The new President of Downtown Moncton Centreville Inc is excited about positive momentum in the wake of the construction of the Downtown Events Centre.
Jim Dixon says the centre is a catalyst for growth, and he likens it to when the Coliseum was built back in 1973.
“There was a lot of positives, a lot of people expressing negative views on what that was going to do for the city,” says Dixon. “But it was a gamechanger, so just multiply that, and you just gotta look forward in your mind a bit, and think of the possibilities.”
He wants to attract young high earners to the downtown core, without displacing existing residents, because a recent ‘State of the Downtown‘ report shows the average household income in the downtown is $38,000, a little over half the citywide average of $68,600.
Dixon says they are continuing to make improvements to St. George Street.
“We did the intersection by the tracks at Church Street, and then if you go along there’s fences and some plantings and all that, it’s just a continuation of that,” says Dixon. “And that’s city money, that’s not our levy going to do that, that’s city money, but we’re sort of part of the group that has input in how we do it.”
Dixon says they are facing a challenge when families are choosing a home, because the outskirts have affordable housing prices, plentiful land, and good commute times
“It’s pretty hard to compete with that optic, right?” says Dixon. “So I’m always of the view ‘Well, maybe you don’t compete with that’ but the 30 somethings that don’t have kids, give them lots of reasons to live downtown, you can’t do everything for everybody.”
Dixon reiterates they are not looking to displace any existing residents, and just want to encourage growth of a more dynamic downtown.
