New Brunswick·NewThe New Brunswick government has already decided to go ahead with a transitional housing project on the south side of Fredericton, near the Princess Margaret Bridge, but will still seek community feedback next week. N.B. government’s plan is to go ahead with project, but public can still share thoughtsSam Farley · CBC News · Posted: Nov 07, 2025 3:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.New Brunswick Housing Minister David Hickey confirmed on Friday that the province is going ahead with a homeless housing project before a public information session is held. (Silas Brown/CBC)Construction of transitional housing for homeless people is underway in a south-side Fredericton neighbourhood near the Princess Margaret Bridge.Although the province has already decided to go ahead with what it described as an urgently needed project, it will seek community feedback next week.“Because we know that we need to get these units in the community faster and we need to make sure that there are solutions beyond shelter living for the winter,” Housing Minister David Hickey told reporters at the legislature on Friday.“The decision has already been made, and we’re making sure that it’s really clear that [residents] know that they can feel comfortable with what’s going on in their neighbourhood.”Details such as the size of the project, the number of units and how many people will live there, were not provided.A news release said that the “inclusive community housing” will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will include secure units, laundry, food service and social space. Hickey said the new units would be transitional housing, not a shelter, and the site at 334 Forest Hill Rd. was selected from about 20 possible sites in Fredericton.The location is a small, formerly wooded lot that the province already owned, immediately next to the northbound onramp to the bridge.WATCH | ‘We are in a crisis,’ minister says:Fredericton to get new transitional housing projectSite preparation is underway for New Brunswick’s first emergency housing project, which will go next to the Princess Margaret Bridge in Fredericton. Hickey said the province is in a crisis, and Fredericton has nearly 300 homeless people on the street as winter approaches. “We need to do it quickly and it needs to be done with the urgency that not only people on the street are expecting, but people in the community are expecting,” he said. A drop-in information session for the public will be held on Wednesday at the Forest Hill Elementary School gym. Details and timelines of the project will be shared then, the release said.The project location on Forest Hill Road is just off the Princess Margaret Bridge. (Michael Heenan/CBC)The province and the city were not forthcoming with even vague information before the project was formally announced.CBC News tried the province and the city more than a week ago for information about what was being done at the site, where there was a heavy presence of construction workers.Spokespeople at both levels of government never answered. In the meantime, residents, but not news media, were told a meeting was planned.“We want to make sure that we’ve talked to community about it first, so that folks living in the neighbourhood know exactly what’s happening in their neighbourhood,” Hickey said Friday. When asked about not informing residents before the decision was made, Hickey again spoke about the need for action.“We need more capacity in Fredericton and we need capacity beyond just shelter living. We are in a crisis and we need to make sure that we are getting more housing in the community faster.”Marley McLellan, a City of Fredericton spokesperson, said the city was consulted on the site, but the province ultimately holds the decision-making power in this case. “The city’s involvement is limited to the building permit process, as the land is appropriately zoned,” she said. However, in a Facebook group for the neighbourhood where the project is going, the area’s councillor, Greg Ericson, wrote that he had not been given any information from the province before the announcement. CBC News requested an interview with Ericson on Friday afternoon but did not recieve a response. ABOUT THE AUTHORSam Farley is a Fredericton-based reporter at CBC New Brunswick. Originally from Boston, he is a journalism graduate of the University of King’s College in Halifax. He can be reached at sam.farley@cbc.ca
Housing for homeless people approved for Frederictons Forest Hill Road
