Big budget commercial plans drive Moncton building permits to just under $223 million last year

MONCTON -- The greater Moncton area has seen some major building projects come to fruition in the past year, with big budget commercial plans driving building permits to just under 223 million dollars in 2018.

Observers say – the future is bright for what’s to come for development in the hub city.

Early January construction began on a 32 million dollar arena in Dieppe, and Riverview recently made an announcement of a 16 million dollar wellness center set to open in 2022.

“In the last two years, over 70 million dollars’ worth of downtown building permits alone,” said Kevin Silliker, the Director of Economic Development for the city of Moncton.

The Hyatt Place Hotel is one of those big budget commercial projects, it is set to open late 2020 and is expected to generate around 120 jobs.

The new hotel is located in the center of the city, and directly across from the Avenir Centre which has had major economic spinoff.

“We’re not only coming here, we’re going to go out for supper before. So I think people do that, they might for have a drink afterwards,” said Moncton resident Andre Lyons.

Silliker agrees local businesses are also already reaping the benefits of the new centre.

“For existing downtown merchants, they’re starting to get busier and busier as a result of the Avenir centre as well,” he said.

Monctonians say they’re noticing a difference in their city, deeming it “up and coming”.

“There’s a lot of buzz about this, people seem to talk about Moncton more – it’s not just a place people drive through,” said Lyons.