International Award – Moncton Shops Project, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

The Moncton Shops Project in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada is the recipient of the Phoenix Award International category. Canada Lands Company CLC Limited (CLC) transformed the 249-acre vacant, environmentally challenged property into a “crown jewel” of eastern Canada. Using several innovative cleanup techniques, CLC redeveloped the site into a business and technology park and a series of professional quality softball, baseball, football, and soccer fields. New residential units are currently being developed.

Moncton Area Shops - Before Redevelopment

Moncton Area Shops - After Redevelopment

Before Redevelopment

After Redevelopment

Baseball Field - After Redevelopment

During the late 19th century, the city of Moncton was originally a shipbuilding center. In 1906, the Inter-Colonial Railway (which later became Canadian National Rail) developed the site as railway repair shops. Anchored by the presence of the railway, the city prospered and grew becoming the foremost railway center in Atlantic Canada. During World War II, the site became an integral destination for the quick movement of troops and supplies. For decades following the war, CN Rail continued to flourish on many fronts; however, a CN productivity study in the mid-1980s called for the closure of the Moncton Shops facility. After nearly a century of service, the Moncton Shops Railway facility ceased operations in 1985.

As the site of a former marshalling yard and repair shops for Canadian National Railway (CN Rail), the property was left in poor condition with high levels of environmental contamination. Contamination in the form of heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil, degreasing solvent in the groundwater, along with massive infrastructure debris and large quantities of wood wastes, was spread throughout the property. Over the next decade, a number of studies on the 249-acre property established expectations that remediation would cost over $50 million and take at least 10 years to complete.

Once CLC acquired the property in 1996, they developed three key innovations to remediate the property. The first was the implementation of a geographic information system (GIS) to allow detailed site assessment and remediation of the complex site. Over 8,000 soil samples were collected, risks were assessed, and a redevelopment plan was formulated to reduce remediation costs while ensuring both good human and environmental health. Tracked by GIS, remediation was carried out in a phased manner over three years. The guiding vision for the remediation was to reuse and recycle materials to be retained onsite, including concrete to be used as backfill in the lagoon area, as drainage under the playing fields, and as a base under newly constructed roadways. Highly contaminated soils were excavated and immediately heat-treated onsite in a propane-filled “cracking chamber,” which reduced the hydrocarbons to water vapor and carbon dioxide. Soils with lower levels of hydrocarbon contamination were contained in two natural decomposition cells constructed from compacted layers of solid and wood wastes on a compacted clay base and capped with clay, imported clean soil, and turf.

The second key innovation was the handling of widely distributed lead, zinc, and copper found in the top meter of soil over 20% of the site (approximately 60 acres). A straightforward dig-and-dump approach would have costs as much as $35 million. Chemical analysis of the relative allotments of the metals revealed proportions typical of ores from a mine in the northern part of the province. A more cost-effective solution was found when the mine agreed to accept shipments of the soils at the mine site where they could be processed for metal reclamation.

Creative community consultation was the third key innovation used in the remediation of the property and became the cornerstone of CLC’s approach to the Moncton Shops project. CLC established a Community Round Table (CRT) of 10 community leaders, which also received support and resources from the city and the province. To address community needs, a series of open houses and bus tours were offered. At each event, storyboards highlighted progress made to date. A site tour map was developed explaining where various chemicals of concern were located. The public was invited to see the progress of the project first-hand and interested citizens were in regular attendance. CLC regularly briefed each stakeholder with presentations followed by a question and answer session. A web site and newsletter chronicled the progress of the project. Two post secondary institutions – Dalhousie University School of Architecture and New Brunswick Community College – worked with CLC providing senior students in the fields of architecture, urban planning, sustainable development, or environmental science and engineering with day long onsite educational programs.

The redevelopment of the Moncton Shops property is proceeding with three land uses – the CN Sportplex (121 acres), Emmerson Business and Technology Park (63 acres), and Franklin Yard (65 acres). CN Sportplex is comprised of 16 professional quality softball, baseball, football, and soccer fields, and an ice skating and hockey arena. The complex was named to honor the men and women who, for nearly a century, worked on the property for the Canadian National Railway. Emmerson Business and Technology Park is a sophisticated technology park consisting of two 55,000 sq. ft. buildings, the second of which will be completed in 2004. It is anticipated that Emmerson Business and Technology Park will provide 5,000 new full time jobs for the City of Moncton. In 2002, the community-at-large, planners, and architects participated in a design charrette for the 900 unit residential development of Franklin Yard, the third portion of the site.

CLC’s commitment to supporting and working with all stakeholder groups allowed the site to be redeveloped in a timely manner while removing the negative environmental stigma that had long been attached to the property. CLC and its project team have been involved with local, regional, national, and international organizations in promoting sustainable development and effective environmental stewardship that showcases quality urban planning. Through its continued community involvement, CLC has showcased sustainable development and brought about a renaissance of community development unparalleled in Atlantic Canada.

For further information about this project, contact Don MacCallum, Director, Corporate Environmental Coordinator at (902) 368-2210 or at dmaccall@clc.ca.

If you have a success story you would like featured on the CBI site, please contact brownfields@gcr1.com.

Visit the CBI Featured Sites Archive