronto, Don Mills in Toronto—a lot of those centres are being redeveloped with a residential component to them,” he said.
Phase one includes three buildings in the area bounded by Retail Drive, East Point Way, Indigo Way and Fashion Drive. Future buildings are planned on two sites along Retail Drive on the opposite side of Costco.
Council passed first and second readings of the bylaw change during last week’s meeting. Once third reading is passed, the changes would allow for this type of development in other parts of the city which are considered Regional Retail Centres.
This includes a large part of lands around McAllister Place, the former Parkway Mall, Walmart, and along sections of Rothesay Avenue and McAllister Drive in east Saint John, and along Fairville Boulevard in west Saint John.
Reade says East Point is an excellent location to kick start kind of development, as it has so many amenities already in place.
“You already have that core of daily services that you need. East Point is a prime example. You have a grocery store, you have a pharmacy, you have Costco, you have a bookstore, you have some restaurants. There’s a liquor store, there’s a bank,” he said.
In addition, Reade says East Point has good roads and sidewalk infrastructure, and is on many major bus routes, making it an ideal place to live.
Horizon Management says it has spent a lot of time looking at the East Point area, and have done things from traffic impact studies to flood mitigation planning.
Other plans include building an ice rink in the area, as well as develop a walking trail above East Point with panoramic views of the city.
