Saskatoon Construction

[kgc087]

Yah when I saw the finished airport I knew they would have to expand again fairly soon, which is VERY exciting! I'm hoping they will put up another glass wall somewhere! I'm thinking that Cameco is saying they are not building a head office d/t anytime soon b/c they are just beginning to occupy new office space. Assuming a long term projection they will most likely move downtown, I'm thinking in 10-15 years we could begin to see a development regarding that. Regarding the Encana building in Calgary, they are only allowed to pour concrete on the weekends and they must be finished all foundation work which requires street closures before stampede or they will be charged 100 000$ a day to have the road closed. I do believe they will be working 24hrs on it soon to finish it up. And for my contribution to the ugliest building I would say is the SIGA building across from the bess or one of the banana coloured 1970's condos downtown

[kgc087]

Has anyone heard anything regarding the riverlanding?

[drm310]

My vote for ugliest building is the Affinity Credit Union on 1st Ave N & 22nd St. It looks like a jail.

Originally Posted by kgc087

And for my contribution to the ugliest building I would say is the SIGA building across from the bess or one of the banana coloured 1970's condos downtown

[jaysfan99]

My vote for the ugliest building is also the U of S residents on Cumberland, the new Riverfront building is also pretty oooogly.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by kgc087

Regarding the Encana building in Calgary, they are only allowed to pour concrete on the weekends and they must be finished all foundation work which requires street closures before stampede or they will be charged 100 000$ a day to have the road closed.

Just a correction here. They only have to have 6th Avenue reopened before Stampede, and the fine is $14,000/day if they don't.

[kgc087]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Just a correction here. They only have to have 6th Avenue reopened before Stampede, and the fine is $14,000/day if they don't.

Thanks for the correction, but it's still a VERY large sum of money.

[Rob D]

Originally Posted by kgc087

Thanks for the correction, but it's still a VERY large sum of money.

Considering that the project has a $1 billion budget, even if they went 30 days over, the fine would amount to a fraction of a percentage point of the total budget. In context, it is not a very large amount as far as fines go IMHO.

[Wyku]

For anyone curious about what's going in at the old post office building, joining Vecima. More info should be on the news tonight. Not sure why it was released after the media conference, but what can ya do.


FOR RELEASE MAY 16, 2008 AFTER 11:30 A.M.


May 14, 2008
Media Conference

Vecima Networks Inc. will be welcoming their new tenants to the “old post office” location - downtown on 23rd Street in Saskatoon, SK- by fall 2008. The building is called the “Vecima Center”.

The following Saskatoon organizations will soon be sharing the same facility:

Tourism Saskatoon (Todd Brandt, President & CEO)
Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce (Kent Smith-Windsor, Executive Director)
Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) (Alan Migneault, Chief Executive Officer)
Tourism Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (Dr. Lynda Haverstock, President & CEO)

This pooling of resources is an example of leadership, fiscal and monetary responsibility by these organizations.

Time: Friday, May 16th 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Location: 202 – 4th Ave North, Board Room Vecima (3rd Floor)
Please use North Entrance Stairs/Elevator
Meter Parking – please bring picture I.D. with you (driver’s licence etc.)

Briefing Program:

Todd Brandt: President and CEO, Tourism Saskatoon
Welcome
Share plans surrounding joint initiative. Why the move?

Kent Smith-Windsor: Executive Director, Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce
Economic Outlook; Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame?

Alan Migneault: Chief Executive Officer of Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) Inc.
Joint Marketing and Joint Initiatives

Dr. Lynda Haverstock: President and CEO, Tourism Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC)
Saskatchewan’s Tourism Workforce, HR Services and Training Initiatives

Dr. Hugh Wood: CEO Vecima Networks Inc.
Welcoming of new tenants


All Media Welcome – Refreshments Will Be Served.
(Courtesy of Vecima Networks Inc.)


Dr. Hugh Wood, Chief Operating Officer
Will tour media through the main floor following this program.



For more information, please contact:

Todd Brandt, President and CEO
Tourism Saskatoon
(306)931-7574

[shmakim]

Originally Posted by kgc087

banana coloured 1970's condos downtown

Ding ding ding ding ding! Hear hear! Every time I drive by one particularly hideous building on 25th St and.... 6th Ave (?), I gag. It's on the south side, hideous yellow with nasty fortified-looking concrete balcony walls.

As far as Affinity Credit Union, I don't mind it cause at least it looks recent, unlike Hideous Banana Manor on 25th. I still think they should paint a mural on that sheet steel parkade facade... maybe a picture of crumbling red bricks being chipped away, to blend with the SaskTel building next door.

[joelpiecowye]

post a photos on my thread, i think saskatoon had a good chance to beat winnipeg

[zachjeffries]

Not much new information out there. The only item of note is that Lake Placid is now seeking zoning for 12 stories on the hotel portion of their building instead of the previous 8 and 10. I'm sure the CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) people will have a problem with it, but it should go ahead without issue.

Originally Posted by kgc087

Has anyone heard anything regarding the riverlanding?

[joelpiecowye]

most of it is supposed to me completed this year such as phase 2 riverfront, roads, pocket park, amphi theatre, waterpark, sculptures etc

[zachjeffries]

Here are a couple of interesting River Landing pictures that I took while on a Phase 2 tour last week. Unfortunately, I didn't have a real camera with me, just my phone.


An old "City of Saskatoon" sign on the original part of the pumphouse.


The pedestrian bridge is coming along nicely.

FYI - If anyone is interested in purchasing the small piece of land in Phase 1 beside the Traffic Bridge (currently, a "grassy knoll") which is designated for a restaurant, you'll only have to cough up $1,500,000.00!

[zachjeffries]

The waterpark and pavillion building will be opening during the third week of June. The exact date escapes me.

Originally Posted by joelpiecowye

most of it is supposed to me completed this year such as phase 2 riverfront, roads, pocket park, amphi theatre, waterpark, sculptures etc

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by drm310

But the article mentions that the Empire Theatre opened in 1910, then operated primarily as a cinema after 1930, so it couldn't have been destroyed by fire the same year it opened. If it did catch fire it must have been decades later. The Queen's Hotel on 1st Avenue South was a victim of fire in 1980.

As for the Empire's location, I will speculate that it used to be on the Impark lot site.

Oops!

Sorry, I clicked on the link you posted and it was dead...I was going by my memory, which is probably off a bit -->

I recall reading something about the Empire, I'll try and find it.

Found this...


Passengers boarding a bus at the Greyhound Bus Depot at 347 - 2nd Avenue South (later the site of the Davies Electric Building, now a large gravel parking lot). The Empire Hotel can be seen in the background. Leonard A. Hillyard photo, ca. 1940s. (Image call no. B8225)

Source



Source - 5 September, 1941

I suppose sometime after the 1940s, the Empire Hotel and Theatre was either demolished, succumbed to fire...or something else, it's not the Capri is it?


Source


Source


Source

Maybe it is?

EDIT: More information

SASKATOON, SK – Empire Theatre – 2nd Avenue & 20th St – 1910 – Saskatoon’s Empire Theatre opened in December 1910 adjoining the Empire Hotel at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 20th Street - 1,200 seats – opened with H.M.S. Pinafore 1910 - it immediately became the city’s centre of live entertainment, featuring many of the greatest performers of the age including Harry Lauder, Sophie Tucker and Eva Tanguay; Charley's Aunt 1916;Camouflage 1920; the Dumbells 1920; Mother Goose 1929 - In – restored and called Daylight 1920s-1930 it was sold and renamed the Hub - thereafter operated primarily as motion picture theatre – sold 1942 and renamed Victory – demolished 1958 for parking for Empire Hotel

Source

[joelpiecowye]

hmm same number of floors mabey something inside the capri will tell the truth????

and if you look the old empire has a seam between the 2 different buildings (theatre, hotel) so does the capri

[kgc087]

If I remember correctly the inside of the capri is quite nice with marble columns and large old chandeliers and great mill work. So I saw in the SP today that lake placid is looking to raise the hotel to 12 floors rather then 8. I think this is a fantastic idea and will really make this area more grand.

[subdude]

Originally Posted by drm310

They sit on the site of the former Capitol Theatre, built in 1929 and demolished in 1979.

That was a great old theatre, saw Earthquake there when they had "Sensurround" sound or whatever it was called...

[Rob D]

Originally Posted by subdude

That was a great old theatre, saw Earthquake there when they had "Sensurround" sound or whatever it was called...

Re: Capitol Theatre - I also saw Earthquake there in Sensurround. Also saw Foul Play, Jaws, and the last movie that played there - Get Out Your Handkerchiefs.

It was a great theatre - I believe it had a capacity of around 1200 seats which totally dwarfs the auditoriums in the suburban multiplexes. It also seems to me that this theatre was once a live venue prior to the construction of the Centennial Auditorium IIRC.

When it was replaced by the Scotia Centre, the shortsightedness on the part of the owners of Midtown Plaza nixed the idea of connecting what should have been two levels of retail in Scotia Centre via skywalk to Eaton's.

IMO the two Scotia Centre towers should have been one 20 to 24 storey tower rather than two 10 - 12 storey buildings. It would be great to see some major new vertical emphasis on Saskatoon's skyline. Keeping my fingers crossed that some if not all the confirmed/rumoured projects come to fruition especially River Landing (the entire complex), the much rumoured Cameco tower as well as the 30 mutli-use residential tower that has be mentioned in this thread.

I don't mind the Luxe on Broadway, but I do agree that the comment in the SP article is a bit of a stretch. "It is living beyond compare in Sasktoon"

Very happy to see Saskatoon getting in on some of the action finally.

[Rob D]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

Well that information is definitely contrary to what I've been hearing. I've heard Friday (tomorrow) will be when they make the decision on which downtown location they choose. I'd be very surprised (and dissapointed) if they choose to stay put.

Was a decision made?