Saskatoon Construction

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by swilley

About the Baseball in Saskatoon. How many teams have already tried and failed? I can't remember if the leagues failed or the franchise, but there has been a few for sure. I am not sure we could support a team attendance wise, even if we had a nice downtown stadium.

All i'm saying is that you might be pleasantly surprised.

At the very worst you would have a great new outdoor venue for concerts during the summer months.

[vid]

"At the very worst you would have a great new outdoor venue for concerts during the summer months."

Yeah! We have to resort to using a swampy area near the old fort for our outdoor concerts. Thunder Bay can manage two stadiums with ~2000 seats each, I'm sure Saskatoon will do fine. Thunder Bay's baseball teams come and go, but it's good to have a stadium anyway, because it keeps that door open.

[Hawker]

[QUOTE=Only The Lonely..;2690918]I don't know what to say accept that a ball park like Canwest in Winnipeg would be a real asset to Saskatoon.

Plus, i'd look forward to the rivalry.

The reason why Calgary and Edmonton failed is because they both had terrible facilities.

In many respects the Goldeyes used to draw poorly too when the played out of Winnipeg Stadium.

When the new ballpark was built it became an instant hit. I don't even really follow baseball, but I love drinking a beer outside on a hot summers night and taking in a game at a park that does it right.

If you built it , they will come Saskatoon!

Edmonton has a terrible facility? Right down @ the riverbank, bigger than CanWest Global, lots of boxes etc...the facility isn't why the Trappers moved. Both the Cannons and the Trappers moved because the economics of playing April till September baseball isn't there in Canada...the Cannons lost up to 15% of their dates because of bad weather.
As for a park in Saskatoon, it is a multi-million $ facility...one that probably wouldn't have been built in Winnipeg if not for the Pan American Games. Until senior levels of government are prepared to put millions into it, there is no way that a new ballpark would be built in Saskatoon.

[swilley]

Very surprised to see they went with a brown exterior.... perplexing.

Originally Posted by SASKFTW

Former Tramps converted to office space.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by swilley

Very surprised to see they went with a brown exterior.... perplexing.

What would you have expected/preferred?

While it was under construction and draped by tarping I was hoping for something modern, I'm not disappointed the least. Their choice of materials compliments neighboring 2nd ave business', but still draws the eye with an aesthetically pleasing facade with unique design elements(three peaks).

I wonder if the side of the building with the Bob Marley portrait was intentionally kept that way, or if they were forced by the heritage society to incorporate I hope they plan to keep Marley and maybe add some more wall art.

[Ruckus]

Canadian Light Source Synchrotron Addition(More Beamlines!)




University of Saskatchewan College of Law Addition(LEED Standard)


Station 20 West - Affordable Housing Component




River Landing Phase 2 - Farmers Market/Business Incubator






River Landing Phase 1 - Persephone Theatre




Eatons loft conversion

[newflyer]

The Goldeyes are an amazing success story.. the Canwest Global Park is recognized as one of the finest minor league stadiums anywhere. It was very well planned, as well as its excellent location makes it very attractive for fans. One block off the Portage and Main .. and also on the edge of the Forks it makes for the perfect site for enjoying a ballgame after work. The stadium has aready seen expansion and could see even further improvements if demand remains at its currently high levels. The area is still undergoing a great amount of change and is drawing more investment.

If Saskatoon were to build a ballpark I would suggest it learn from the Winnipeg success. Locate it in the city centre ... where it could be intrigrated into an enhanced downtown area.

As we speak the Waterfront Drive, which links the Forks to the Exchange is seeing a great amount of condo and commercial development. At the centre of the new strip is the ballpark, acting as an anchor. If Saskatoon played it right its ballpark could draw thousands of people and large new investments downtown.

[swilley]

Originally Posted by SASKFTW

What would you have expected/preferred?

Expected - brown
Preferred - anything other than brown

Thanks for the photo update, btw.

[Echoes]

What does anyone know about Water's Edge condos by North Ridge on Sask Crescent? There's no mention of it on their website but its in the showhome directory in the SP today. I believe its located right beside The Landing.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by Country

What does anyone know about Water's Edge condos by North Ridge on Sask Crescent? There's no mention of it on their website but its in the showhome directory in the SP today. I believe its located right beside The Landing.

They sure have taken their time to develop that site into something tangible. A project like that would sell quite quickly and big $$$.

I wonder what the residential condo demand is like for Saskatoon say compared to Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. Obviously not enough to warrant 200 unit hi-rise condos in the downtown, but on the other hand maybe we'll be seeing more condo conversions in the downtown rental market? I imagine its a fairly simple process for any apartment building owner to follow through with. You'd make a large profit pretty quickly too.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by SASKFTW

They sure have taken their time to develop that site into something tangible. A project like that would sell quite quickly and big $$$.

I wonder what the residential condo demand is like for Saskatoon say compared to Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. Obviously not enough to warrant 200 unit hi-rise condos in the downtown, but on the other hand maybe we'll be seeing more condo conversions in the downtown rental market? I imagine its a fairly simple process for any apartment building owner to follow through with. You'd make a large profit pretty quickly too.

Well, $500/sqft is becoming normal here (in Calgary), so you could use that as a reference. Edmonton is catching up fast.

[subdude]

Originally Posted by SASKFTW

I wonder what the residential condo demand is like for Saskatoon say compared to Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.

Demand is really strong, Saskatoon sales volume is through the roof this year - total MLS sales through Feb are almost double from last year. Was just chatting with a realtor who said:

"I just sold a condo for a guy that got trasferred to Vancouver. I think he's in Langley. His little Saskatoon condo went for $113,000 back in early January. When I told him what it was worth I could tell he thought I was full of it. He said he was sure it wouldn't sell for more than $90,000 as he had just purchased it 18 months earlier for $73,000. 23 people looked at it the first day it was listed and I received about a dozen offers. He was so excited he almost wet his pants."

[eric121]

I posted this on my blog yesterday, and I thought I'd share it here as well with you fine folks...


Now that the Remai spa hotel deal at River Landing has been scuttled, we again have a chance to dream of new possibilities for this property. We have a second chance to see that this land becomes the site of a unique landmark that will help bring both locals and visitors to the South Downtown.

Now imagine for a second a cascading and curving glass and stone building. A building that demonstrates creative and functional architecture that respects the surrounding riverbank, yet stands out as an attractive visual landmark.

This landmark development should, at least in part, act as a public gathering place accessible to all residents of our city, and should also have an element that acts as a catalyst to attract outside visitors to this part of downtown.

In light of new environmental awareness, this building should also be a leading example of state-of-the-art energy efficient and sustainable building practices, such as using solar panels to help heat the building.

I would envision this building to house a new public library, galleries, and science centre.

It is clear that the current public library downtown is not fully meeting the needs of our growing city. Space is at a premium, and it is inevitable that major renovation costs will be incured as the current building ages.

A science centre component, possibly with an IMAX theatre, would not only being in local visitors, but would also help attract visitors from outside the city…visitors that will also bring their business to surrounding restaurants, galleries, and shops. A science centre would also provide Saskatoon a top-notch educational component for both children and adults.

This is not the only good idea. There are tons of other excellent ideas floating around that will accomplish these goals for River Landing. The most important thing we need to do is to discuss and share our ideas and to continue to think and dream big.

Our city could be so much more, and it’s important for us to concentrate on the future - what could and will be, rather than lamenting on the past and what ‘could have been’. Let’s move our city forward and ensure that what is ultimately built at River Landing is something we can all be proud of for the next 50 years.

[JBinCalgary]

i like those eatons lofts

[molasses]

Sold signs just went up on the Continental Hotel/Olde Yale Pub. I'd love to see that restored into an interesting artsy boutique hotel/bar. Anyone hear anything about what might be happening?

[circle33]

I certainly haven't heard anything, though my co-worker whose father is a developer made an interesting observation regarding the neighbouring Capri. Redeveloping that property, as attractive as its location is, would require tossing a whole mess of low income seniors on the street, and no one wants that bad publicity (no mention that it would just be a crappy thing to do). I know there was a discussion here a while back about what we'd like to see done there. I guess one has to factor this in.

[Echoes]

Regarding eric121's blog about the Remai site: I think the IMAX and new library are great ideas. Although, I think most people (including myself) would prefer to see a building there of considerable height. Im not sure if a library/science centre can warrant a building of anything over 3-4 stories (???). But for lack of better ideas myself I applaud you for initiating some big dreaming for river landing.

I also think that it should be a requirement that any public space built at river landing be enviromentally sustainable.

[richmond]

Although I would like to see a new library & would love an IMAX in town, I'd really like to see something that pays taxes on the River Landing site.

Any brown metal or brick would be an added bonus. heh heh heh

[eric121]

I guess I was sort of envisioning something like the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, but a bit flashier and taller.

http://www.shawconferencecentre.com/welcome.asp

I, like everyone else here, would of course love to see tons of beautiful (non brown) towers downtown...but I think any towers should be set back from the river and not block the view of the rest of downtown from the river. (Of course the city already has their height-restrictions for R.L. anyway, so this point is somewhat moot... Does anyone remember what those height restrictions are? I couldn't find them in my 30 second search.)

Public? Private? There are good arguments on both sides... hopefully there will be some good private proposals that come forward, but I don't think the door should be completely closed to a public alternative for the land if those proposals end up being garbage.

[swilley]