Waterfront container village in Saint John begins to take shape

Assembly of one of the more unique venues in New Brunswick is underway just in time for the summer.

The first containers for the permanent Area 506 Waterfront Container Village made their way onto the Water Street site over the weekend. In the coming weeks and months, retail shops, concerts and food trucks will call the container village home.

“The waterfront container village, I think over the long term, is going to be an incredible place for local residents to come and … have a viewing deck over the harbour as well as experience some live music and some great kind of retail shopping experiences,” said Ray Gracewood, the founder of Area 506.

“But also, an incredible tool for the city of Saint John and the Port of Saint John to use as a selling point for cruise passengers as well.”

Gracewood estimated about 33 containers occupied the site as of Monday afternoon, but that will rise to around 54 by the time it opens in June.

After over a year and a half of planning, Gracewood and the Area 506 team have witnessed their site start as a vision, make its way onto paper, and now finally start to take physical form.

The completion of the container village will come as Saint John approaches arguably its busiest period since the pandemic began.

“Everything from graffiti alley, which we think is just a really cool experience for people to come through and experience some great street art and maybe sit down and have a have a coffee, to live entertainment and the programming that we have planned for the entire season, including a concert series, as well as playing host to some of the music events and different entertainment that’s scheduled for the Memorial Cup here in Saint John in June,” said Gracewood.

Over New Brunswick Day long weekend, the waterfront container village will house the Area 506 Festival.

Headliners for this year’s event include The Glorious Sons, The Arkells and Sloan.