The retail developer behind a pharmacy proposal in Saint John’s Millidgeville neighbourhood plans to add more businesses to the site in future.
Plaza Retail REIT of Fredericton has an agreement with the municipality to purchase land at University and Millidge Avenues, CBC has reported.
The fire department currently uses much of the property as a training centre. Plaza Retail has applied to re-designate the land from a residential to a retail classification to allow the pharmacy construction.
CBC says in 2014 another developer, Cobalt Properties, dropped plans for a larger shopping centre in the same area after strong objections from neighbours who were concerned about potential noise, lighting and traffic.
The current development proposal includes a half acre parcel, also owned by the city, that is covered by a covenant restricting its use to park or green space. That covenant can only be lifted by a private act of the legislature, and a spokesperson for Plaza Retail reaffirmed this week the company intends to apply to have it lifted, a process expected to take as long as a year.
On application documents made public by the city this week, the parcel is labelled “future development.”
