Developer scraps harbourfront plans

The Saint John Development Corporation hopes to find a new development partner for the Canadian Coast Guard site by the spring after the Hardman Group backed out of plans to build a hotel, condominiums, retail space and offices.

Colin Whitcomb, executive vice-president of the Hardman Group, said frustration over the five-and-a-half-year wait for the land to transfer from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the city contributed to the decision.

"After year three-and-a-half, year four, you start to lose confidence in the schedule and your partners start to lose confidence in you and the fact that the project can proceed because the date is always moving," he said.

During that wait, the economic climate also changed, and hotel financing became less available, said Whitcomb.

In addition, growth in Halifax and St. John's made those cities more interesting as investment opportunities, he said.

Project to move forward

Still, Kent MacIntyre, general manager of the Saint John Development Corporation, hasn't lost confidence in the waterfront development project, which is a crucial part of the city's vision to revitalize its core.

"We are so much further ahead than we were in 2006," he said, noting the final part of the Coast Guard land sale is expected to go through on June 30.

Many of the required assessments of the property, such as environmental assessments, building assessments, structural assessments, and the seawall assessment are also complete, he added.

"We're excited from the standpoint that we are now armed with enough tools to move quickly."

MacIntyre said he's confident a new, quality partner will come forward, attracted by six acres of prime waterfront, the city's 5.9 per cent unemployment rate and more than $500 million being spent on other construction projects in the past two years.

The development corporation plans to open up a new 90-day expression of interest for the project in December.

"It's the central, most valued piece of property in the city of Saint John and we really want to make sure this is done well," MacIntyre said.