Saint John moves closer to $100M development deal

Saint John is closing in on a development deal that could be worth an estimated $100 million on the former Coast Guard site, according to the general manager of Saint John Waterfront Development.

Kent MacIntyre said he expects an announcement with a major Canadian developer will be made in the next few weeks.

The commercial and residential development will be located on the 2.4-hectare property, which is now known as Fundy Quay.

He said the property tax revenue from the development will be worth more than $1 million a year once it is complete.

Pending that announcement, the city will be asked to invest $200,000 for an environmental cleanup and seawall repair to prepare theold Coast Guardsite for the developers.

"They weren't interested in an environmental cleanup, they weren't interested in the seawall. They said look, You just give us a buildable site, we'll come to your city and build,'" MacIntyre said.

"So part of presenting them with a buildable site was presenting them with a site that did not have the contamination issues."

An environmental study earlier this year showed some on-site contamination. MacIntyre said he expects the cleanup costs to be less than $1 million.

He said the pending deal will also see the city keep ownership of the seawall. But the structionrequires roughly $3.5 million worth of upgrades.

There have been plans for a major development on theformer Coast Guard site for several years.

Saint John purchased the prime waterfront property from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for $2.8 million in 2011.

Thecity completed paymentson the site in 2012 and there was discussion of apending commercial and residential dealat that time.

Coast Guard moving

The Coast Guard says it's planning to move its offices and helicopter pad from Saint John's waterfront as the announcement of the development deal draws closer.

Stephen Bornais, a Coast Guard spokesperson, said the organization is actively trying to find a new home.

"We're looking at a number of locations in the greater Saint John area," Bornais said.

The proposed development project will be built over several years, giving the Coast Guard time to relocate its offices.

The Coast Guards lease agreement runs until 2017.