63atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | Atlantic Business Magazine

In New Brunswick, select companies, agencies and major projects are driving commercial development, and in the process creating jobs and boosting the local economy — all of it much-needed in a time of slow growth.

Commercial development is a key driver in any economy, essential for producing new projects and generating new wealth

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64 Atlantic Business Magazine | January/February 2017

Saint John, the province’s his-toric Port City, is proving to be a hub of commercial

development, from real estate to massive energy projects.

Port Saint John, Eastern Canada’s largest port by volume, is one of New Brunswick’s major commer-cial selling points. The year-round deep-water port handles an aver-age of 28 million tonnes of diverse cargo annually. The port is an undeniable gateway to global mar-kets: it has connections to more than 300 ports around the world and is a major facilitator of trade. And Port Saint John is easily con-nected to central Canadian inland markets by rail and road.

“We are the avenue that an investor uses to get their products to markets around the world,” says Shannon Blanchard, the port’s manager of cargo development.

Blanchard explains that the Port Saint John team is often involved in discus-sions with potential com-mercial developers. The Port also partners with the province and muni-cipal economic develop-ment agencies to iden-tify strategies for attract-ing local and international development opportun-ities.

“We are a key ele-ment in the supply chain and logistics component of both local commer-cial development as well as direct foreign invest-ment,” Blanchard con-cludes. “We work with the client to arrive at a cus-tomized solution to suit their needs. Collaboration brings these oppor-tunities to fruition.”

Brian Irving believes his organiz-

ation’s latest infrastructure project will add to the activity in Port Saint John waters, and boost the local economy. Irving is the gen-eral manager of Saint John Industrial Parks, a com-pany that develops land and builds the infrastructure needed to support indus-trial tenants.

The company’s $7-mil-lion Spruce Lake Barge Facility Project includes a wide, heavy-haul road that connects manufacturers in the Spruce Lake Indus-trial Park to tidal waters, the ocean, and world mar-kets. With a wharf capacity of 500 tonnes, it can handle the movement of over-sized modules and indus-

trial compon-ents, such as pressure ves-sels and pipe racks — items too large to be shipped by road or rail. This allows the mod-ular fabricated pieces to be constructed in Saint John and shipped to mega-projects around the world, for clients in industries ranging from oil and gas to tidal and mining, among others.

Irving calls the Spruce Lake project a strategic investment and a key cog in the “southern New Brunswick value proposition.” He pre-dicts it will help local industry boost the prov-ince’s exports and sup-port job growth. “That’s

the real wealth creator for your community — when you start exporting these very valuable mod-ules to other jurisdictions.”

Enterprise Saint John is the regional economic development agency for the City of Saint John

and its surrounding municipalities of Grand Bay-Westfi eld, Quis-pamsis, Rothesay and St. Martins. Led by CEO Steve Carson, the agency promotes the Saint John region to companies looking to set up shop in a new city. In 2016, Enterprise Saint John pursued 153 leads and organized 32 site visits to the city.

Brick Park, a cluster of businesses located in the uptown heritage district, has become a magnet for commercial and residential develop-ment. It’s home to more than 34 ICT compan-

ies, plus more than 100 other know-ledge industry businesses.

“These businesses have co-lo-cated here because they understand the benefi t of working alongside other innovative companies, and within walking distance from coff ee shops, restaurants and the life of the urban core,” Carson explains.

They’re also saving money: according to Carson, it costs 12-18 per cent less to do business in the Saint John region than in other New Brunswick cities, and 30 per cent less than in other G7 countries. “Cli-ents are impressed when they see the heritage offi ce spaces avail-able here, and learn how aff ordable they are, compared to other centres where brick and beam architecture comes at a premium,” Carson says.

Brick Park is clearly growing: since 2011, building permits in Saint John’s heritage district (including Brick Park) have totalled more than $12.5 million.

Port Saint John handles 28 million metric tonnes of cargo annually.

“ One of our re-gion’s key attrib-utes is its dense urban core with stunning herit-age architecture and a cluster of knowledge in-dustries.”

Steve Carson CEO

Enterprise Saint John

“ We have the fabricators, the capacity, the labour force, and the exper-tise to build these massive components. We just didn’t have access to water.”

Brian Irving General Manager Saint John Industrial Parks

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A good portion of the unique look and appeal of Saint John’s Brick Park can be

credited to Commercial Properties Limited, an Atlantic Canadian prop-erty development and manage-ment company that specializes in premium offi ce and commercial buildings.

Started with a single building, Commercial Properties has grown its holdings ten-fold since 2000. Today the company has more than one million square feet under management.

“We off er quality properties throughout New Brunswick,” says Paul Moore, Commercial Properties’ vice president and general manager. “We are small enough to be nimble,

and large enough to bring innovative, sustainable design and operations to our clients.”

Commercial Properties’ most recognizable buildings include the Brunswick House and Mercantile Centre offi ce towers in Saint John, and the Commerce Place tower in Moncton. The company’s Somerset Square in Saint John was the fi rst private sector LEED Gold building in Atlantic Canada.  The company is also well known for its beautifully restored heritage brick and beam style CenterBeam Place, Ordnance Place, and Red Rose buildings in Saint John.

The award-winning CenterBeam Place consists of an entire city block of 140-year-old buildings integrated into a single structure overlooking a courtyard in the very heart of uptown Saint John. “It’s the kind of interesting brick and beam space that is much sought after by IT and creative companies,” Moore explains. “There’s a fresh spirit of renewal in uptown Saint John that Commercial Properties helped launch with our signifi cant investment in CenterBeam Place. Now we’re seeing more shops, restaurants and bars clustering in this area.”

Most recently, Commercial Prop-erties built a new provincial liquor store in the uptown core, on a prop-erty that languished as a parking lot for decades. Though it’s a new building, it was carefully designed to blend in with the heritage style of the neighbourhood.

“We’re committed to New Bruns-wick. It’s our home and our base of operations. We will continue to make strategic investment deci-sions in the province and beyond to upgrade existing buildings or create new ones,” Moore says. “Commer-cial and retail property developments are highly visible symbols of growth. They boost consumer and business confi dence and also serve as a cata-lyst for other growth.”

Commercial Properties’ CentreBeam heritage restoration is attracting measurable business activity to Saint John’s uptown core.

With a commitment to superior building management and environmental responsibility, Commercial Properties is a premium provider of quality office, retail, commercial and industrial business locations.

OFFICE, INDUSTRIAL AND RETAIL SPACES

For leasing inquiries call 506-333-3442 commercial-properties.ca  BOMA BEST certified

PRIDE AND EXCEPTIONALCRAFTSMANSHIP IN EVERY PROPERTY.

Award-winning CenterBeam Place, Saint John, New Brunswick

67atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | Atlantic Business Magazine

Among Saint John’s most important industrial facilities is Canaport LNG, a state-of-

the-art liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) receiving and regasifi cation terminal. The fi rst and only such facility in Canada, the terminal is capable of sending 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Canaport LNG, a partnership between Repsol of Spain (the majority owner) and  Irving Oil, employs approximately 90 full-time workers.

Currently, Canaport LNG operates as an important peak sharing facility, giving its customer the opportunity to sell natural gas during critical peak demand times, primarily winter months. “The terminal serves as a strategic energy asset for the Mari-time energy supply chain and is one of the largest LNG storage facilities in the region,” says Kate Shannon, Canaport LNG’s communications and community relations manager, noting the facility’s 10 billion cubic feet of storage capacity.

Canaport LNG opened in 2009 and has since undergone several environ-mental and effi ciency upgrades,

totalling investment of US$50 million.The result: Canaport LNG has

signifi cantly reduced its CO2 emis-sions while also benefi ting New Brunswick businesses. For example, a $45-million compressor upgrade, completed in 2015, put $4.8 million into Saint John companies as well as approximately $12 million into labour and materials from New Brunswick businesses.

“Commercial development leads to additional jobs, but it is more than that — it is an investment into building our communities,” Shannon explains. “Growing our communities is important because it means we have more people who stay here and raise their families here, in turn building

more amenities and services. It’s more people spending their time and money here, which then develops further spin-off around the province, including additional social invest-ment from local businesses.”

Shannon says more Canaport LNG projects and investments benefi ting local companies are possible in the future. “We are always looking at potential opportunities to maximize the use of our terminal,” she says. “We are continuing to invest in making our terminal reliable and effi cient.” •

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Canaport LNG injects millions of dollars into the New Brunswick economy through facility upgrades and valuable jobs (shown here, the Bilbao Knutsen berthing).

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Creating jobs supporting our

loCal Communityand

Community involvement is a priority for Canaport LNG: over the last five years, we have invested over $1.5 million into community programs, events and organizations in saint john and surrounding areas.

Canaport LNG employs approximately 90 people, including contractors, on a permanent full-time basis and continues to draw on the professional services of many companies in saint john to support the implementation of operational, environmental and safety programs.

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