| |
Posted Oct 23, 2007, 2:11 AM
|
 |
Saskatchewan's Largest
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 1,008
|
|
I guess I will keep this one going....
After the week two 'ego stroke-fest', week three's enticing feature includes such quotes as "Some things about Regina, however, remain the same: The drivers are still awful, downtown is still a ghost town after 6 p.m., and the notorious north-central district is still one of Canada's worst neighbourhoods." and "The list reads like a government directory: SGI, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, Viterra (formerly Saskatchewan Wheat Pool). No wonder tumbleweeds are more populous than people after 6 p.m. Even Casino Regina is government run."
Here is the trash  (at least it was not the cover story this week)
Quote:
Building frenzy takes hold of Regina
To see ourselves as others see us
Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, October 20, 2007
REGINA -- The clangor of jackhammers and presence of construction cranes on Regina's downtown skyline caused a strange sensory buzz.
Waking up in a hotel room -- a challenge in itself to find a vacancy -- I needed a moment to remember where I was. Maybe the Regina water had something to do with it.
It sounded like Toronto and morning traffic plodded busy arteries, past crews working on a $13-million seven-storey, 118-room hotel, a $25.5-million transit depot and a $5.5-million office building, set to house the largest Tim Hortons restaurant in the country at 3,157 square feet.
How times have changed. I can't recall any significant building projects happening in my brief residency in the Queen City from 1995 to 1997. Orange pylons usually indicated city crews repairing a crumbling sidewalk or painting road lines. And those maintenance tasks were enough to delight people, to exalt the seemingly good state of the city's finances.
A simple pothole patch is still welcome but won't draw the attention it once did. Commercial and residential development is as commonplace as buffalo bones once were on the bald prairie around Wascana Creek.
"We're pushing out against the city limits at every edge," said Larry Hiles, CEO of the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority. "There's been nothing close to this (construction frenzy) since the early '80s."
Year-to-date, Regina has seen total housing starts of 1,077 units, the most since 1986. Three new neighbourhoods are in the works along with a large-scale infill development on the former Anglican Diocesan property. The latter, to be built around heritage buildings, is already inspired some people to approach the city with checkbooks in hand.
Regina real estate values have soared but the housing boom isn't having the same effect as in Saskatoon, where homelessness has become a major concern.
Regina rents are more stable and condo conversions aren't occurring at the same rate. The city's regulations protect renters from being kicked to the curb. When the vacancy rate is lower than three per cent, conversion of rental properties to condos is not allowed.
The city is desperate, however, for serviced industrial land. There were more sales in the Ross Industrial Park in eight months of 2006 than in the 16 previous years, said Hiles.
An Industrial Growth Study published in August identified land requirement to the year 2031 at between 222 and 365 hectares. A new industrial park is planned for the city's southwest, helping form an economic corridor to Moose Jaw.
Regina is expected this year to reach its highest gross domestic product growth rate in a decade. The Conference Board of Canada has listed it at No. 5 in the country with a forecast GDP jump of 3.5 per cent, slightly more than $7 billion. That's up from 1.9 per cent in 2006 and is narrowly behind Edmonton at 3.6 and Winnipeg at 3.7.
"We wonder how much faster we could move, in terms of growth, than we are," Hiles said, noting Regina is experiencing the same shortage of skilled workers. "Everyone is moving flat out every day. You can't get a new house built in less than one and a half years now."
One developer even stopped selling homes for a time because "they could no longer promise a delivery date or cost estimate based on the wait of 16 to 18 months," Hiles said.
Some things about Regina, however, remain the same: The drivers are still awful, downtown is still a ghost town after 6 p.m., and the notorious north-central district is still one of Canada's worst neighbourhoods.
There must be some secret plan on the part of Reginans to get automakers to phase out production of turn signals by showing them how unnecessary they are. U of R history prof and author Bill Brennan thinks drivers view them as an open playbook, like giving away your next move.
Someone who signals will often find the car in the next lane speed up to block them, Brennan said.
"Reginans think the lane belongs to them. They're not going to give up that space."
The cluster of food and retail shops along Scarth Street is a great downtown feature but not enough to keep the core bustling. Cornwall Centre is the big shopping draw and it's as dull as ever. The former Bay department store is office space, as is the former Galleria
There are more skyscrapers in Regina than Saskatoon, which keeps the downtown compact. It takes an hour -- walking slowly -- to see it all and become bored.
Regina wants to convince people it's no longer a government-driven town but that won't be easy. Despite the revival, most real estate is filled by provincial or federal government employees. There's enough wheat sheaf symbols downtown for a bountiful harvest.
The list reads like a government directory: SGI, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, Viterra (formerly Saskatchewan Wheat Pool). No wonder tumbleweeds are more populous than people after 6 p.m. Even Casino Regina is government run.
Still, the line between Regina and Saskatoon as government and university towns, respectively, is becoming blurred, said Hiles.
"Government is not growing at the same pace as the economy, so other things are driving the growth."
Saskatoon is headquarters for a few national corporations and has its share of government offices. Meanwhile, Regina's university campus has doubled its structural footprint in the past nine years and its student population has closed in on the U of S.
"We're a lot more alike than ever," said Brennan, noting both cities even get their drinking water from the same source now, the South Saskatchewan River.
New additions to the U of R campus include two residence towers, the First Nations University of Canada and a new research park. A national police agency is also preparing to set up shop to test equipment from guns to tires. The park, opened in 2000, is having a bigger economic impact on Regina than Innovation Place on Saskatoon, according to Hiles.
Economies aside, Saskatoon and Regina are both defined by their people, said Mayor Pat Fiacco.
"They proudly claim the most genuine, friendly, hard-working people. There's no difference there."
Besides, competition between them is not something to be pursued, Fiacco cautioned. The combined population is still about half that of Winnipeg, which doesn't afford room to wrestle.
"If we're going to grow the province we both have to do well. We're partners in that sense," said Hiles.
Outside the government shadow, IPSCO and the Federated Co-op refinery-upgrader complex are major contributors to Regina's economy. The refinery is planning a $1-billion expansion while IPSCO, the steelmaker, recently contributed $2.5 million to an $80-million renewal of Exhibition Park. In return, the park is renamed IPSCO Place.
The warehouse district is also delivering a healthy dose of tax dollars to the city. The tony strip is a mix of retail and restaurants, while the Cathedral Village neighbourhood is another vibrant area with funky shops and eateries.
Both Saskatoon and Regina municipal governments tilt heavily to the right and their business-friendly approach could explain some of the growth. Sometimes, though, it's just the slower pace of life that attracts people, which in turn attracts business. Regina and Saskatoon fit that bill, though the Queen City is more laid back. And in many places, more lovely.
Saskatoon's river valley accounts for much of the city's allure. Reginans haven't had the luxury of natural beauty, so they've developed it.
"There's a quote attributed to (author) Pierre Berton: 'Vancouver has done the least with the most while Regina has done the most with the least,'" Fiacco said.
Wascana Centre is one of North America's largest urban parks and a jewel in the heart of the city. Albert Street is lined with green boulevards and plants that shame Saskatoon's dreary concrete medians on Eighth Street.
Downtown is freakishly litter, graffiti, and panhandler-free. It's disfigured by billboards of warbler John Tesh, but that's another story.
Regina does have one of the ugliest scars of any city, though. North central is a broken down area of low-rent housing characterized by crime, gangs, drug use and prostitution. Nearly 18 per cent of crime in the city occurs there, where less than six per cent of the population lives. But progress is being made. Crime has actually dropped 25 per cent in recent years due to efforts by the police, social agencies, and programs, including an anti-drug strategy and a community partnership which has built dozens of new homes.
The city wants to improve pedestrian and vehicular linkages to north central, Mosaic Stadium, IPSCO Place, Wascana Centre, and other surrounding areas. A master plan for the downtown -- the first in 20 years -- was released Oct. 2. It addresses transportation and parking, infrastructure, open space and public area design, heritage properties, arts and culture, and economic development.
Like Saskatoon did in the 1960s, Regina wants to move the railway to the outskirts, opening the railyards to development and enabling the new linkages.
Premier Lorne Calvert foresees Regina as Canada's capital for sustainable energy development.
"What Calgary has achieved in 20th century energy resources, Regina can achieve in 21st century energy resources," he said during his premier's dinner in April.
"The University of Regina is leading in clean and sustainable energy research and climate change research: the Petroleum Technology Research Centre, the CO2 capture research, hydrogen research, climate change adaptation research.
"To my knowledge there is no other community in Canada that has the capacity we have in Regina. We are on the cutting edge and leading the world."
The next 10 years should prove to be another eye-opener for visitors, though I plan to take my family back much sooner and show them the city that paved the way for my career.
"That perception does help and the attitude change that comes with success is a very strong motivator."
But all the success has come with a few bumps in the road. The vacancy rate for rental properties has dwindled and numerous apartment buildings have been bought up for condo conversions, leaving some renters scrambling for housing and concern growing for those homeless in the city.
Over the summer, the crunch in the Bridge City became a crisis as thousands of university students prepared to return to school. Unprecedented measures were taken when the city's mayor and the leaders of three of Saskatoon's post-secondary institutions called on local residents to take students in as boarders.
City councillor Bob Pringle, a former NDP cabinet minister who recently stepped down as CEO of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre, said over the last two years, there has been a 30-per-cent increase in the number of students using the food bank. The majority are out-of-town students who are having difficulty affording tuition, rent, books and living expenses.
It is not just students feeling the pinch, though. There has been a more than 100-per-cent increase in the number of senior citizen users of the food bank, jumping from 248 seniors to 512.
"All of us want the economy to be doing well . . . but I think when it accelerates so quickly, as it has, there is the other side of the coin -- a lot of people don't keep up," said Pringle.
There wasn't always sympathy for those in need. With the economy doing well and "Help Wanted" signs prominently featured around the city, Pringle admitted some people looked down on those who were still in need. In his mind, what turned the indifference into compassion and action were the personal stories of residents trying to find affordable housing that started to grab headlines prior to the start of the academic year. Since then, residents, local businesses and industry associations alike have responded.
"A lot of people are working together who never worked together before. That's what this type of crisis does, it creates change," said Pringle.
Along with the upswing in the city's economic fortunes has come a change of command and shift in focus for the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS). Clive Weighill took over as chief of the beleaguered police force in September 2006, after spending 31 years with the Regina Police Service. It wasn't long before the department saw a change in direction, which Weighill said was collectively identified through meetings with some of the service's members.
In June of this year, the force shifted to a different style of policing, resulting in a redeployment of officers that placed more on the street and shifted the focus to getting more in touch with the community.
According to the new approach, Saskatoon has been broken up into three divisions with an inspector put in charge of each division. Resources have been divvied up according to presence of crime in the areas, with the east side and west side divisions each receiving 30 per cent of SPS resources, while the remaining 40 per cent is poured into the smaller inner-city division. The new model calls for daily and monthly examinations of what crimes are taking place and where, resulting in a quicker, more focused approach to reducing it.
"Number one, it forces the command staff to be thinking about crime reduction. Number two, we start solving some of those smaller crimes that historically police weren't solving," said Weighill.
While the early indicators look positive, the real effect of the new model won't be measured until the end of 2008. But the new plan may have some of the service's members and city residents believing the force is moving in the right direction.
"They see that the initiatives we've all worked on -- not just management -- but that we've all worked on in the last year are starting to show positive results on the morale and on the perception of confidence within the police service in Saskatoon," Weighill explained.
With all of this growth in Saskatoon, the perception of the U of S being the focal point of the city may be shifting, with the flourishing university as just one important piece of the city's makeup.
Without a doubt, the institution is a significant contributor to Saskatoon's economy as the city's largest employer with more than 7,000 employees. The campus itself is a major purchaser of services, requiring a utility draw similar to a city the size of North Battleford.
According to U of S president Peter MacKinnon, the university's impact is estimated to make up 20 per cent of Saskatoon's economy. At the height of a weekday during the academic year, there are 30,000 people between campus and Innovation Place -- a sizable pull in a city of over 200,000. (Saskatoon's census metropolitan area is about 233,000.)
"In numbers alone, that's a huge impact but it does not begin to measure the extent of the presence. A very, very large number of alumni, when you think about it, most of the professional people in the city and in the province have been educated at the University of Saskatchewan. That's a very significant impact," said MacKinnon.
The U of S has also seen its changes in recent years, arguably the biggest of which was the opening of the Canadian Light Source, the country's only synchrotron research facility. But the institution's profile is also being raised through the growing prominence of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) and the still-being-constructed International Vaccine Centre (InterVac), numerous capital expansions and renovations, increasing research dollars, and the creation of new schools for public health, public policy and environment and sustainability.
Through its 100-year history, MacKinnon said the university has remained true to the vision set by its first president Walter Murray: A public university must serve the many-sided life of the community. While the university's thriving research and innovation endeavours are benefitting the global community, the U of S has remained steady in its contributions to the cultural, intellectual, athletic and economic life of Saskatoon.
"Inevitably there are changes, there are incremental changes in the relationship between the university and the city but I think the underlying theme has always been the same," MacKinnon said.
Migneault agreed the U of S is an extremely important part of the city's history, current growth and future progress.
"Any significant metropolitan area in the world has significant university, academic structures that are embedded within it and around it," he said. "I really see the university as being a place where future economic development, future academic development, future research will continue to change and help the city grow."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
Saskatoon more than university town
Veronica Rhodes
of The Leader-Post
Saturday, October 20, 2007
SASKATOON -- In the divvying up of political and intellectual entities, Regina was granted the provincial capital while Saskatoon became home to the University of Saskatchewan. At least that's the simplified version of history.
In turn, each city has been defined by these properties. While the dome of the Legislative Building is symbolic of the Queen City, the heart of Saskatoon is believed by many to be the University of Saskatchewan.
As someone who was born and raised in the Bridge City, I once wholeheartedly agreed that the lifeblood of Saskatoon flowed from the campus. Situated on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, the university is an island of thoughtful calm and architectural beauty amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.
But I've been away for five years, living way down that boring stretch of Highway 11 in Regina.
When I return to Saskatoon, it is no longer the city it used to be. Of course, it still contains those postcard-perfect views of the downtown riverbank and the vigour of Broadway Avenue. But now Saskatoon also has energy, a tangible feeling that it is thriving. Growth can be seen in the swelling population, ever-increasing traffic and construction on Circle Drive, and surging real estate prices -- all indicators residents may argue as positive or negative.
But while the boom may seem sudden, the city started to really take off about five years ago.
"It takes a while for people to recognize when things are going well." said Alan Migneault, chief executive officer of Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority Inc. (SREDA). "We've had approximately four-per-cent growth in GDP every year since 2002-2003. So for that five-year period, we've been racking up some pretty decent growth numbers in Saskatoon, ahead of Canadian averages for sure.
"It has probably been the last 12 to 18 months when people have really started talking about it. This is something that is really happening. Perhaps it takes a couple of years for it to sink in."
It is not like Saskatoon had been hurting. Saskatchewan is the largest potash producer in the world and because Saskatoon is centrally located in the province, it's the ideal home for the head offices and manufacturers that feed the industry.
Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, makes its home in the city, which is the gateway to the rich mining resources in the north, including gold and diamonds.
Outsiders have been taking notice of Saskatoon's growth and potential. The Conference Board of Canada is forecasting that Saskatoon will be No.1 in GDP growth in Canada, after being in the top three for the past five years. The board has also recognized Saskatoon as one of the most diversified cities in the country, said Migneault, proving the city has seen growth across nearly all sectors and industries.
"There is a perception element to growth. When people are feeling like things are good, they are perhaps more willing to do more growth activities as well," said Migneault. "If you have a less-than-optimistic outlook of what is going to happen next year, you're not as likely to try and grow your business in a risky way or in a way that you would not otherwise have tried to do in the past.
"That perception does help and the attitude change that comes with success is a very strong motivator."
But all the success has come with a few bumps in the road. The vacancy rate for rental properties has dwindled and numerous apartment buildings have been bought up for condo conversions, leaving some renters scrambling for housing and concern growing for those homeless in the city.
Over the summer, the crunch in the Bridge City became a crisis as thousands of university students prepared to return to school. Unprecedented measures were taken when the city's mayor and the leaders of three of Saskatoon's post-secondary institutions called on local residents to take students in as boarders.
City councillor Bob Pringle, a former NDP cabinet minister who recently stepped down as CEO of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre, said over the last two years, there has been a 30-per-cent increase in the number of students using the food bank. The majority are out-of-town students who are having difficulty affording tuition, rent, books and living expenses.
It is not just students feeling the pinch, though. There has been a more than 100-per-cent increase in the number of senior citizen users of the food bank, jumping from 248 seniors to 512.
"All of us want the economy to be doing well . . . but I think when it accelerates so quickly, as it has, there is the other side of the coin -- a lot of people don't keep up," said Pringle.
There wasn't always sympathy for those in need. With the economy doing well and "Help Wanted" signs prominently featured around the city, Pringle admitted some people looked down on those who were still in need. In his mind, what turned the indifference into compassion and action were the personal stories of residents trying to find affordable housing that started to grab headlines prior to the start of the academic year. Since then, residents, local businesses and industry associations alike have responded.
"A lot of people are working together who never worked together before. That's what this type of crisis does, it creates change," said Pringle.
Along with the upswing in the city's economic fortunes has come a change of command and shift in focus for the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS). Clive Weighill took over as chief of the beleaguered police force in September 2006, after spending 31 years with the Regina Police Service. It wasn't long before the department saw a change in direction, which Weighill said was collectively identified through meetings with some of the service's members.
In June of this year, the force shifted to a different style of policing, resulting in a redeployment of officers that placed more on the street and shifted the focus to getting more in touch with the community.
According to the new approach, Saskatoon has been broken up into three divisions with an inspector put in charge of each division. Resources have been divvied up according to presence of crime in the areas, with the east side and west side divisions each receiving 30 per cent of SPS resources, while the remaining 40 per cent is poured into the smaller inner-city division. The new model calls for daily and monthly examinations of what crimes are taking place and where, resulting in a quicker, more focused approach to reducing it.
"Number one, it forces the command staff to be thinking about crime reduction. Number two, we start solving some of those smaller crimes that historically police weren't solving," said Weighill.
While the early indicators look positive, the real effect of the new model won't be measured until the end of 2008. But the new plan may have some of the service's members and city residents believing the force is moving in the right direction.
"They see that the initiatives we've all worked on -- not just management -- but that we've all worked on in the last year are starting to show positive results on the morale and on the perception of confidence within the police service in Saskatoon," Weighill explained.
With all of this growth in Saskatoon, the perception of the U of- being the focal point of the city may be shifting, with the flourishing university as just one important piece of the city's makeup.
Without a doubt, the institution is a significant contributor to Saskatoon's economy as the city's largest employer with more than 7,000 employees. The campus itself is a major purchaser of services, requiring a utility draw similar to a city the size of North Battleford.
According to U of- president Peter MacKinnon, the university's impact is estimated to make up 20 per cent of Saskatoon's economy. At the height of a weekday during the academic year, there are 30,000 people between campus and Innovation Place -- a sizable pull in a city of over 200,000. (Saskatoon's census metropolitan area is about 233,000.)
"In numbers alone, that's a huge impact but it does not begin to measure the extent of the presence. A very, very large number of alumni, when you think about it, most of the professional people in the city and in the province have been educated at the University of Saskatchewan. That's a very significant impact," said MacKinnon.
The U of- has also seen its changes in recent years, arguably the biggest of which was the opening of the Canadian Light Source, the country's only synchrotron research facility. But the institution's profile is also being raised through the growing prominence of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) and the still-being-constructed International Vaccine Centre (InterVac), numerous capital expansions and renovations, increasing research dollars, and the creation of new schools for public health, public policy and environment and sustainability.
Through its 100-year history, MacKinnon said the university has remained true to the vision set by its first president Walter Murray: A public university must serve the many-sided life of the community. While the university's thriving research and innovation endeavours are benefitting the global community, the U of- has remained steady in its contributions to the cultural, intellectual, athletic and economic life of Saskatoon.
"Inevitably there are changes, there are incremental changes in the relationship between the university and the city but I think the underlying theme has always been the same," MacKinnon said.
Migneault agreed the U of- is an extremely important part of the city's history, current growth and future progress.
"Any significant metropolitan area in the world has significant university, academic structures that are embedded within it and around it," he said. "I really see the university as being a place where future economic development, future academic development, future research will continue to change and help the city grow."
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
|
|
|
|
Prev
Linear Mode
