Proposed downtown tower green technology showcase
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Saskatoon's next downtown landmark will be one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city.
Stoneset Equities has proposed a 28-storey tower with condos, rentals and assisted-living units on what's currently the police station parking lot. CEO Tony Argento said he wants to go beyond LEED certification -- the recognized green construction standard.
That means enough green features to make David Suzuki weep -- rooftop gardens, reusing water, large atriums and power cogeneration.
Rob Dumont, a retired mechanical engineer with the Saskatchewan Research Council and currently a researcher of energy-efficient buildings, said more single-family homes are being built with the environment in mind. The Stoneset tower, however, would be one of the first such multi-family buildings, along with the planned Eco-village in River Landing.
"I find it very encouraging that people are going to the extra details with that building," said Dumont, who's not associated with the Stoneset project.
COGENERATION
The Stoneset building will produce its own power.
"It's basically a generator that will run off either natural gas or biodiesel," Argento said. "The heat is recovered while the generator is producing electricity. It's multi-functional. You're only paying for one source of fuel, rather than paying for (electricity) and natural gas."
SaskPower's grid would be a backup system, Argento said. Stoneset wants to talk with the Crown about the potential for selling excess power to SaskPower.
The Cory potash mine uses cogeneration to supply its own power and heat, Dumont said.
"That would definitely be a first for a multi-family building," he said.
GREY WATER RECOVERY
The water used to wash clothes and dishes and bathe in will be reused in flushing toilets and irrigating gardens.
"For flushing toilets, you don't need potable water," Dumont said. The water would likely require some treatment before it's reused or the organic material could produce an odour, he said.
NATURAL LIGHT
Windows in every unit and three multi-storey atriums reduce the need for electricity.
"Our goal is to use 50 per cent (of the power) a building that size would normally produce," Argento said. "Normally when you build a box, two sides of it don't get sunshine."
ROOFTOP GARDENS
The terraced design could leave room for four or five rooftop gardens, capturing rainwater and greening up the building. The recent addition to the University of Saskatchewan college of law building has a rooftop garden.
Gardens are more than cosmetic.
In the summer, a garden keeps the roof cool, so less heat gets into the building, Dumont said. By soaking up rainwater, there's less strain on the storm sewer system.
The environmental bells and whistles are subject to final cost estimates, Argento said.
The three groups behind the project -- the City of Saskatoon, Lighthouse Supported Living and the Sask. Housing Corp. -- have not signed an agreement with Stoneset. However, Stoneset's proposal is the only one under consideration, said Larry Chaykowski, executive director of housing program operations for the corporation.
The three groups are studying the building design while the city conducts environmental testing on the police parking site. It was formerly used as a gun range and automotive shop.
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Building mixes condos, low-income rentals
Concept has worked in other western cities
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Stoneset Equities' proposed tower will be unique in ways beyond its friendliness to the environment.
It will be an unlikely combination of shelter beds, assisted living units, market rental suites and condos starting at around $300,000.
Condo owners and renters wouldn't necessarily cross paths often with clients of Lighthouse Supported Living, who have long-term disabilities or are living on low incomes. The tower would consist of three buildings separated by a courtyard. Lighthouse clients will have separate entrances and elevators than renters and condo owners.
"We're confident it will work," said Tony Argento, CEO of Stoneset Equities. "It's when you have them all integrated that I would see it being a problem, but they're physically separate. It's no different from having those projects in separate buildings on the same block.
"It'll be interesting to see how it gets received."
If the project proceeds, Lighthouse clients will be housed on the main floor and two levels facing Fourth Avenue.
Placing clients with low incomes or long-term disabilities in the same building as condo buyers is unique for Saskatchewan, but it's been done in Calgary and Vancouver, said Larry Chaykowski, executive director of housing program operations for the Saskatchewan Housing Corp.
The tower would also be unique as one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Downtown buildings are restricted in height to 76 metres or less, which generally equates to 25 storeys. With lower ceilings, 28 storeys could fit too, said Randy Grauer, the city's manager of development services. The reasoning behind the height restriction is that much of downtown's airspace is the flight path.
The police parking lot where the Stoneset tower would be built is outside the flight path.
Argento hasn't ruled out applying for a city variation that would allow Stoneset to build as high as it wants. But that would delay construction, he said.
"I know the mayor wants to go for height. But it will all come down to timing."
Stoneset's design includes 270 parking stalls in four underground levels, subject to geotechnical surveys. One-hundred of those will be used by police vehicles.
There is a small amount of commercial space planned for the main floor, but the building doesn't have room for a grocery store, Argento said. Two levels of office space will face 23rd Street.
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City forced to provide housing: Heidt
Rod Nickel, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008
If you were watching Monday's city council meeting on TV, you didn't hear Coun. Pat Lorje wrong.
That was Lorje, a former NDP cabinet minister and one of council's left-of-centre voices, uttering these words: "I think we should let the market decide."
Lorje was opposing a new type of zoning that combines residential development with stores and services. The idea is to build such things in clusters to limit the need for residents to drive to other areas, thus reducing the toll on the environment. So far, so good.
But Lorje, like four other councillors, objected to the zoning's exclusion of movie theatres, which the city wants built downtown or in other established areas.
"It seems like we're singling out cinemas," Lorje said. "We let the market decide on everything else."
Lorje's defence of the free market wasn't the only twist in council's debate over the proper place for theatres.
Coun. Charlie Clark spoke passionately in favour of the environment-friendly zoning, then voted against it, causing a tie vote and killing the plan.
Rainbow Cinemas owner Tom Hutchinson, the soft-spoken Edmontonian who refurbished the Roxy Theatre, also drew some surprised looks and titters from councillors.
Manager of development services Randy Grauer had defended the city's efforts to keep "entertainment districts" to certain areas.
"If you scatter these far willy-nilly, you have a less successful community," Grauer said.
When Hutchinson got his turn to speak, he responded: "Since when are movies high culture? I don't think they are."
Maybe not, but as anyone who has tried to park near the Galaxy Theatre knows, there's no form of entertainment more popular in this town. Which was probably Hutchinson's point all along.
ROXY SURVIVING
Fear not for the future of Riversdale's beautifully restored Roxy Theatre, its owner says. The historic cinema scaled back screenings to Thursday through Sunday last year.
As anyone who's been inside knows, the Roxy may be the most unique theatre in Western Canada. But it's in a tough neighbourhood and gets the cinema crumbs left by the 12-screen Galaxy.
All of that simply means it will take a creative approach to keep the lights on, Hutchinson said in an interview.
"I think it will be there long after I'm dead," he said. "We're really enjoying experimenting with its status as an event venue. We're holding all sorts of meetings, special screenings, independent music releases, independent video releases.
"As far as a commercial cinema, it isn't. At any one time, Galaxy can take every movie there is. So we have to find alternate things that people want to come and see."
CITY GETS INTO HOUSING
Housing developers, that warmth you feel is Coun. Myles Heidt lighting a fire underneath you.
City council approved Monday the creation in principle of a housing corporation to provide entry-level housing to working people of moderate incomes or families trying to get into their first home. The housing corporation's creation is conditional on a financial plan to be drafted by Deloitte Touche.
Heidt said he's already taken one phone call questioning why the city is getting into housing development.
"If the private sector doesn't build it, government has to. The message is stop talking about it, stop studying it, start building it," he said.
The city's entry-level housing model would be similar to a traditional landlord-tenant rental agreement, but tenants could accumulate equity in exchange for doing minor repairs and yard work. The city would maintain ownership of the housing, but tenants could gain enough equity to enter the open market.
MORE EYES ON DRIVERS
Saskatoon drivers are getting used to red-light cameras. Now there are left-turn cameras being installed at College Drive and Preston Avenue.
The city and SGI are spending $190,000 to improve safety at the intersection, where there have been 209 collisions between 2001-05. Almost half of the crashes involved left turns.
To fix the problem, the city is building slot left-turn bays for College in both directions. Each bay will have a camera detecting when traffic is building up waiting to turn.
There are already left-turn lanes and signals at the intersection. After the project is complete, narrow medians will separate left-turning drivers from through traffic.
Coun. Glen Penner questioned why city administrators don't simply flash left-turn signals at every cycle and save the money.
"Most of the accidents are caused by people racing to get through before the next (signal) movement," Penner said.
More frequent left-turn signals would slow traffic down, said Murray Totland, general manager of infrastructure services.
PROPERTY VALUES SOARING
With properties of virtually all types soaring in value, the city is bracing for the inevitable perception that it's reassessing properties to grab more tax dollars.
Trouble with that theory is the city's tax policy states reassessment is revenue neutral. So now that residential property and condos have increased an average of 33 per cent, council would have to reduce its tax rate by the same percentage as a starting point in setting taxes.
A change in a property owner's tax depends on whether his or her assessment change is higher or lower than the average for other properties.
The city is required by provincial law to reassess property every four years. The reassessment taking effect next year is based on estimated market values from June 30, 2006.
Ward 2, which includes Pleasant Hill, Montgomery and Riversdale, has seen a 17 per cent property value increase. Values have risen 39 per cent in Ward 6, which includes downtown, Nutana and University of Saskatchewan.
GOING CONDO
Condo conversions were approved conditionally Monday for 601 Lansdowne Ave. and 1919 22nd St. West. The owner of the 22nd Street property, Alla Loukian, promised to offer 36-month leases at market rent to longtime tenants and two-year leases to the other tenants.
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RNickel 6/11/08 can you leave the bold names in please?
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
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Answers coming for McNab Park residents: manager
Hannah Scissons, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008
The main question McNab Park residents have -- when must they move out -- will be answered, and soon, says the property manager for the neighbourhood.
Gilbert Dobroskay, president of Guardian Commercial Real Estate Services, said all McNab residents will be receiving notices as quickly as possible this month with the dates they'll have to vacate their homes.
On Tuesday, about 100 people attended an information meeting about the redevelopment of McNab Park but were left frustrated when many of their questions weren't fully addressed.
An unnamed Calgary investment group that purchased the property in late March is working on plans to redevelop McNab Park into a mix of office space and hotels. The proposal fits into the airport industrial local area plan, adopted by city council in 2003.
"We're going to be putting a letter out and explaining exactly what's going on, and how it's going to take place." Dobraskay said Wednesday. "That should resolve the question of 'when,' because that's what everyone's been asking, is 'when.' "
By today, Dobraskay said Guardian would be delivering notices to the first group of tenants in the 10 sixplexes that are going to be moved to the Fairhaven neighbourhood in stages in September, October and November. The buildings are being renovated by Innovative Residential, which will then put the units up for sale as entry-level condos.
The remaining residents of the single-family homes and duplexes at McNab will get notices later this month with the dates they'll have to vacate the buildings, which will likely be in the early months of 2009. By the end of April, all the residents are going to be out of the park, said Dobraskay.
He acknowledged clear information wasn't delivered to residents Tuesday night. The person fielding questions there was Gord Anderson, a representative of the numbered company of Calgary investors that is the new owner of McNab Park.
"I apologize to some of the tenants. It was a tough position to put (Anderson) in, but they seemed to be wanting to focus on having one of the owners respond to the tenants and it didn't kind of work out," said Dobraskay.
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