Saskatoon Construction III

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

You guys just can’t help but antagonize people from Regina can you? As someone who lived in both cities, I just never got it. Maybe I’m just not arrogant, hyper-competitive, and/or insecure enough to understand. Either way it’s getting old.

why not ignore it then? you also bring drama to the saskatoon threads everytime you have an opinion. It's always nice and friendly in here, great debates, conversations etc. Then once you show up and someone disagrees with you, you get so dramatic over the topic, call us out , etc and I don't understand.

Crisis is spot on about your threads too. Maybe I just need to moderate better , but then again, I'm not one for drama to begin with

I love having folks from other cities speak out in these threads, but in the end this is just friendly nudging that our cities have always done, and you just don't like it.

it's my fault in the end and I'll just moderate the threads better.

[mitchellk12]

And Roryn, maybe disgusting isn't the best term to use.

anyways

Back to construction talk

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by mitchellk12

And Roryn, maybe disgusting isn't the best term to use.

anyways

Back to construction talk

Yes this term is what triggered me. What you may call drama, I call passion. If drama/passion is not allowed here then let me know otherwise you can continue to expect it from me. I care about both of our province’s major cities equally and just wish the petty shots like calling people from Regina “disgusting” would stop. It’s no coincidence that I commented just before on some unrelated topics. Would be nice to be able to comment on the Saskatoon thread without the toxic antagonizing.

[Roquentin]

Anyway, as riveting as all of this is...

I've been wondering a lot about the effects of Covid on "Saskatoon construction." The long-term effects might be pretty transformative. For example, a decline in the need for new office space is probably worth a conversation on its own (Will there be any major residential conversions? How will property managers try to make their offices competitive? How might the landscape of Saskatoon's downtown be transformed to adjust to a reduced workday influx of office workers? etc.). I also wonder what projects might have been delayed (or cancelled?) due to Covid, even as I hope that a return to "normalcy" might be a catalyst for a wave of new construction in core neighborhoods. For example, I wonder if now might be a good time to start something like a new residential tower downtown --- I wonder if a new development might effectively corner the market for a little while by providing new product during an otherwise flat period of urban growth (say if a new apartment block were completed in a year or two --- would it have an advantage in a post-Covid market?).

Anyway, to riff on these kinds of questions, I wonder, what is your wishlist for Saskatoon construction and urban development in the next couple years? For me, I would love to see the new festival site take shape and become a successful new addition to the core. As well, I really hope the vacant lot at Clarence and College Drive bites the dust soon. It's such a prime location. Beyond that, I hope they pick a good spot for the new arena and that that project spurs some new residential developments. I guess that's what it comes down to for my wishlist --- more people living in the core. Thoughts?

[The Bess]

Not sure if this what you mean but BHP are supposed to decide in a couple months whether tp proceed with Jansen mine. The talk is that it will go ahead. So i wonder if this will have any affect on their office in Saskatoon.

[djforsberg]

I just hope both Saskatoon and Regina have a plan for the obvious coming drop in demand for office space. This will make improving and densifying our downtowns even tougher, especially in Regina’s case where offices are already the primary draw for people to come downtown. There’s going to have to be a lot of focus on entertainment, restaurants, and shopping.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by The Bess

Not sure if this what you mean but BHP are supposed to decide in a couple months whether tp proceed with Jansen mine. The talk is that it will go ahead. So i wonder if this will have any affect on their office in Saskatoon.

I have a wild conspiracy that this project may happen… https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...for-turnaround

Seems like BHP will happen and it will for sure require a bigger office than they’ve got now - even if they’re doing partial WFH.

orrr BHP will move to River Quarry and work with that developer to build its complementary tower - which also has plans for a tower next to it.. I vote for this one since North Prairie has a sketchy past

Speaking of - they’ve got a new website https://www.canwestclc.com/

[alt_center]

There are stakes in the (shallow) pit at Dufferin and Main. Perhaps it wont get filled in as a "temporary" parking lot.

[Roquentin]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

I just hope both Saskatoon and Regina have a plan for the obvious coming drop in demand for office space. This will make improving and densifying our downtowns even tougher, especially in Regina’s case where offices are already the primary draw for people to come downtown. There’s going to have to be a lot of focus on entertainment, restaurants, and shopping.

For sure. Saskatoon seems to be moving in that direction with the festival site plans and the future arena. And if the cost of leasing office space drops, I wonder if companies located in the suburbs right now will consider moving their offices to the core and upgrading to better spaces. I really wouldn't care at all about an empty office building in Stonebridge if it meant there were more businesses downtown. However, I suspect that relocating is hardly a priority right now for most businesses. In the next few years though, hey who knows.

[Ricopedra]

edited

[YXE]

Originally Posted by alt_center

There are stakes in the (shallow) pit at Dufferin and Main. Perhaps it wont get filled in as a "temporary" parking lot.

Which project is this?

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Roquentin

For sure. Saskatoon seems to be moving in that direction with the festival site plans and the future arena. And if the cost of leasing office space drops, I wonder if companies located in the suburbs right now will consider moving their offices to the core and upgrading to better spaces. I really wouldn't care at all about an empty office building in Stonebridge if it meant there were more businesses downtown. However, I suspect that relocating is hardly a priority right now for most businesses. In the next few years though, hey who knows.

I think that would take City Council to make that happen. It's their lax policies regarding re: where corporations can place their HQs in town that allow them to build in Stonebridge.

(Yes I'm still bitter about the proposed Cameco tower)

[Sask.ks]

Originally Posted by YXE

Which project is this?

A 15-storey residential tower with main floor retail/commercial at 639 Main Street. Here’s an article about it: https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...ower-in-nutana

There are a few site plan renders a few pages back on this thread, actual renders showing what the building will look like aren’t available yet. Kindrachuk Agrey is the architect so I’m hoping it’ll be high(er) quality. Fingers crossed!

[Sask.ks]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Whoa. Good find. This is the northwest corner of Dufferin & Main. Broadway is getting some real density -- exciting!

Kindrachuk-Agrey Architecture is on the drawings and they're pretty good. I don't think an architect touched Baydo's 880 Broadway.

Some screen grabs:

Here are the early renders.

[alt_center]

Originally Posted by Sask.ks

A 15-storey residential tower with main floor retail/commercial at 639 Main Street. Here’s an article about it: https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...ower-in-nutana

There are a few site plan renders a few pages back on this thread, actual renders showing what the building will look like aren’t available yet. Kindrachuk Agrey is the architect so I’m hoping it’ll be high(er) quality. Fingers crossed!

I think Kindrachuk Agrey is in the office building across Main St. If this tower is built, they will be looking at their work every day! Lets hope they find some inspiration in that.

[Roquentin]

Originally Posted by Ricopedra

I really wish the first apartment block, condo or rental, about 6-8 floors, with park space around it and retail on 1F could be built in the Downtown North Industrial area, to spur that massive scar into healing and renewal. The city is actually the one holding back the plan by not moving as they said they would. But others could be buying up the old factories and offices. It's going to be beautiful. Just not so soon.

My first thought is the Northwood Inn property --- it was condemned and closed, right? I wonder if a new development there might help begin the process of renewal. I'm not super familiar with the plans for that area, but I wonder if they include connecting the grid of roads on either side of the tracks. If Manitoba Ave were continued over to Idylwyld in tandem with the redevelopment of the Northwood's land, it might help kickstart some changes for the area. Of course, the police station's parking lot is in the way, and folks in Caswell Hill might not be happy with more traffic on 27th street.

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

I think that would take City Council to make that happen. It's their lax policies regarding re: where corporations can place their HQs in town that allow them to build in Stonebridge.

(Yes I'm still bitter about the proposed Cameco tower)

Very true. Political willpower has historically been lacking, and the city's "Land Branch" serves the interests of suburban growth. I'm bitter about the Cameco office too. If you want to laugh/cry, have a look at the "Strategic Location" page on the World Trade Center's website:

https://wtcsaskatoon.com/strategic-location/

Apparently Stonebridge is the "centre of Saskatchewan's commercial heart," and the WTC is "strategically located in close proximity to the head offices of global companies and Saskatchewan’s business leaders." It's like they're deliberately mocking anyone who cares about downtown Saskatoon! Meanwhile, the bank building at the corner of 22nd and 3rd that the WTC was going to replace has been vacant for... nine years? I think that's pretty sad. Where is Baydo when you need them!

[Ricopedra]

edited

[Ricopedra]

edited

[Echoes]

Provincial board reviews Knox United Church bylaw proposal
Knox United Church's board of directors argues a heritage property designation shouldn't apply to the gravel parking lot next to the building.

Bryn Levy
May 07, 2021

A provincial review board has a month to come back to Saskatoon city council with its findings after hearing arguments Thursday over a development proposed near two historic downtown churches.

Knox United Church and Meridian Development Corp. want to subdivide off the church’s parking lot to build a 19-storey tower, with the church receiving 40 covered parking stalls to supplement its revenues.

City hall supported the request to subdivide on the grounds that the 109-year-old church’s heritage designation applies only to its exterior architectural elements, and not the adjacent gravel parking lot. An objection filed by area residents Jack Wigham and his wife Freda Toffolo forced the matter to be taken to a review board appointed under the provincial Heritage Property Act.

Representatives from the City of Saskatoon, the Knox board of directors, and an architecture firm employed by Meridian all spoke in favour of the proposal. All stressed that the proposed tower wasn’t the issue being addressed in the application to change the bylaw. They asked the panel to confine itself to questions of whether the gravel parking lot proposed for development has heritage value, and whether allowing the lot to be parcelled off would negatively affect the Knox building’s heritage value.

[....]

https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...bylaw-proposal

[The Bess]

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet

https://saskatooncentrallibrary.ca/i...ept_Design.pdf