Just how long does the city of Saskatoon let Victory Majors speculate on that site, it should have been parcelled off when Lake Placid reneged on building anything there.

This is just my personal opinion, however, I've been saying for years that Mayor Atchison views the River Landing as his legacy project. That's why he and City Council have been so accomodating to any developer that is promising to build on that property.

My guess is that the City is still wanting to have an integrated development on that parcel of land, so I wouldn't expect to see them subdivide it. I'd expect this to remain as a Nasser project publicly until Spring 2014 when it will be announced that they will not be proceeding with the project and everything will be back to square one. From there, it's anyone's guess what will happen.

As I've commented in the past, the way things seem to be progressing so far for this project. Although I wouldn't be willing to scratch them off the program just yet. It looks to me like it's going to be awhile before theres any shovels digging. But hey a lot of people had written off Capital Pointe in Regina and that seems to be progressing.

A timely feature from The StarPhoenix being served up tomorrow (from Twitter):

Phil Tank @thinktankSK:

Interesting post.

Where did you hear this? Or is this mere speculation on your part?

It is always suspect when someone makes a statement without backing it up. They should at least admit that they can't say where they got it from if it puts them in a bad spot.

River landing project: not 2014
Developer, mayor confident in progress
By Charles Hamilton, The Starphoenix March 19, 2014 6:06 AM



"I can't get you a definite date on the start of construction. To be safe, I will say not 2014," said John Nasser, president of Victory Majors Investment Corp.

The site of the landmark $250 million River Landing hotel-condo-office project has sat idle for years. When the company took over the project in 2010, Karim Nasser - John's father - said construction would be complete by 2013.

Now, after years of delays, at least one city councillor wonders if the project is too ambitious. [...]

Source: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/busine...672/story.html


-------------------------------------------------------------

No surprise here. :uhh:

Yep, not surprised.

BUT, "progress" is being made! :rolleyes:

And once again how long is Nasser allowed to speculate on Saskatoon's premier piece of river-front property? 10 years? 20 years? perpetuity?

Pretty sad this land wasn't parcelled off years ago and to have had something already built on it. River Landing was planned back in 2007?:(

Condolences to Saskatoon. The city deserves better than this process.

It's the same story as Capital Pointe in Regina - lol!

It would appear perpetuity is the short answer to your question.

Mega projects are rarely a good idea.

the only difference with cp is that if they don't start construction before the end of June, everybody gets their deposits back.

I'm not sure what is better: holding out for River Landing and receiving nothing, or going back to the drawing board and getting something built on the land, even if it won't be as impressive.

me personally, I will hold out for quality every time. Having nothing built is better than having the wrong thing built, and I personally don't find bare land an eyesore.

However, that being said, I don't think it's right for Nasser to hold this land which he committed to building a quality project on indefinitely. If he cannot proceed as he agreed to the land should be bought back by the city for the exact amount he has paid for it.

I can understand waiting for the majority of condos and offices to be sold before starting construction. However, if they have a hotel lined up and if Cavalier Enterprises is still a partner you would think they do, so why not start that building first? That may inspire enough confidence to sell enough condos or offices to get the other towers started.

What has to be kept in mind is that this whole development is planned to sit on top of a very large, very expensive underground parkade. It simply isn't feasible to proceed with only part of this project before having firm commitments for all of the buildings.

^^^

Good point. I blanked on all of the underground stuff.

Parcel ‘Y': Victory Majors developer asking for patience

By Wendy Winiewski, Global Saskatoon
July 24, 2014 5:56 pm
SASKATOON – The 2014 construction season is well under way. Cranes are a common sight in the downtown skyline.

Parcel ‘Y’, east of Persephone Theatre and south of 19th Street remains untouched. The fenced-off and weed-ridden lot is waiting to realize its full potential.

Thursday afternoon, John Nasser with Victory Majors, came to the site for a discussion.

While a new development has been approved for River Landing, construction has yet to start on the cornerstone project.

“We would have liked to have started by now but honestly, it has been a roller coaster,” said Nasser.

Victory Majors has owned the land since 2010. It was originally sold to Calgary’s Lake Placid Developments but failing to meet financial deadlines, the deal fell through. [...]

Read more: http://globalnews.ca/news/1472858/pa...-for-patience/

A caveat should have been put on the property with stipulations and deadlines about when any construction should commence, Holding onto the property and doing diddly squat for four years is ridiculous.

Which other developers were itching to buy this land and build on it? I don't think there have been too many qualified bidders able to complete the vision of what we all want to see lining up to throw their money at it.

The only viable alternative to being patient was to subdivide the parcel and allow multiple developers to build cheap commercial low-rises on it.

River Landing highrise project still viable, Saskatoon analyst says

Despite city council passing major downtown project

CBC News
Dec 16-17, 2014

A real estate analyst says the Saskatoon highrise development approved by city council yesterday should not impact one that was given the go-ahead years ago.

Council approved a proposal from North Prairie Developments to build two new downtown highrise towers that include condos and offices. Plans are for one of the towers to stand at 105 metres, making it the tallest building in the province.

However, another development proposed by Victory Majors in 2010 at River Landing, which includes residential, a hotel and office towers, has yet to begin construction.

[........]

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/sas...tory/1.2875388

Saskatoon River Landing project the Banks progressing
Developer also has thoughts on the future of River Landing

CBC News Posted: Jan 08, 2015 7:11 AM CT
Last Updated: Jan 08, 2015 7:47 AM CT

[...]

Atchison raised the example of The Banks when asked about the so-called anchor project on the premier section of land at River Landing.

Atchison said he has little hope construction will begin there soon.

"Well if you think of the time it takes to get a building permit and everything else that goes with it, muster your construction crews…it would be nice to see 2015, I think it would difficult at this time."

The local developer, Victory Majors, said the mayor is correct.

In an e-mail to CBC News, John Nasser said the company remains committed to building a hotel, commercial and residential development at River Landing, but that there are several variables in play and that it will be a couple of years before construction begins.

[...]

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...sing-1.2893661

I happened to drive by Parcel Y today and thought I noticed some folks drilling on the property. Soil testing perhaps? Did anyone else see a crew out there today?

I would be inclined to think that this project is probably not going to be going ahead any time soon. Maybe within 3 to 5 years or so but considering how long its been on the drawing board which is how long? - seems like a long time to me. It appears to me that it won't be in the foreseeable near future is my guess.

Granted Rivers Landing is a larger project, "The Banks" is not exactly a small project either. When Looking at the the success of The Banks which I understand was the best pre-sale of any of Le Fevre's projects anywhere. One does have to be left scratching their heads how a developer who has never done a project outside of BC and probably never even set foot in Saskatoon until only a few years ago, would appear to have good understanding on what the Saskatoon market will buy. Not saying that Victory Majors or any other developer doesn't, I have my own thoughts as to maybe why The Banks has been so successful, but they sure seem to be doing something right in Saskatoon.

As brutopian pointed out, geotechnical work has been happening onsite for a few weeks. There could be positive news soon. Stay tuned.

I've been hearing rumblings of news on this soon.

https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...cil_270415.pdf

pg 456

So Nasser has sought out and apparently found additional partners to proceed in a "phased in" approach to development. Sounds like, if approved, an office/retail component would be the first phase developed. The condo phase (IF it were to even proceed) could then be sold to yet another partner.

I guess this is good news???? Really still no commitment to proceeding or any time schedule, but I guess bringing additional partners to table is positive. I AM disappointed that the condo phase does not appear to be part of initial plan....we really need more options for downtown living and there are so few options with river front location. Look how well The Banks was received.

I want to be happy and excited, but still jaded I guess. :shrug:

Sorry, should have posted this in the main Saskatoon thread.

I failed to notice the "pg 456" note in the above post. As a result, I was scrolling through the document and did stumble across this little gem (pg 9):

Presuming that they put in lane markings, this should significantly improve traffic flow on that major artery to the new north industrial development.

This sounds like good news to me.

The phased-in approach where bite-sized pieces can be developed one by one makes the project realistic. Being able to pull off an entire excavation of the site to build the parkade all at once had no way of happening. The site is just too large. Now they can do it in manageable chunks.

I expect that with this the latest design is completely out the window and buildings will be designed one-by-one as they're built. And to me, that's not really a bad thing. There's still the architectural controls in place to ensure quality.

I doubt we'll be getting a 95 m condo tower there any time soon. We'll have to look to North Prairie to pull off the 105 m City Centre Tower.

I'm interested to hear about the partners and what they have in store...

Just talked with some city staff.

Sounds like the city has been in talks with taking over the property and developing it themselves. Don't know how serious it is, but really interesting.

See post #159 in this thread!:rolleyes:

‘Big step forward’ for River Landing
 

‘Big step forward’ for River Landing


By Andrea Hill, The StarPhoenix April 24, 2015

A long-delayed hotel-condo-office development at River Landing has secured a funder, but there’s still no word on when construction will begin.

Victory Majors Development Corp, the Saskatoon-based company that took over the land across from what will eventually be the new Remai Modern Art Gallery, will partner with Regina-based Greystone Managed Investments Inc, a pension fund investor, pending council approval on Monday.

“It’s definitely a big check off the box for financing. Basically, it’ll be built with cash instead of debt so it’s a huge plus,” said Victory Majors president John Nasser. “It’s an exciting big step forward.”

He said the value of the project will “definitely” exceed $300 million, but that he can’t give a specific price tag. [...]


Read More: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entert...172/story.html


:cheers:

Greystone is huge. They have funded most of Harvard's towers in Regina, including Mosaic Tower 3 and Agriculture Place. This is very good news for this project.

Thanks Stormer, as I am sure most in Saskatoon are like me and know very little about Greystone. It is good to hear that they have been partnered with such successful projects in Regina. Guess it took some Regina balls to get this thing going!

My only concern with a phased in approach, is that one development will occur and then the rest of the site sit idle for years to come. Hope this new partnership takes an aggressive approach to development, because that truly is one of the best pieces of land in Saskatoon.

Greystone has $32 billion in assets under management, 30% of that is real estate. Very deep pockets.

Proposed changes to Nassers' River Landing deal goes to city council

Kay and John Nasser's Saskatoon company, Victory Majors, looking for more 'flexibility'

CBC News, Apr 27, 2015

Saskatoon's mayor and city council will be asked to approve changes today to its agreement with the developer of a $300 million hotel-condo-office complex on River Landing's Parcel Y.

Saskatoon-based Victory Majors wants a Regina-based company, Greystone Managed Investments Inc., to take on an interest in the project of more than 49 per cent.

[........]

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...ncil-1.3050600

Saskatoon councillors back phases in River Landing development

BY PHIL TANK, THE STARPHOENIX APRIL 27, 2015

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/s...?size=620x400s

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/s...096/story.html

Council right to back Nasser

The StarPhoenix April 28, 2015

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinio...150/story.html

I share the same "concerns" as Councilor Mairin Loewen about the lack of any incentive/guarantee that the lot will not sit empty for another extended period of time. I do not buy into the theory that once one phase is done the others will soon follow. If that were the case, they would just build the whole damn thing now!

Also Mr. Nasser's comments about the project could be bigger or shrink gives me a sinking feeling that this is not going to be the 'landmark' project everyone was hoping for. I want to feel a whole lot more optimistic about this now that there is a financial partner, but I am still skeptical.

Please prove me wrong!!!! :fingerscrossed:

Major announcement coming today.

Wow 9 mos between posts but that is great news!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZwLcP-W0AI883M.jpg:large

Alt Hotels ‏@ALTHotel
We're very proud to announce that a new Alt Hotel will open in @VisitSaskatoon in 2018! #saskatoon

This render is better than anything previously put forth. Exciting news!

Nice to see a condo portion included, according to the article... on what I would guess is the right tower portion. Reminds me of Toronto's River City condos... would be nice if the finishes are of the same quality:

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default...4356-40336.jpg
Source

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3768/1...5da64ff5_b.jpg
Source

I honestly think this will look great as a neighbor to and complement of the Remai Modern next door.... Our evolving modern architecture riverfront, and the skyline could certainly use some sleek black.

And looks like a shadow rendering for office next door...

An interesting nugget from the press release (see bolded text):