Dieppe Industrial Park expands
· City plans development of 150-acre parcel adjacent to airport The latest planned expansion of the Dieppe Industrial Park will open up another 150 acres of prime land for business and industrial development in the area northwest of the Greater Moncton International Airport and create more potential for growth.
“Having the airport in the middle of your industrial park is a huge asset,” says Roger Melanson, general manager of the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Dieppe.
Dieppe has grown tremendously over the last 10 years, to the point where new land must be opened up to provide a home for more business. Melanson is hoping the latest expansion will draw in businesses involved in the transportation and distribution, air cargo, light manufacturing and aerospace.
The next phase of expansion for the Dieppe Industrial Park will be a large parcel of 150 acres of land, wedged between the runways of the airport, and the junction of Highway 15 and Highway 2, the Trans-Canada Highway. The new city-owned land would provide quick access to the airport, rail lines and highways. It would also be close to the growing Caledonia Industrial Park, located on the other side of Highway 15 in Moncton, and within a few minutes’ drive of the downtown core.
The main access would be via Aviation Boulevard, which exits off Highway 15 and runs to a current dead end in front of the new airport terminal building. Dieppe City Council recently voted to apply for federal and provincial funding under the Build Canada program. Dieppe will put up $2 million for its third of the $6-million funding. If approved, the funding will be used to put in streets, water and sewer lines, electrical infrastructure and high-speed Internet access to make the next phase of the industrial park “shovel ready” for new business.
Melanson says earlier phases of the Dieppe Industrial Park are already full and the city needs to make more room available so business development can keep up the pace with residential development, which is happening mainly on the south side of the airport. As a rule, cities should have a tax base of about 60 percent residential and 40 percent industrial/commercial.
“We’re trying to help companies find a space where they can have access to markets faster and more efficiently.”
Having the industrial park so close to highways, rail lines, the airport and the downtown core makes a good business case. The proximity of new housing, recreational facilities and big retail developments also helps. New Brunswick create jobs that attract more people to work and live in the community, which drives retail and service industries and increases demand for recreational facilities like hockey rinks, walking trails and fitness centres.
“We need to build a relationship with the businessmen who are thinking about coming here and show them there is a good business case but also competitive tax rates and quality of life. They need to see the whole package,” Melanson said.
He says Dieppe’s population has grown by 60 people a month since 2001 and the population is now over 20,000. Non-residential building permits in the city have grown from about $16 million a year in 2001-06 to $46 million in 2008. The city is conservatively predicting the number to slide to about $32 million in 2009.
As the Dieppe Industrial Park continues to grow, so does the Caledonia Industrial Park, just on the other side of Highway 15 in Moncton. The Caledonia Park recently received $800,000 in forgivable loans from the province to help out with the $5 million cost of clearing land, paving roads and putting in infrastructure for expansion. The Caledonia Park has a varied portfolio of businesses from the new Molson Brewery and game manufacturer Spielo to Shoppers Drug Mart, Source Medical, Bunzi Canada, Superior Propane and Irving Personal Care.
Spokesman Peter Belliveau said there are still quite a few open lots in prime locations near the juncture of Harrisville Boulevard and Highway 2, the Trans-Canada Highway.
Rob Robichaud, CEO of the Greater Moncton International Airport, said having growing industrial parks so close to the facility bodes well for the future. The airport already provides about 1,500 jobs and generates approximately $378 million per year in economic activity. The airport is already home to big-name cargo carriers like FedEx and Purolator, which have their own warehouse facilities, and the air cargo business is growing.
Robichaud is hopeful the new industrial park will become home to some air cargo operators or perhaps some aerospace maintenance and repair facilities, where planes could be repaired and painted. Besides the new spaces in the Dieppe Industrial Park, there are about 21 spaces on airport-owned land that are already serviced and available for lease.
Robichaud said it bodes well, despite the economic situation facing other parts of Canada and the United States.
“You always have to look at opportunities and take advantage of those opportunities as they arise.”
He said a big help would be some federal and provincial money to build another overpass near the airport terminal that would provide better access to the eastbound land of Highway 15.
Officials with the airport and other business groups are also actively involved in promoting the Canada East Air Cargo Gateway, a body that wants to generate more air cargo business for Metro Moncton. One of the first priorities is to set up a regular transatlantic flight from Moncton to Europe to provide fresh seafood to markets in Europe and Asia. The direct flight would bypass Boston or New York.
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