While the ambitious Fundy Quay development is receiving plenty of attention from the City of Saint John and its residents, the footprint of the city’s future waterfront development sits in the shadow of a building quietly ready to reclaim its place as a centrepiece of the commercial skyline.
Most of what is happening under the hood at the Saint John City Hall building isn’t in plain sight. But according to Chris Elias, vice-president of operations with Fundy Harbour Group (FHG), the more than 50-year-old structure has undergone some major changes since being purchased in 2018.
Dr. David Elias, Alex Elias, and president and CEO of Historica Developments, Keith Brideau purchased the 176,000-square-foot building for $3-million. According to assessment records from Service New Brunswick, the building was valued at nearly $7.5-million at the time.
Brideau has since moved on, but development started on the site’s first major project, which involved relocating the City of Saint John offices down to the building’s first four floors, soon after the building was purchased.
“There was an extensive renovation project that went along with that from the landlord and tenant standpoint” including the removal of a bank vault from the BMO location on site, recalls Elias.
While extracting bank vaults wasn’t the only obstacle in removing the building’s older features, the lower-level floor renovations were a success, with the City opening its new office and department spaces in the Fall of 2020.
A smaller City footprint in the 16-storey building was also the beginning of the first major upgrade since 1971, when the City first took occupancy at the 15 Market Square address.
Upgraded for efficiency
Since then, Elias says the middle floors of the building have undergone many vital changes to the structure’s backbone, with extensive upgrades to revamp all building systems.
Those essential changes brought a building that once required 24/7 on-site maintenance into the 21st century. An electrical engineer on staff can now operate the building’s systems remotely through an automation system, upgrades Elias says FHG worked with Efficiency New Brunswick to help create.
“It was operating at above the typical benchmark for a building that age,” says Elias. “We’ve brought the building from an energy consumption standpoint down to 17 percent below the benchmark for all office buildings in Atlantic Canada.”
Not surprisingly, lease inquiries slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and while Elias agrees there was no getting around it initially, it’s been overwhelming to see the bounce-back in the commercial market overall since.
“What we’ve seen specifically that’s drawn people to our building is that because we’re doing these major building renovations at the same time, the tenants have a blank slate when it comes to what they need — and everyone’s uses for office space is changing now with Covid,” says Elias.
He adds that FHG has seen some increased interest in its leasing drive for some of the building’s mid-to-upper floors.
Pedway level enhancements on the way
While the public has not been able to see many of the investments to the building so far, Elias spoke with excitement about the development’s upcoming pedway project.
The once cold, drafty transition past the building’s third-floor elevator stop will see totally new modern finishes and improved access ready to define the entrance to the pedway level.
“We’re putting a new entrance off Chipman Hill with a canopy, and we’re actually putting in an accessible wheelchair ramp,” Elias confirmed.
Sliding doors will also be added to the City Hall pedway route on both its Market Square and Brunswick House sides to prevent heat loss.
Upgrades also involve renovating the business suites on the pedway level, which Elias confirms already have two leases signed for a pair of medical clinics with three more spaces left to rent.
The former “Treats” location is one Elias is looking forward to seeing redeveloped. Once a popular mid-way stop for a morning snack, its window section offers some of the best harbour views in the city.
Work on the pedway level will begin by the end of February with renovations to continue on the public stretch into early summer.
With renovation still to come on the remaining upper floors, Elias says completion for those isn’t targeted to a specific date but will happen as the demand in the commercial market grows adding there are also tenants leasing some of the top floors.
“We’re confident with the amount of demand we’re seeing right now that that’s going to be continued on an accelerated timeline,” says Elias, “The main theme for us is that we’ve put a lot of time and energy into the City Hall building and it’s the first time it’s been owned by local owners since it was first built in the 1970s. We’re really excited to show what that revamped building is going to look like and that energy is hopefully just going to cascade over to the Fundy Quay site.”
Tyler Mclean is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
