Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., A Catalyst for Revitalizing Downtown

The downtown core of any city centre reflects the pulse, character, and tempo of that city and acts as a barometer of the economic health of the surrounding region. It is the downtown that exhibits the true essence of a city in the historical record reflected in heritage buildings combined with a vision of the future in new developments. Such is the case with the downtown core of the City of Moncton which stands at a crossroads of a rich and varied history and a vibrant and compelling future.

The downtown core of the City of Moncton extends geographically from Vaughan Harvey Boulevard in the west, across St. George Boulevard in the north including projections beyond to take in key facilities, along Halls Creek including Chateau Moncton in the east, and bordering the Petitcodiac River in the south. Within its boundaries lie some of Moncton’s most important landmarks, showcasing its unique character and its metamorphosis throughout its cultural and economic past, moving on from a rural outpost to a shipbuilding centre and railroad giant, to the modern, economic, and cultural centre it is today. Its strategic position at the hub of the Maritimes has always held sway in attracting businesses and residents to its centre, and today the city’s changing cultural and economic trends reflect a distinct multicultural flair as waves of immigrants have settled into the downtown core bringing to Moncton their festivals, businesses, and cuisine apparent in the smorgasbord of restaurants representing all the major cultures of the world. A thriving night life offers a lively night club scene as well as a creative theatre scene, public services such as top medical facilities, schools, and government offices join a strong retail component in specialty shops and boutiques as well as world class hotels to complete a downtown core with all the amenities to attract a strong, residential and commercial demographic which can exist in harmony with each other.

Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., is an entity committed to the stewardship of Moncton’s downtown core. Headed by newly appointed Executive Director Anne Poirier Basque, Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., is looking ahead to safeguarding the future of the downtown by courting new development to its environs, bringing more people into its boundaries and facing the challenges ahead in fulfilling these initiatives. Borrowing an outline from Martin Latulippe’s recent weekend column in the local newspaper addressing self-improvement, Anne Basque applies three important points to Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.,’s vision for the future. (1) Increase self worth, (2) invest in self, and (3) ask the right questions. All of these points can relate well to Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.,’s quest to invest in the downtown area. Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.,’s self worth has been augmented through developments such as the new Palais de Justice with its expansion of the law courts and additional space for public services, the newly renovated Aberdeen Cultural Centre and the Peace Centre now under construction and due to open in July. This centre will house five major non-profit organizations including the Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick, Inc. and MAGMA which will bring a multicultural flavour to the downtown core and will add approximately 200 people who will join the workforce there on a daily basis. In the realm of further investment to the downtown area, plans are afoot for the new multi-use Civic Centre which will add a new dimension to the city centre. To date, additional developments along St. George Street have brought the night club scene to that sector of the downtown, and last summer’s highly successful Multicultural Festival opens the door for investing in more events of that calibre to draw people to the downtown area. Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc. also has plans for further beautification of Oak Park, augmenting outdoor seating and perhaps working with the Capitol Theatre and Nubody’s Gym, both bordering the park, to develop this attractive approach to the new Peace Centre.

Finally, in asking the right questions, Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., focuses on exploring possibilities such as further development along the river front where the trail system already attracts walkers and cyclists. “Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., has entertained thoughts of adding facilities such as a restaurant with a patio open to the river, perhaps a skating rink, and most certainly, more bathroom facilities and seating along the river front. We are also looking at incorporating public art throughout the downtown core,” says Anne Basque, “working with area artists to partner in future projects for the beautification of the downtown area.”

Anne Basque believes a cooperation and collaboration with the City of Moncton and various entities such as the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Greater Moncton, the RCMP, and arts and cultural groups can come together to discuss ways the city can increase the vitality of the downtown core and increase opportunities for development by filling empty spaces. “We must pool resources to work with other entities in the city and keep abreast with what the business community wants,” says Anne Basque, “and cooperate with economic partners to avoid losing businesses in the downtown core as that has an impact on the whole city. The ripple effect of one business closing is huge. It means the loss of jobs, people moving away, children taken out of school, houses put on the market, and so on. By sharing costs on such things as banners for events and visible projects like the gateways to the city we can help to augment our strengths. The RCMP’s presence in the downtown core makes for a secure environment, and the Communities in Bloom Project in the summer and the festival of lights in the winter make for an attractive downtown destination for area residents and visitors to our region alike. All these elements combine to draw people to the downtown core.”

Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc., is also concerned with the toll urban sprawl can have on the downtown core. “In many major cities in North America, where the trend has been for people to move to the suburbs, the downtown core dies. Services are taken away and monies that can go to upgrading infrastructure go instead to providing services to suburban developments away from the city centre. We need a residential component to our downtown; we need our schools and public services to retain the vitality of the downtown core,” says Anne Basque, who leads by example, as she is herself a resident of downtown. “We must avoid the ‘donut effect’ of the depleted downtown core surrounded by suburban areas by investing in the downtown, employing proper zoning practices to control suburban development, enlisting the help of other entities in the city, courting businesses to the downtown, filling empty spaces, and attracting people to the downtown, not just as visitors, but as residents. All these elements can come together to create a dynamic downtown centre for the City of Moncton that will ensure its vital quality well into the future.”