9 August 2010

NB Liquor Store Delayed

The historic downtown Fredericton train station is being
turned into a new NB Liquor store.

Fredericton New Brunswick - The flagship NB Liquor store slated for the historic Fredericton train station is running behind schedule.
 
The store was slated to be open by the end of August, but the opening of the former CP station has now been pushed back till December. Fredericton's Bird Construction will begin the work this week.
 
J.D. Irving Ltd., the company that owns the property, says that the renovations have to be approved federally, which has taken longer than expected.
 
Irving spokesman Geoff Britt noted that Irving-owned Commercial Properties Limited has experience with a similar restoration at Centre Beam Place in uptown Saint John.
 
"There's time associated with these steps, and with heritage projects, and that's what's been occurring," he said.
 
The former train station, which has been a dilapidated eyesore on the city's south side for years, is to be used for wine tastings and special events. An addition to the back of the station will house a standard liquor store. Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside said the delay is frustrating, but no big deal.
 
 

A graphic illustration of what the new NB Liquor store
will look like, incorporating the historic Fredericton train
station.
 
 
"We've been waiting for a long time, and a little bit longer is not going to hurt us," he said. "But that train station is going to be brought back, it's going to be beautiful, and everyone's going to live happily ever after."
 
Controversy about the future of the historic site had raged for years, until a 20-year lease arrangement was struck between J.D. Irving Ltd. and NB Liquor in September 2009.
 
J.D. Irving has estimated it will spend more than $2-million fixing the station.
 
The Canadian Pacific Railway built the station in 1923 and J.D. Irving Ltd. acquired it when the company bought the rail lines east of Montreal in 1995.
 
Since then, the station has been deteriorating, even though Parks Canada's Historic Sites and Monuments Board designated it as a heritage site in 1991.