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SOLD 200 Union Street
200-206 Union Street, Saint John, New Brunswick
The property at 200 Union Street, known by many as the former Academy of Hair Design, has new owners.
The property was purchased by a couple from New Brunswick. The property is commercial on the ground floor and has 6 residential units on the second floor. The new owners intend to use the ground floor for a new retail establishment. Details on that to come at a later date.
The building has a long history in Saint John. The original business was “Jacks Men’s Wear”. It was owned by Jack Levine and eventually his son Ellis Levine. Former Saint John Mayor Sam Davis designed the building for Jack Levine. You can still see the name “JACK” inlayed in a tile mosaic by the sidewalk near the main entrance.
This is just one more in a string of recent announcements about an exciting revitalization that is happening along Union Street and in the Waterloo Village area.
Stephanie Turner was the listing agent. Lee Yuyang, Re/Max Professionals Saint John represented the buyers.
Saint John’s First Boutique Hostel Experience…Coming June 2018
36 Water Street, Saint John, New Brunswick
BunkHaus Boutique Hostel
After learning of different boutique hostels popping up around the world, Ingrid Woodhouse was inspired to create her very own hostel business here in New Brunswick. And, although there was no doubt from the beginning that Uptown Saint John was the best location for BunkHaus, it took some time to find the perfect spot.
“I looked at a few places but it wasn’t until we walked into 36 Water Street that I knew the hostel had found a home,” says Ingrid. “It has a beautiful exposed brick wall that really showcases our city’s character, huge storefront windows that let in tons of natural light, it’s uptown on a ground floor, has high ceilings, and it even has my ideal footprint of 2500sq ft. It was a total homerun.”
Ingrid hopes that BunkHaus will help draw more travelers to the city and is excited to bring affordable yet chic accommodations to the Uptown core. The hostel will offer both private rooms and custom timber-frame bunks with stair access the top beds. As for the common area there will be a fresh new communal kitchen, long harvest table for sharing meals, and a lounge area for guests to relax and meet one another. The addition of a minibar as well as an outdoor patio with hammocks and heat lamps are also part of the plan but will come later. On-site laundry and free Wi-Fi will be vailable too.
With traditional Saint John architecture of 12ft high ceilings, exposed brick, and large windows, there will be no problem making this space a home using local art, plants, and comfortable Scandinavian-inspired furnishings. Guests will feel right at home here as they share meals, music, and memories together in the communal spaces designed to bring people together.
“We’re incredibly delighted to see the BunkHaus coming uptown and look forward to the grand opening. Without a doubt, this will be another great addition to the neighborhood. Not only will this be very high quality, it will also satisfy a need in the marketplace. We congratulate Ingrid on her vision and for seizing the opportunity,” says Keith Brideau of Historica Developments.
To follow renovations and keep up-to-date with news and future offers, follow @BunkHausHostel on Facebook and Instagram.
WEBSITE COMING SOON at www.bunkhaushostel.com.
Stephanie Turner worked with Ingrid to find the perfect space and represented BunkHaus in the negotiations in the Landlord, Historica Developments.
Breakout moving from Rothesay Ave to Parkway Mall
212 McAllister Drive, Saint John, New Brunswick
Photo Courtesy of Breakout Saint John
If you’ve driven by Parkway Mall recently you may have noticed a new sign. Breakout Saint John announced today that they are moving from their current location on Rothesay Avenue to this new location. They leased a portion of the former liquor store. Breakout Saint John is an award-winning entertainment and team-building company that offers themed escape room games. This area of east Saint John is well known as a high traffic retail node and provides them with much better visibility.
Julia Pugley, President, issued a Press Release in which she said “Not only does this mean a larger and more central location for this popular local business, it also includes the much-anticipated launch of all-new escape rooms and puzzles.” This is great news for fans of Breakout!
Breakout’s next new room is slated to open before the end of May and the company also plans to announce an official grand opening in the coming weeks. Visit their website: www.breakoutsaintjohn.ca
Stephanie Turner represented the Tenant in the negotiations with Tidan Inc., the owners of Parkway Mall.
36 Richmond SOLD
36 Richmond Street, Saint John, New Brunswick (Waterloo Village area)
Adams Green announced today that they purchased 36 Richmond Street which is located at the corner of Richmond and Prince Edward Streets.
The 3 story heritage brick building is a masterpiece of architectural detail much of which has thankfully been preserved. The ground floor with its high punched tin ceilings and old “apothecary” drawers has been used for various commercial enterprises in the past. The upper two floors were most recently rented as one massive residential unit. The attention to detail and craftsmanship evident in the extensive wood paneling and molding is impressive. Two built-in rounded benches are absolutely amazing.
36 Richmond Street
According to the Press Release issued today “Adams Green is the first accounting firm in Canada to be certified as a B Corporation. That means they value people and the planet as much as profit”.
In the press release Owen and Haley Green, the new owners, go on to explain that they are launching The Wheelhouse “A kind of community centre for entrepreneurs, where people can come together to collaborate around all kinds of ideas”.
They really embraced the Waterloo Village location… it fits right in their “wheelhouse” of being socially responsible. The Union Street and Waterloo Village areas of Saint John have experienced a wave of investment in recent months and they wanted to be part of making a difference in this up-and-coming neighbourhood.
Stephanie Turner represented the Buyers and Gary Vincent of Keller Williams was the listing agent.
PHOTOS of the inside and more on this story at Huddle.Today
#91King Street SOLD
91 King Street Saint John, New Brunswick
After more than 6 months of negotiations, 91 King Street has been purchased by an investor. Integrity Real Estate Investments (IREI) is the proud new owner. The transaction was complicated as the property carried some restrictive covenants that had been imposed years ago when the land was owned by the Anglican church. IREI’s solicitor, Andrew Costin, a partner with the law firm of Gorman Nason, was instrumental in revising the restrictions to allow for the intended development of the property. Steve Carson from Develop Saint John played a key role in interfacing with the church representatives to reach a successful conclusion.
IREI, along with its investors, have plans to redevelop the property. Current zoning requires that the ground floor remain commercial but the upper floors will likely be converted to residential or complimentary uses. IREI and their consultants, Morgan Lanigan and Melissa Wakefield of EXP Architects Inc., are encouraged by early reviews of the existing structure during the due diligence period that suggest additional floors could be added to the building.
The “metro brown” & red aluminum siding covering much of the building’s character will be coming down and it’s intended that the building facade will be restored to its former glory. The building has some strong mid-century elements including terrazzo flooring which shall be preserved and built upon. IREI and EXP will be working closely together over the coming months on the project’s design and next steps.
This is fantastic news for uptown Saint John. This strategic corner has been sorely underutilized for years and it’s time has now come! The public can continue to watch for news of the development on Facebook and Twitter using #91King
Develop Saint John issued the following PRESS RELEASE related to the news.
Stephanie Turner represented both the Seller & Buyer in this commercial real estate transaction.
$200k Price Reduction!
SOLD 1655 Manawagonish Road, Saint John, NB
The seller has just instructed me to slash the price of this building by $200,000.
WAS $899,000…. NOW $699,000!
I often gets calls from people asking how much the church is on Manawagonish Road. I can understand why people may be confused as the sign out front says “Convention of Baptist Churches” but this is actually a 15,000 square foot brick office building that was built in 1981, sits on 2 acres of land and enjoys beautiful views of the Fundy coast. For more information on this amazing opportunity including more photos CLICK HERE
P.S. Desks were custom ordered for the offices and are available as part of the sale (subject to negotiations)
Bank of New Brunswick a.k.a Le Faubourg sold
125 Prince William Street, Saint John
First listed for sale in 2008 for $1,250,000, this building (easily identified by its massive pillars) has been sold. Over the years we’ve had a couple of accepted offers which failed to close for different reasons but we’ve finally gotten this one across the finish line!
The buyers, Ron Lovett & Courtney Sherlock from Halifax, see the building as a great long term investment. “We have really seen so much growth in uptown Saint John over the past 4 years. It’s really starting to come alive” commented Lovett.
“The building is so beautiful, it just needs a little TLC” says Lovett.
The building is occupied by the previous owner Arc’f de Saint-Jean Inc. and they will be remaining as a tenant on the top floor of the building for up to 2 years. The ground floor on Water Street is home to Loyalist City Brewery.
The main vacancies are the former AlleyGria restaurant space on the level below Prince William and the Prince William Street “bar” space which many Saint John residents still remember operated at one time as the nightclub “Pillars”.
Stephanie Turner represented the Seller and Jason Stephen of Royal LePage represented the Buyer with a shout out to Judith Makin at TUCK Studio for being such a great ambassador for the building and the community!
Lorneville Mechanical leasing E.S. Fox building
405 King William Road, Saint John
As reported by HUDDLE, Lorneville Mechanical Contractor’s Ltd (“Lorneville”) announced this week that they won a contract to fabricate large modules as part of an expansion at the Irving Oil Refinery. Although they’re manufacturing the components at their current facility in the Spruce Lake Industrial Park, they required additional space. The nearby E.S. Fox building located at 405 King William Road was vacant and on the market. They’re using the Fox building for their tooling group and for some material storage associated with the project. “Given the short term nature of the contact, it didn’t make financial sense to purchase the building but we were fortunate enough to be able to negotiate a 9 month lease of the facility” says Todd Bethune, Lorneville’s C.F.O. There were other ways to satisfy the requirement for additional space but the close proximity to Lorneville’s current facility made the E.S. Fox building an ideal solution and both sides were pleased to be able to hammer out a deal.
The 24,000 sq ft facility with 54’ clear ceiling height sits on 27 acres of land and is ideal for large module manufacturing. It will continue to be marketed for sale or lease and will be vacated by Lorneville in early March 2018. For more information on 405 King William Road click HERE
Stephanie Turner represented both the Landlord and Tenant in the transaction
Is talking to the media worth it? #91King
Despite the fact that they often screw it up (not you Huddle!)… the answer is yes! Especially since I’m fortunate to have a platform where I can help set the record straight.
I did an interview this week with a rookie Telegraph Journal reporter. She did not misquote me in the story but left out a lot of great stuff that would have made this a positive story! Things such as:
- I told her that it’s not unheard of for large redevelopment projects such as this to take as long as 4 years to sell. 1) The Bustins portfolio took 4 years and look at it now! (Thanks Historica!!). 2) Le Faubourg at 125 Prince William Street had been listed for several years and is FINALLY under agreement and is scheduled to close in 2017.
- Yes, I did say there are not many investors willing to take risk but I did not say there aren’t any… we just need more!
- 91 King has seen a flurry of activity since Irving Oil’s Home Office began construction across the square.
And lastly, when asked about the status of the retail market in uptown Saint John I could not stop gushing about the vibe uptown… the unique restaurants, pubs & micro breweries that are quickly putting Uptown Saint John on the map as a “foodie destination”. We have this growing cluster and it will attract more!
Missed the TJ article? You can read it below SOURCE: TODAY’S EDITION on-line at thttp://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/TelegraphJournal/#
How I approach CRE photography
I am very fortunate to be selling (and leasing) commercial real estate in a city with amazing architecture. With over 10 years in the industry, I have a discovered a few photography tricks of the trade. When taking exterior building shots, I like to ensure that the sun shining and that there’s a nice blue sky. If possible, I like to get leaves or plants in the foreground of the photo to help frame the shot and add depth.
I also try to get photos which help showcase the character of the property if applicable.
It only takes a few extra minutes to consider the lighting, angle and composition of the photo. With digital photography it costs nothing to snap a few extra “non traditional” shots to see what you get. Getting a good shot is not the final step… editing is also important. Creative cropping and fine tuning of exposure makes all the difference.
In an effort to improve my photography skills I have recently taken to honing my skills via online training and participating in a virtual social platform called Guru Shots.
Saint John Commercial Real Estate 