Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Tuesday, February 9, 2010, snow will be removed or plowed on the following 9 streets.

1. Water Street - Temperance Street to Topsail Road
2. Queen Street
3. McBride's Hill
4. St.John's Lane
5. Holloway Street - Duckworth Street to Water Street
6. Duckworth Street
7. Bates Hill
8. Church Hill
9. Cathedral Street - Gower Street to Duckworth Street

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $113.00 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage

Smart Growth in Downtown St. John's: A public discussion on planning and development will be the topic at a meeting on Monday, February 8th at 7pm in the Foran / Greene Room at City Hall. This public meeting is a follow-up to the successful forum entitled "Urban Sprawl vs. Smart Growth," which took place in April 2009.

The event will feature Elena Patarini, an architect and urban planner who recently moved to St. John's from New York and Italy; Strat Canning, author of the City's adopted Downtown Strategy and Dave Hopley, owner of Living Planet and Johnny Ruth.

The panellists will discuss urban planning; the economic incentive to follow a municipal plan; and the current and past environment for business owners in the downtown area. Audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

The forum will be moderated by Keith Storey, retired professor of geography, whose primary area of expertise is social and economic impact assessments and management of large-scale resource projects.

Please visit www.happycity.ca for more information and to join an online discussion.

There is no charge to for the event.

Fortis Properties Corporation announced today its submission of a development application to the City of St. John’s to redevelop the Company’s Water Street site at the corner of Prescott Street and Harbour Drive. The proposed $75 million project includes the retrofit of the existing Fortis Building and a new 15-storey office building.

“Today’s application recognizes our need to address the aging condition of our assets while providing much needed Class A office inventory in the downtown core,” stated Nora Duke, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this development will bring new business to the downtown, increase retail activity and further revitalize the city’s downtown core through quality infrastructure and amenities.”

Key features of the new complex include 235,000 square feet of new Class A office space built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification standards; 16,000 square feet of ground level retail; a total of 382 underground parking stalls accessible from Harbour Drive; a complete retrofit of the existing Fortis Building to LEED existing building standards; and a pedway connection between the Fortis Building and TD Place.

“Added features to the complex include an outdoor plaza which will provide an attractive, public square; a spacious harbour view atrium to house various amenities and services, as well as a curbside lane for public transit and drop-off traffic,” said Duke.

Click here for proposed development renderings.
www.fortisproperties.com/en/home/aboutus/news/2010/January192010.aspx

Downtown business improvement area associations (BIA's) of Atlantic Canada, with representatives from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, met recently in Moncton, NB, to sign a memorandum of understanding outlining the benefits of downtowns’ contribution to individual communities and to the provinces Atlantic Canada. The new organization, Downtowns Atlantic Canada (DAC), is a new alliance that will work to improve the positioning of downtown business improvement areas as unique, diverse, vibrant and economically healthy urban cores.

As of January 1, 2010 the provincial minimum wage has increased to $9.50 an hour. The next proposed scheduled increase of fifty cents on the hour in the minimum wage is set for July 2010.