An artist’s conception of the new terminal, which is scheduled to be complete in September.
Sandra Davis
Telegraph-Journal
Appeared on page C1
SAINT JOHN - Workers are on-site preparing to begin construction of Saint John's new $8.7-million cruise ship terminal that is scheduled to be complete by the height of this year's season in September.
Marco Maritimes Ltd. has been awarded the contract to build what port board chairman Steve Campbell calls the most significant waterfront development since Market Square was built in 1983.
The two-storey brick building has been designed in a diamond shape so passengers can take advantage of the harbour vistas as they disembark at Water Street's Pugsley Terminal via an elevated walkway into the building, says Capt. Al Soppitt, port authority president.
Amenities include a tourist information booth with an interpretation centre focusing on the Bay of Fundy as a cruise destination. Easy access to the dockside market will also available from the 24,000-square-foot building that will be surrounded by walkways and green spaces for cruise ship passengers and citizens to enjoy.
The Pugsley C shed that sits on the site will remain part of the picture, said Soppitt.
"Pugsley C shed is part of our Lower Cove terminal," he said. "We have limited shed capacity and that shed is in good condition." The port will be looking at how to improve the look of the shed, he said, "but it will be used for handling cargo."
For this season, Long Wharf will act as the berth for 90 per cent of visiting cruise ships, says Soppitt. Pugsley will be used only on days when two ships are in port, he said, to allow construction to proceed.
"The goal is to complete the building and the walkway before September when the (busiest part of the) season starts," he said.
The dockside market will be set up at Long Wharf for this year, he said.
Once the terminal is complete, Long Wharf will become the secondary terminal for cruise ships, although there is no plan to set up a permanent structure there to welcome cruise-ship visitors, said Soppitt.
Eighty-two cruise ships, with a total of 180,000 passengers, are expected this season - a 40 per cent increase over last year. The visitors are expected to create an infusion of more than $15 million into the region.
Proposals to develop Pugsley Park, the area between the Coast Guard site and the cruise terminal, are also being accepted and considered.
Pugsley Park, which now consists of a parking lot on Water Street, will include trees and benches snaking their way south along the water and eventually private development such as restaurants, coffee shops and waterside shopping - they're all possibilities depending on what the call for proposals attracts.
Future plans also call for a large St. Andrew's Park and, at the other end of Water Street, a more developed Three Sisters Park.
The whole area will be called The Bay of Fundy Cruise Welcome Centre and is expected to directly benefit rural communities throughout Southern New Brunswick by injecting more than $17 million in revenue over the next five years.
