Saskatoon Construction

[kgc087]

What do you think will happen to the Capri if the assisted living people move into lighthouse? It would be neat to see a developer transform the existing building to mimic the old empire and turn it into upscale condos or lofts with some mixed use on the bottom.

[Ruckus]

Located on Broadway, the trendiest street in Saskatoon, right in the heart of the city, LUXE is the ultimate world-class urban retreat and home destination. It is a cool haven of relaxation in the middle of one of the city’s most vibrant areas, steps from the most chic restaurants, bistros and boutiques in the city. Boasting Saskatoon’s first truly contemporary building design, with its soaring ceilings, walls of glass, and unforgettably beautiful contemporary design, LUXE epitomizes urban chic for a modern world. It is living beyond compare in Saskatoon.

Redefining estate living...

Meridian... Creating the Art of Living Well.

3 City Homes, 15 Sky Homes, 3 Sky Penthouses, 3 Sky Estates

Sales Packages Available Mid-June, 2008

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This project will complement the Broadway area nicely. But arrghhhh, that last comment from the SP article. More height would have been nice (more people), probably would have offered smaller units too.

Just a bank at ground level though, is the current Affinity bank beside Extra Foods? I wonder what might take it's place?

I suppose our taller towers will go downtown

[joelpiecowye]

oh ya it also said that the luxe will be completed spring 2009, i think it looks nice not to big not to small. for broadway, near perfect.

as for the capri i pray it gets leveled and something better is build. i truely hate the capri(my opinion ugliest building in our downtown) as for the empire i truely wish it wasn't gone especially the queens hotel


but unfortunately it is so hard to rebuild these buildings(cost) and they will most likely not look like their true form. this is why i am worried about the king george and how they said it will be arabian, then new york, and then original in a theme. but if the building is redone right it will look amazing

[kgc087]

Originally Posted by joelpiecowye

oh ya it also said that the luxe will be completed spring 2009, i think it looks nice not to big not to small. for broadway, near perfect.

as for the capri i pray it gets leveled and something better is build. i truely hate the capri(my opinion ugliest building in our downtown) as for the empire i truely wish it wasn't gone especially the queens hotel


but unfortunately it is so hard to rebuild these buildings(cost) and they will most likely not look like their true form. this is why i am worried about the king george and how they said it will be arabian, then new york, and then original in a theme. but if the building is redone right it will look amazing

Wow is that the Queen's hotle, truely amazing, what happened to it? It would be really nice to see some the old buildings along 2nd ave revamped to their former glory.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by kgc087

What do you think will happen to the Capri if the assisted living people move into lighthouse? It would be neat to see a developer transform the existing building to mimic the old empire and turn it into upscale condos or lofts with some mixed use on the bottom.

Difficult to say, but I would guess the building will stay, as it appears to have been maintained over the years and would likely cost more to build new.

As for what the new owners decide to transform it into, residential with retail on the ground floor, and apparently there is a pool with a water slide in there too, not sure if they'll be keeping that??? A private pool is pretty rich though

Thanks for the King George link.

King George
A Classic Hotel Transformed into an Eco-friendly, Parisian-style Luxury Condo Complex

The stately King George Hotel ­ or simply the "KG" as it became popularly known ­ at the southwest corner of 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street was built during 1910 and 1911, making it the second oldest hotel in Saskatoon. It was designed by architect Frederick L. O'Leary and erected by Standard Construction Company for $250,000. Originally planned for seven storeys, the completed hotel was five storeys with 140 bedrooms, including 65 with en suite baths. An annex with another 42 bedrooms and six "trade sample rooms" was added in 1912. The large ground floor rotunda, measuring 55 by 85 feet, was decorated with ornamental plaster work. The basement held a barber shop and billiards hall.

The 16-foot ceilings of the main floor conveyed a spacious atmosphere. Second-floor ceilings were 12-1/2 feet high and ceilings on the remaining floors varied from 11 to 9 -1/2 feet, depending on the floor.

An extensive, million-dollar modernization in 1964 destroyed the "early Gothic" exterior of terra cotta and stone, replacing it with ceramic tile. Stone figures and original brick work were discarded, lost or destroyed. Further renovations, costing $250,000, were undertaken around 1990.


The King George Hotel, during the building's heyday, when the building commanded the centre of Saskatoon's downtown. The building's early Gothic exterior of terra cotta and stone was lost during renovations completed in 1964. Photograph LH776 courtesy of the Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Room.


In later years, the KG fell into decline. Standing vacant since 2003, mounting property tax arrears and a fire in 2004 nearly resulted in a city order to demolish the building.

The building was acquired by a Vancouver developer, and subsequently re-sold. The Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society added the structure to its watch list of endangered structures in 2006.

This building is so spectacular.

It's going to have a real heritage look when we're done and it will look better than it ever did. We'll bring it back to that original splendour.


The former King George Hotel has seen much of its facade stripped away this winter, but Meridian Development expects this condominium conversion to renew the splendour of the building. Windows will extend from floor to ceiling and column to column, the columns are being rebuilt, and the exterior is to be clad with a pre-cast stone product. Meridian's Karl Miller expects the building to exude a "Parisian" atmosphere. The renovated building will have retail on the ground floor, office space on the second and 21 luxury residential condominium suites on the remaining floors. The building is scheduled to be fully occupied by mid-2009. The Fairbanks Lofts are visible as the four-storey structure at far right.

Meridian Development purchased the building in 2007 and began the task of rebuilding. Meridian's Karl Miller explains how the company plans to return the KG to a grandeur it hasn't seen in half a century.

The renovated King George will consist of a retail level facing 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street, office space on the second floor and 21 luxury residential condominium suites ­ ranging from 700 to 1550 square feet ­ taking up the top three floors. Sixty heated, secure indoor parking spots ­ including secure bicycle storage ­ will be available to all tenants. A rooftop terrace will provide views of the city.

Miller says he expects the renovation to be fully complete by mid-2009. Some suites could be ready for occupancy as early as the end of 2008.

"We're really excited about the project," he says. "We think it will help bring downtown further north ­ bring the excitement back. This used to be the hottest corner in Saskatoon.

"This building is so spectacular. The design work is going to give a real heritage look when we're done and it will look better than it ever did. We'll bring it back to that original splendour."

The developer is re-creating many of the details found in the original building. The company was fortunate to find examples of some of the early ornamentation, such as the lions' heads, crests and iron canopies that adorned the facade. The pieces are being duplicated and reproduced so they can be returned to the building. Inside, castings were taken of ceiling mouldings saved from the grand rotunda to be used to re-create the look throughout the new development.

The remnants of earlier renovations are currently being removed and an entirely new facade will need to be constructed. The new exterior is intended to showcase the magnificence of the interior structure. Windows will extend from floor to ceiling, and column to column.

"It's going to be clad with a pre-cast stone product," says Miller. "All the columns will be rebuilt. We're going to put cornices on the outside. It will have a real Parisian feel when it's done ... yet, there are a lot of 'nods' to what it originally looked like, not the 1960s renovation that most people know it as."

The main floor retail level will exceed city zoning regulations. The renovated KG will provide continuous retail frontage along both 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street.

"All along 2nd Avenue, we're going to have two little retail bays," says Miller. "You won't even know that parking is behind there." (Access to the building parkade will be off the alley.)

The developer says it's important to maintain the 2nd Avenue street scape.

"What destroys a street more? People don't want to walk by parking lots. They want to walk by little shops."

Miller hopes that much of the retail space, especially facing 23rd Street, will attract tenants to serve Saskatoon's growing downtown residential population.

The residential suites are built using the great room concept, consisting of a living room, dining room and kitchen sharing a large space, says Miller. All but the smallest suites will have two bedrooms with two bathrooms.

Each residential suite will have an outward view of the city and an inward view of a landscaped terrace ­ the "green" roof atop the parkade.

The design of the parkade is integral to meeting environmental certification.

The new KG will be the first privately owned building in Saskatchewan certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "green" building rating system, says Miller. In addition to the "green" parkade, the renovation is being conducted to minimize construction waste. Workers separate metals for recycling, and send concrete and brick to the city yards to be crushed for berm material or road base.

"We spent a lot of time separating out various materials," says Miller. "We donated a lot to Habitat for Humanity. We recycled as much as we possibly could."

Saskatoon Home Copyright © 2008 Wheat King Publishing and the authors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Saskatoon Home are those of the writers and editors, and do not represent the official position of Modovi or Wheat King.

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Sounds sooooo nice, can't wait for completion

[kgc087]

It's so exciting to see classic architecture being constructed. I feel this really gives a city a sense of wealth, maturity and excitement. I know Saskatoon doesn't have much but what it does have is quite beautiful. Speaking of reviving our heritage do you think midtown plaza would ever extend the classic architecture of the main facade to the Bay and Sears? And has anyone heard anything about the architecture for the francis morrison library expansion. I know they are wanting to build another level and expand onto 23rd st. Hopefully they don't extend city hall architecture over to the library.

[ReginaGuy]

It sucks to hear about the MOB being cut in height, but that LUXE development looks really good. Meridian seems to be one of the few developers in this province that do really good urban designs

[Echoes]

LUXE looks great and will definitely fit into the Broadway district well. I'm satisfied with the height as it is generally in keeping with the scale of the rest of the neighborhood.

I wish we could see a rendering for the KG. I imagine the final exterior design is still a work in progress, hence the ever-changing "A little piece of [insert world-class city name here] in the heart of Saskatoon." Regardless, I'm confident that it will look FANTASTIC.

It's exciting to see things proceeding at North Prairie's office development on 3rd. However, I still can't help but see it as a lost opportunity. Some considerable height would have looked great there.

Originally Posted by joelpiecowye

as for the capri i pray it gets leveled and something better is build. i truely hate the capri(my opinion ugliest building in our downtown)

I was just thinking that we should conduct a "Ugliest building in downtown Saskatoon" poll . IMO the red-brick Sasktel building on 1st and the CIBC tower on 21st would be in the running. I hate Avord Tower passionately as well, mainly because it dares to sit right across from the gorgeous Bez.

Finally, I really wish that the city would re-do the streetscaping (lighting, benches, etc.) on 2nd Avenue. The blue stuff on 2nd right now looks cheap, tacky and outdated. I'm not a huge fan of the red crap on 22nd either. All downtown streetscaping should either be traditional like on Spadina or 21st, or contemporary like at River Landing. And it should be BLACK or shades of gray. NOT tacky colours that go (horribly) out of fashion. Yeah, those blue light poles/benches look disgusting. End rant.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by kgc087

Speaking of reviving our heritage do you think midtown plaza would ever extend the classic architecture of the main facade to the Bay and Sears?

Excellent question and something that I've thought about for quite some time. IMO the exterior of Sears needs it the most. They might as well tack another tower to Midtown while they're at it too.

[kgc087]

I'm in complete aggreance. The blue and red has long been expired. I def agree with black or shades of grey but preferably black. Black always has a new look to it while grey could begin to look dull, especially with overcast. I heard somewhere or read it on a d/t revitilization plan that the city would eventually like to revitalize the street ways back to their original stature. Meaning classic street lamps, garbage cans and benchs, maybe they'll even break out into pavers or unearth the purple glass pavers by the Canada building. Hopefully with the KG, 2nd ave lofts and rumely in the north; riverlanding in the south; pleasent hill and riversdale in the west and the uni in the east the d/t will slowly be transformed to a classical yet modern haven...hahah talk about wishful thinking.

[Ruckus]

Most definitely. We need more a few more modern pieces (It's beginning), reinforcement of our classical elements and viola, an always improving and never forgetting Saskatoon...some day

[kgc087]

I can picture it in my mind and its stunning! So reading in the SP today, the airport is planning on increasing customer traffic by 50% by 2013 which is phenominal! They have 45 planes on order. It's interesting to see how they were hoping to have 1 million passengers by 2015, maybe they'll have 2 million by then. SO with this increased volume of passengers when do you think the next scheduled terminal expansion will take place?

[Ruckus]

Affordable housing crisis widespread, say ex-MLAs
Rod Nickel, TheStarPhoenix.com
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008

Former MLAs Ted Merriman and Bob Pringle knew the affordable housing shortage is widespread, but learning who is falling through the cracks has been a surprise.

In March, the Saskatchewan Party government appointed Pringle, a former NDP MLA and current Saskatoon city councillor, and Merriman, a former Sask. Party MLA, to look into housing affordability and report back with recommendations.

As they tour the province, talking with about 75 groups so far, they found that jobs are no guarantee of finding suitable homes.

"Affordable housing for people who are working is in dire straits," Merriman said at a news conference to update progress on writing the report. "That stood out more than anything."

The lack of affordable housing is found virtually everywhere in the province, Pringle said, leading to "couch surfing" and "family stacking" that can mask how desperate the situation is.

The crisis is also hitting post-secondary students hard. With classes resuming in 3 1/2 months, there's some lead time to implement "emergency" measures to help them, Merriman said. He suggested those will include ways to ease requirements for homeowners wanting to rent out suites - such as installing a second furnace or building a new entrance.

Modular housing may also be a stop-gap solution, Merriman said.

Merriman said he and Pringle have yet to find an apartment block built in Saskatchewan within the last 25 years. Reasons for that are many and complex, Merriman said, but the task force will suggest ways to make apartment construction more appealing.

The task force won't touch the issue of rent control, which Merriman said would simply create another reason for developers not to build apartments.

The report is due by the end of the month.

[email protected]

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[kgc087]

I wonder what the university has planned to aid its students and relieve them from pressures of increased living costs. I did see the rendering sent in from Vancouver to develop their south land. Hopefully we see some construction regarding affordable housing for students in the near future. As well hopefully we see some affordable housing for the public going up soon as well. I think I'm pretty safe to say that its a real deterant for immigrants when they see the cost of housing in Saskatoon.

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by kgc087

I can picture it in my mind and its stunning! So reading in the SP today, the airport is planning on increasing customer traffic by 50% by 2013 which is phenominal! They have 45 planes on order. It's interesting to see how they were hoping to have 1 million passengers by 2015, maybe they'll have 2 million by then. SO with this increased volume of passengers when do you think the next scheduled terminal expansion will take place?

They are currently adding or extending the runways, I think the terminal would follow shortly after???

They have conceptual plans for terminal expansion, but no timeline for construction...this document, page 22, and 24.

WestJet expanding Saskatoon service
Could ultimately lead to direct flights to such cities as Vancouver, Ottawa, Las Vegas
Cassandra Kyle, TheStarPhoenix.com
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008

Plans are taking flight to increase WestJet's capacity in Saskatoon by 50 per cent by 2013, a company executive said Thursday.

The Calgary-based airline has 45 planes on order, set to increase WestJet's fleet to 119 within five to six years, explained Bob Cummings, executive vice president guest experience and marketing. The fleet expansion will likely equate to 13 daily flights in Saskatoon, up from the nine that will service the city when WestJet's direct flight to Toronto begins on Sunday, he said, adding the planes will carry a greater number of passengers.

Cummings, who was in the city Thursday for business meetings, believes Saskatoon is becoming an increasingly important hub in the airline's network.


Plans are taking flight to increase WestJet's capacity in Saskatoon by 50 per cent by 2013, a company executive said Thursday

"Over the last year or so the Saskatchewan economy and the type of GDP rates we're seeing out of Saskatoon . . . and how full our planes are out of Saskatoon, it's been one of our better performers across our network, and it certainly has our eye for that reason," he said.

The executive suggested the airline will be making a Saskatoon-related service announcement within the next few months, but couldn't reveal what the announcement would include. Cummings said a direct flight to Vancouver is among the most requested services Saskatoon residents ask of WestJet, with flights to Ottawa and Victoria following steadily behind.

Winter travel to sunny destinations is also a growing trend in Saskatoon, he said, adding direct flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas remain highly requested. The airline tried to arrange a direct-service flight to Las Vegas last year, but customs officials could not accommodate the flight.

"In communities like Saskatoon, when we have put Vegas in there's something magical about the amount of stimulation you get from a non-stop flight," Cummings explained. "We've seen huge lifts from across Canada from whenever we've put in non-stop service to Vegas, and that would probably be the case if that happened in Saskatoon."

Additional Saskatoon flights are always needed, says North Saskatoon Business Association executive director Shirley Ryan. A 50-per-cent capacity increase over the next several years will go a long way in helping the business community.

"One of the greatest deterrents is when business people want to fly in here and maybe fly out the same day for a meeting, that's not always possible. With our critical mass forming we need better air service," Ryan said.

The capacity ramp-up is a good method for adding flights to the city, she said, adding she feels service in Saskatoon has been less than adequate for a number of years.

"I think we have to give WestJet credit for being observant enough to see the need and to address the concerns," Ryan said.

With business travel on the rise, and a growing foundation of travellers in the Saskatoon Region, Cummings said the city will likely continue to be a fixture on WestJet's radar in the years to come.

"Saskatoon has been very good to WestJet, and over the 11-plus years of service the relationship between WestJet and Saskatoon has been very intimate," he said. "Saskatoon is loyal to WestJet, and WestJet feels a great deal of affinity to Saskatoon as well."

[email protected]

Source

[Ruckus]

Originally Posted by kgc087

I wonder what the university has planned to aid its students and relieve them from pressures of increased living costs. I did see the rendering sent in from Vancouver to develop their south land. Hopefully we see some construction regarding affordable housing for students in the near future. As well hopefully we see some affordable housing for the public going up soon as well. I think I'm pretty safe to say that its a real deterant for immigrants when they see the cost of housing in Saskatoon.

The government would be wise to develop some effective incentives for construction of new housing, otherwise we risk losing students, and future residents/workers...or perhaps the market will fix everything

[kgc087]

Originally Posted by SASKFTW

The government would be wise to develop some effective incentives for construction of new housing, otherwise we risk losing students, and future residents/workers...or perhaps the market will fix everything

The university is expecting a decline of 5000 students in enrollement over the next 5 years due to increased tuition and lack of housing. I was speaking to a buddy from Germany and he said that he only pays 800$ a year for tuition while here we can spend up to if not more then 7000$! I REALLY REALLY hope the university will follow a plan similar to the one submitted by the Vancouver firm. Thank goodness the university has strict architectural controls

The plans on the airport plan are what the airport is now, the third conveyor belt for luggage is behind the wall for international flights! Too bad they put that up, the airport would look so much larger without it there.

[kgc087]

Oh I see it, on page 25 the purple is the current building and the red is the proposed development. Maybe along the way with construction there will be a freak accident and all of the plastic plants will be horribly burned!

[joelpiecowye]

Originally Posted by kgc087

Wow is that the Queen's hotle, truely amazing, what happened to it? It would be really nice to see some the old buildings along 2nd ave revamped to their former glory.

it was destroyed in a fire in 1980, i was never around to see it unfortunately, does anyone happen to have any other photos of it(possibly color)?

[jaysfan99]

Remai should try to take some lessons from Meridian. This design is very impressive.
Projects like this will attract other developers to Saskatoon. It will show that there is a market for mix use developments in this city.

Too bad the Affinity Credit Union didn't do something similar on the corner of 22nd street and 1st Ave that was built last year.