A long-awaited development at the top of King Street in Saint John is finally moving ahead, according to city staff.
Council heard Monday night that prep work has begun for the 12-storey mixed-use building at 99 King Street.
Chris McKiel, the city’s community and development standards director, said plywood fencing is currently being installed around the site.
“The city has issued street occupancy permits for the development and will be issuing street excavation permits later this week,” McKiel told council.
“In the coming weeks, the developer will remove the existing foundation walls and prepare the site for construction.”
Graphics of historic buildings will also be added to the plywood fencing along King Street to “enhance the visual appeal” during construction, said McKiel.
The start of construction comes three years after the former Woolworth’s store was demolished.
A gaping hole was left behind after the building was torn down, causing frustration among many city residents.
Developer Percy Wilbur acknowledged that frustration and concern during an interview with our newsroom in April.
“I know that it’s been a bit of an eyesore. There’s been some challenges in the last few years that were pretty unforeseen and I can understand people being upset, and no one more so than me,” he said.
“I’ve got a tremendous investment there that’s not doing anything for me until I’m completed.”
RELATED: Developer remains committed to 99 King Street
Wilbur did not immediately respond to a request for comment from our newsroom on Tuesday.
The initial $40-million design proposed a grocery store on the first floor, two floors of office space, nine residential floors totalling 93 apartment units, and two levels of underground parking.
But Wilbur has said rising costs he attributed to COVID and a labour shortage forced them to go back to the drawing board.
The two floors of office space are being replaced with more residential units and a third level of underground parking is being added, he said previously.
“The design is pretty much locked in now, so we’ve got to go out for pricing and work with our team members to make the pricing a little bit more reasonable,” Wilbur said in April.
Wilbur also blamed a lack of tax incentives by the province as one of the reasons why it has taken longer than expected to get shovels in the ground.
Council also voted Monday to amend the agreement for 99 King. The planned canopy between the building and the City Market will be smaller but will align with the market entrance.
