Another blow to adult entertainment in the Maritimes

[PoorGuy 1098]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/07/12/nb-north-star-fredericton-1041.html

 

Well, look at this! No surprise in our close-minded conservative provinces. Tax-payer dollars spent on purchasing the strip club outright just to close it down.

 

Remaining strip clubs: Blush in Saint John, Angies in Moncton. Ralph's in Dartmouth not worth mentioning.

 

My advice to guys in Fredericton: Make the 8 hour drive to Montreal or see Sophia Varoushka and Samantha Sexton.

[Catfish 111]

You foprgot about the old Night Magic location on Mountain Road in Moncton. It is now open again and the talent last week looked real good. I think there just may be hope again in Moncton afterall...

[letsplay_57 3581]

i quit going to strip clubs years ago...you buy them drinks, you pay for lapdances, you try to hook-up with them later..i've had to drag my buddies out of those places..they spent hundreds of $$ & all horned up...sorry guys your better off seeing a sp & enjoying the experience...we have many awesome ladies here & beautiful ones that tour the area...

[chilzz 309]

Yah, that is too bad, not sure why the maritimes can't support a few good clubs.

 

I thought Bikini Beach re-opened but then closed again a couple of weeks ago ?

[vette110 560]

Well it would be great if someone opened up another Club just outside the

city , the Northstar was just getting some good ladies there..

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Thanks for posting this, PG!

 

A slightly more detailed article, by Heather McLaughlin in the Daily Gleaner:

 

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1422766

 

 

City council is paying $500,000 to buy the city's only strip bar - the North Star Sports Bar Pub & Eatery at 100 Clark St.

 

"It's land acquisition for redevelopment. We will be acquiring that property and redeveloping it," Mayor Brad Woodside said. "The plan is that the (liquor) licence will disappear.

 

"It's a non-conforming property, and it will certainly result in a lot better neighbourhood for the people who have been calling for so many years, and it's a progressive move that's in the best interests in the City of Fredericton."

 

Woodside said the city expects it can recoup on its investment.

 

"I think it's a good decision," he said. "We're certainly planning on putting it out there for redevelopment."

 

The property, owned by 505108 NB Ltd., consists of the bar building, which sits on 5,946-square metres of property or roughly 1.5 acres.

 

Coun. Marilyn Kerton voted against the $500,000 deal, saying the price is too rich for her blood.

 

"I don't agree with spending half-a-million dollars on purchasing property when we already have properties that we should be looking at taking care of first, York House being one, the Craig Electric property and the Irving property out here on Campbell Street," Kerton said.

 

"For us to keep purchasing properties without any long-term plans for them and the investment and the cost, I don't think we should be doing that. It should be something left to the developers."

 

If the city's intention is to make the bar, exotic dancers and hard-drinking patrons disappear, then Kerton isn't buying it.

 

"I guess the question that begs to be asked is does the city go around and purchase properties because they don't like what's taking place there, for example a scrap yard, for example other bars or drug houses or other places in the city that we don't like," Kerton said.

 

She said her chief concern is the cost of the property, adding councillors only learned Monday night about potential problems to redeveloping the site.

 

"There is a storm line on that property that may or may not hinder down-the-road development," Kerton said Monday night.

 

Next door is the Ultramar Service Station, which has underground gasoline storage tanks. While there's no indication of any problems with petroleum at that site, Kerton said, it wouldn't be the first time the city has purchased property only to discover contamination problems at a later date.

 

If the city is buying the property to demolish the bar, then it will incur more costs to tear it down, she said.

 

Deputy mayor David Kelly was the only other councillor who voted against the motion, but he didn't talk about his concerns.

 

Coun. Jordan Graham said he supports the purchase because it will take a non-conforming use and get rid of it to the benefit of the neighbourhood.

 

"It's a legal business ... but it doesn't conform to our municipal plan, and when we get chances like this to deal with that, we will and it's a great area for real development,'' he said.

 

"All South Devon is just ready to take off for redevelopment as we have seen with some of what's going on there. We've done this in other areas of the city, why stop here and it's served as very well," said Coun. Eric Megarity.

 

Coun. Scott McConaghy said it's a forward-thinking move.

 

"We were approached by the owner about possibly buying this property, and it gives us an opportunity to redevelop it into something more fitting for the neighbourhood and definitely reap the benefits of an improved neighbourhood ... In the end, I think this will actually benefit the city, rather than cost the city any money,"

 

The bar's owner and operator Ken Flinn of Dumfries died in October 2010.

 

Additional Comments:

 

Also by Heather McLaughlin in the Daily Gleaner:

 

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1423163

 

Is buying the North Star Sports Bar Pub and Eatery a good deal for taxpayers?

 

Fredericton's development committee chairman Coun. Stephen Chase said it is, but deputy mayor David Kelly said the cost is too great.

 

But could there be an added benefit?

 

The Daily Gleaner has learned that city councillors were briefed on police intelligence information suggesting that the bar was being eyed by Hell's Angels for a headquarters in the Fredericton area.

 

Chase confirmed councillors received that information, and while it was factor to be considered, the purchase deal stands on its own merits, he said.

 

"If it had the effect of precluding a more unsavory element, so be it,'' said Chase. "It's our role to head things off. It's our role to eliminate potential undesirable development. That's what the citizens expect us to do.''

 

Police Chief Barry MacKnight said he can't comment further.

 

City council Monday night approved the purchase of the northside strip bar for $500,000. The assessed value of the land and buildings is $364,900. The site has almost 6,000-square metres of property. That's roughly 1.5 acres of serviced city land.

 

Kelly and Coun. Marilyn Kerton were the only two to vote against the deal, but Chase said leaving aside the issue of preventing Hell's Angels from finding a foothold in the city, having a bar on a valuable piece of city-serviced land isn't the best use for the property.

 

The bar pays $15,826 in annual property and business taxes. The city gets half of that revenue.

 

By purchasing the site, ripping down the building and enticing a developer to construct a medium to high-density apartment building or a condominium development, the city stands to gain closer to $70,000 a year in property tax revenue based on the estimated number of units the land could contain.

 

Even if it collected less than the $70,000 property tax estimate, for instance - even at half that figure - it would still be an annual tax revenue increase for the city.

 

"There's an opportunity here to make a strategic land acquisition. We'd like to see an improved residential character in the area," he said.

 

The face of Devon is already starting to shift, Chase said.

 

Greenarm Commercial Realty is marketing 35 units in its six-storey riverfront condo development with prices ranging from $250,000 for a smaller unit to almost $600,000 for a sixth floor unit that's the size of an upscale bungalow.

 

When fully sold, those condos will generate $150,000 annually in city taxes.

 

Townhouses line the riverbank behind commercial properties on Union Street. Riverfront property owners have also been taking steps to improve their homes.

 

"It's something we've wanted to do for years is to improve the character of Union Street," he said. "If we could get a medium-to higher-density development there and start improving Clark and Union streets, we could improve the general perception of the area as a nice place to be."

 

The property's strengths include that it's on a main bus route, Chase said. It has access to nearby commercial services, and it's central to the city, he said.

 

Across the street within walking distance are a Giant Tiger with grocery-store amenities, a pharmacy and an NB Liquor outlet.

 

"The potential for (city) cost recovery is very good. We might not recover the half-million instantly, but it wouldn't take too long to generate a payback on that acquisition once you get a developer in there with a quality structure," he said.

 

As the area is refreshed, more tax-base growth will follow, Chase said.

 

The city also has the side benefit of getting rid of a bar that has attracted a lot of police attention and numerous complaints, Chase said.

 

"It all mitigates on the positive side," he said.

 

But Kelly said when it comes to buying property, the city needs to be selective and have a good reason for buying it.

 

"Where do we draw the line on this? $500,000? To my knowledge that thing is overpriced by about $150,000. Personally, I would rather leave that up to a private developer. They should buy the property," Kelly said.

 

"It's too much money. Leave it up to the business community to do it."

 

If the city is buying the North Star, why not buy the vacant Canadian Tire property on Main Street?

 

"Where do we draw the line?" Kelly said.

 

"There's the Craig Automotive building across from the Delta ... It's an eyesore. If we're going to put money into buying property, we should put it into that," he said.

 

Ward 7 Coun. Eric Megarity, who represents the South Devon area, said the North Star business is legal, but it's a non-comforming use and the family was winding up business affairs and willing to sell the property.

 

There's little value in the building, but there's value in the land, the councillor said.

 

"Development is starting to move in a positive direction in (South Devon)," said Megarity said. "The value is in the land, whether we do something right away with it or develop it. It would be a good place for some condos close to a main artery. It's a perfect location for redevelopment.

 

"Half a million dollars is a lot of money, but when you look down to the future, that money will come back and more and come back every year in the form of tax base.

 

"You have to see the value in it. Down the road it will pay off ... It's going to set the whole ward up for redevelopment. You've got to put your money where you're going to get the best bang for the buck."

 

James West/The Daily Gleaner

[letsplay_57 3581]

someone had posted & mentioned Samantha Sexton @ Fredericton...i've seen her ads posted elsewhere, any comments or recommendations from other cerb members who have met her (Samantha) thks

[Carley Chase 18985]

You know it really is to bad. The North Star was just seeming to pick up. There were a large number of new girls going there weekly. They also did a number of renovations to the place, such as, the stage and ect.. It also recently started having dancers right from Wednesday-Saturday. Looks like SJ club Blush will be starting to get very busy!

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

CBC News reports, 29 Jul 2011:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/07/29/nb-north-star-troubles-530.html

 

The North Star Sports Bar's final days are turning out to be as troublesome as the strip club's past after a dump truck tipped over and spilled its load in front of the Fredericton bar.

 

The final few days of the bar's existence had been interrupted by the sound of work crews working on a strip of Clark Street outside of the North Star.

 

That consistent noise of the work crews was punctuated on Thursday by a loud bang when a dump truck tipped over, spilling its load and blocking the bar's driveway.

 

Helen Powers, a member of the road crew, said the workers watched and stood helpless to stop the accident.

 

"There was quite a bang with it. And actually several of us were going, like, 'Oh no, oh no.' But there was nothing we could do. We were just surprised about it," she said.

 

But the dump truck accident is only the latest setback for the controversial bar during its final days.

 

The North Star was recently purchased by the city of Fredericton for $500,000 with the intention of closing the capital city's only strip club and destroying it to make room for new development.

 

It was only acknowledged after the deal that the Fredericton Police had advised local politicians the Hells Angels biker gang had set its sights on purchasing the 16-year-old strip club.

 

Holly Ramsay, the bar's day manager, said the city's trucks have been blocking the North Star's driveway for the past week, forcing customers interested in one last round to park at a nearby gas station.

 

"Not only do customers not have access to the bar, but we have absolutely no chance of making money," Ramsay said.

 

"So not only did they take the jobs from us, but they're stopping any kind of business that we have within the last four days."

 

A Fredericton spokesperson said the timing of the work on Clark Street is a coincidence.

 

Last call at the Fredericton strip club will be on Sunday. Soon after the doors close for the final time, the city will tear down the building.

 

The city's development plan calls for more residential units in that area and politicians say a few developers have expressed interest in purchasing that property.

 

When it came time to make a pitch for the property, the city opted to purchase the bar and its land for a price above its assessed value.

 

The North Star Sports Bar was assessed at $364,900 by Service New Brunswick, but the city is paying $500,000 for the bar and some additional property.

 

A local city councillor said at the time of the purchase that city staff are confident the property, which currently generates $7,000 in tax revenue, can be flipped to a new developer in the near future and earn 10 times the current tax revenue.

 

(Matt McCann/CBC)