Quote:
Originally Posted by macca
Saturday's paper had a plan for the Mcnab Park redevelopment. Anyone who likes parking and low-rise office blocks will love it.
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Source - Scanned image from The Star Phoenix March 29, 2008
McNab Park changes hands
New deal struck for development of business park
Murray Lyons and Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, March 29, 2008
An unnamed Calgary investment group is taking up the challenge of converting an orphaned housing development near the airport into a profitable business park.
Less than a month after saying McNab Park wasn't for sale as it was in 2007, Gil Dobroskay of Guardian Commercial Real Estate said a brand new deal was concluded this month which he said could move a conceptual plan drawn up for a 50-acre mix of office space and hotels closer to reality.
However, Dobroskay said there are infrastructure issues and final zoning changes that need approval so people who rent a unit within the low-cost, air force-style housing that has been McNab Park for more than a half century will not likely have to move out imminently.
In fact, he said it may be as many as 18 months before concept plans are approved by city hall and the city builds a new sewage connection from the site to a large trunk sewer line that is meant to serve Hampton Village and future residential projects to be built farther west.
"All the tenants who have been there a long time, we try to keep them up to date," Dobroskay said. "We don't have a lot to tell them except the game plan is still the same."
Tenants received notice of the change in ownership on Friday via a written notice delivered to the rental units.
McNab Park was sold last summer to an Edmonton buyer with Saskatchewan roots who had backing from other family members in Saskatoon. They bought the property from Larry Braun, who had owned McNab Park since 1998.
Dobroskay said Thursday the Edmonton buyer had worked to develop a conceptual plan, but sought other possible investors to help bring those plans to fruition.
Earlier this year, the property was again listed for $16.75 million.
In an interview earlier this month, Dobroskay said the property was listed on Guardian's website in an effort to bring new investors to the table, but in the end the latest buyers from Calgary decided they wanted the entire investment.
"With the concept plan that has been done up to date, these guys felt it would be better to go ahead on the project on their own," Dobroskay said Thursday.
Based on current construction costs of $250 per square foot or more and the fact the conceptual plan calls for a business park with office space of 1.8 million square feet, McNab Park could easily be a project with more than $300 million to $400 million of investment over time, the Realtor said.
"If you look around every other jurisdiction in North America, you're going to find the areas around airports are going to be developed in industrial, warehousing or offices related to the airport or offices for commuters who are using the airport," he said.
With companies, including uranium producer Areva Resources Canada, located less than 100 metres from McNab Park housing and looking to expand, Dobroskay said he expects there will be demand for airport area office space, plus the possibility of extended-stay hotels.
"There are a number of different companies and groups that have it in their plans in the next two to four years that need new office space and the city can't supply that now," he said. "If anyone is going to build anything, it's a minimum of two to two-and-a-half years to build.
"Timing is everything, especially with the economy the way it is."
For now, the Realtor said the new buyers are open to giving city officials working on affordable housing issues the time to decide whether it is possible to move the houses that sit on McNab Park to new foundations in an area such as Hampton Village where they could then be renovated.
While it is up to the city's affordable housing staffing to make it happen, the commercial real estate agent said he is hopeful the solidly built townhouses can live on in a different location.
"With the demand for affordable housing and the money that is now becoming available through various levels of government, I think there is a good chance for success on that," Dobroskay said. "If those buildings can be relocated for less money than building new, then why not?"
Alan Wallace, manager of neighbourhood planning with the City of Saskatoon, said the Calgary-based company is quite interested in moving the park's six-unit structures to a new site and have made an agreement with the current owner to purchase the buildings. The city is interested in working on a demonstration project with the new owners to move other buildings, such as the two-unit dwellings, to the same new site to show them how they could be fixed up and re-used.
The Calgary owners, he said, have a large interest in rental properties.
"The concept of doing this really makes a lot of sense in that they can re-use the housing stock, they'll be providing affordable rental stock in Saskatoon and we're certainly behind that idea, but the devil being in the details -- that's what we really need to get down to now," Wallace explained.
The city expects to receive the company's written proposal for the site sometime in early April, he said.
When it comes to moving the homes, a public consultation will likely take place -- especially if the homes are to be moved into an existing area, Wallace added, saying public support will be needed to make the plan work.
"They're light on details but big on ideas," Wallace said about the company. "It sounds good to us, anything that can be re-used off that site would be great."
The president and CEO of Saskatoon's airport authority, Bill Restall, welcomes the business park development, saying the early proposal seems compatible with the airport.
"Because of the activity, aircraft noise, we like to see a buffer between the airport and residential, and commercial development space works well for that," Restall said. "It's a nice balance."
The idea of a hotel in the McNab development zone isn't too much of a surprise, he said, adding he'll leave it up to the developers to decide whether it would be economical or not.
"There have certainly been a significant number of hotels that have found it advantageous to be located near an airport," he said. "The people have to make a decision relative to the market opportunity that they perceive."
More than 100 rental units are located in McNab Park.
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