Shirley McAlary pushes for condos atop parking garage

With the City of Saint John losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on the Peel Plaza parking garage, Coun. Shirley McAlary is putting forward the idea of adding condominiums to it.

McAlary says the parking garage is designed so extra stories can be added and she thinks it would be an excellent place to build four or five floors of condominiums.

"I don't think that people really realize that you could build on top of this parking garage," said McAlary.

"It would be a wonderful view and a great location."

McAlarysaid shebelieves the site could host 40 to 60 condominium units. The city councillor is also a real estate agent in Saint John.

She and other city councillors are unhappy the new, city-owned, $16-million garage runs annual deficits in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I don't think that people really realize that youcould build on top of this parking garage.- Shirley McAlary, Saint John councillor

The city's parking commission has managed to find monthly renters for less than 25 per centof its 446 parking spaces.

"The city could sell the parking garage and the new investor could take the whole thing over," said McAlary.

"Or the Saint John Parking Commission could keep the garage and just give the rights for building on top of it."

Building on top of the garage is entirely possible says Stephen Chase.

Chase was deputy mayor when the building was approved by a previous council and was not a supporter.

But Chase confirms the garage is designed "to accommodate a significant commercial development" on top of it.

Bob Boyce, aSaint John architect, said heagrees additional floors with condos could be built on top of existing parking levels at Peel Plaza.

In fact, it is donein high density cities in other parts of the world, said Boyce.

Adding floors would be complicated

But Boyce says adding residential units to the building would be complicated.

It would be less costly, he says, to start from scratch on one of the existing surface-level parking spots in the uptown.

He points to large properties on Wellington Row, Princess Street and Smythe Street, on the waterfront.

"[Peel Plaza]would be a complex site to build something on top of," said Boyce.

"If you wander around the uptown there's lots of developable properties that wouldn't offer the kind of complexities that this one would."

Saint John Mayor Mel Norton did not take a position when asked about the possibility of selling the Peel Plaza Garage.

"That's something that we would have to get advice and recommendations on," said Norton.

"As with any issue or idea always open to looking at the idea, considering it and getting the best possible professional advice on it."