Developers plan landmark building
By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenixJanuary 29, 2009 8:01 AM
A property development group has plans to construct a signature building in the south downtown, including a 12-storey, $50-million tower.
Bruce Hull, president of Edgar Properties II Ltd., said Wednesday the project, named 275 Second, is comprised of two phases. The first, a 182,000-square-foot office tower with room for retail space on the main floor, will be connected to the second phase, a four- to five-storey building with retail and small office space, by a pedway system.
"We're really excited about this," Hull said. "The opportunity . . . to build what we think will be a signature building -- we think this will just set the whole downtown. We're going to have the look coming right off First Avenue that we can carry all the way down 20th Street and back up Second Avenue, and it will be there for a long, long time so we're very excited about it."
The tower is to be located at the northwest corner of 20th Street East and Second Avenue South, while Phase 2 will be at the northeast corner of 20th Street East and First Avenue South. Edgar Properties, which names local businessperson Vaughn Wyant as one of its directors, purchased the 275 Second property -- the longtime home of Folks Finer Furs -- last summer.
The project also includes the 450-stall parkade on First Avenue, a feature that gives Edgar a financial and strategic advantage to constructing the building, Hull said.
"Although the zoning downtown doesn't require parking, as in all major downtown centres, parking is a huge issue. So the parkade gives us the feasibility, I think, to build a building at a more reasonable price, especially in today's world because we won't have to dig down deep underground and build our own parking. It will enable us to build a building quite a bit quicker and quite a bit faster," he said.
Edmonton-based Hull said the first two floors of the tower will be 17,000 square-feet in size, with the remaining 10 stories each taking up 15,000 square feet of space. The Phase-2 building, meanwhile, will have more of a commercial edge.
"I'm sort of dreaming dreams here, you've got to do that once in a while, but we'd love to incorporate some sort of rooftop restaurant there or some neat signage because as you come on the off-ramp off of Idylwyld you're going to be right on main First Avenue, I think that's going to be high profile," he said.
However, Hull cautioned, the 275 Second project won't go ahead if tenants aren't interested in moving into the space. Edgar and Colliers McClocklin Real Estate Corp. will be launching a leasing program within the next 30 days, which will give the developers some idea of the interest in the site.
"It's pretty simple really, If I can get enough people interested in occupying a building, then we can build the building," he said.
Edgar feels Saskatchewan's resource sector is still strong enough to support new Class A office space, he said, although the company will proceed with caution.
"Two years ago, before the world changed dramatically, we probably could have done this all at once, now I think we just have to go carefully," Hull said of the two phases.
Keith Webb of Colliers McClocklin, the real estate representative for 275 Second, said the project will work to connect the downtown core together.
"This is a very exciting project for Saskatoon as it will bridge the city core and the River Landing project," Webb said.
If enough tenants sign up, construction on the tower will begin this summer. Phase 1 is expected to be complete by December 2010. Edgar says the project will be built to silver LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) building standards.
The tower would be the largest office building constructed in downtown Saskatoon since 1979.
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Saskatoon's urban evolution
How have we done so far? Where do we go from here?
The StarPhoenixJanuary 29, 2009
EDITOR'S NOTE: Saskatoon is at a critical point in its evolution.
Our suburbs are creeping relentlessly outward. Big box developments are multiplying. We're rapidly outgrowing our network of bridges and freeways. "Lofts" and "condos" are no longer words just associated with larger centres. People are moving downtown at a record pace. Redevelopment of the South Downtown -- more than three decades in the making -- is finally coming to fruition.
In short, Saskatoon is at the developmental tipping point and it's time to step back and take a look at where our city is at and consider where it is headed.
With 225,000 residents, Saskatoon's population is about where Calgary's was in 1959, so where better to turn for an outside perspective on our rapidly growing city than from an urban specialist from Calgary, a city that has already faced many of the issues that lie ahead for us.
Richard White, director of strategic initiatives with Riddell Kurczaba Architecture of Calgary, has written on art, architecture and urban culture for more than 20 years. He recently visited Saskatoon for the first time and was surprised and impressed with the city's strong urban character, as well as the plans for future development.
Documenting his observations and thoughts, White shared them with The StarPhoenix, and we will share them with you over the next two weeks in a series of guest commentaries.
It is hoped they will serve as a catalyst for discussion in our community regarding our collective vision for Saskatoon's urban evolution.
White's four-part series begins today, continues Friday and next Thursday, then wraps up Friday, Feb. 6.
SHARE YOUR VISION
We will follow-up this series with a package of ideas and comments from you, our readers, so we are asking you to share your thoughts on this important issue.
How do you feel about the way Saskatoon has developed so far? What do you like best? What do you dislike? What is missing? What could help turn Saskatoon into an "urban playground?" How do you feel about the city's art placement program? Is there a key developmental issue the city should be focusing upon? What is your vision for Saskatoon?
Please limit your responses to 200 words and e-mail them to:
[email protected];
or mail them to:
Saskatoon Development,
c/o The StarPhoenix
204 Fifth Ave. North
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 2P1
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OP-ED: Could we be Canada's next urban playground?
First in a four-part Series
By Richard White, Special to The StarPhoenixJanuary 29, 2009 10:01 A
First of a four-part series. White is director of strategic Initiatives with Riddell Kurczaba Architecture of Calgary. He can be reached at [email protected].
- - -
For the past 25 years, I have been visiting and studying cities -- particularly their city centres -- and what makes them tick. Over that time, I have developed an appreciation for the importance of the 3Ds -- design, diversity and density in creating a vibrant city centre.
I hope that you find my observations and comments constructive and encouraging as you work together to take your city to the next level.
Could Saskatoon be Canada's next urban playground? Maybe not on the same scale as Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary, but I believe Saskatoon's city centre could be the equivalent of a Halifax or a Victoria as a place for locals and tourists to play.
Why would a city and its people want an urban playground? Well, true urban playgrounds are not just for tourists; they are also places for locals to gather, celebrate, mix and mingle in a way that celebrates their sense of place.
It is not about being "like Victoria" or "like Halifax;" it is about expressing what is great about living in Saskatoon. It is about linking the past and the present with the future. It is about fun!
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting your fair city for the first time. I was most impressed with what I saw, as well as what I heard regarding plans for future urban developments.
Saskatoon is at a "tipping point" in its evolution as a city. Will it become just another typical North American, suburban-oriented city with a struggling downtown or will it become more of an urban playground with many people living, working and playing in the city centre?
What do I mean by "city centre", you ask? It is defined as all of the communities within a 30-minute walking distance to the centre of downtown.
Vision needs champions
To create the more vibrant urban playground option for Saskatoon, a vision of the kind of city Saskatonians want to live in is essential. This vision must be one that is shared by the public and politicians alike. Furthermore, this shared vision must have champions, leaders who can foster and facilitate its implementation over a long period of time.
One such champion I had an opportunity to meet and talk to was Mayor Don Atchison. I found him to be both a champion for urban vitality and man on a mission. I think he really "gets it" when he told me his goal was to have 10 per cent of Saskatonians living downtown.
While ambitious, given there are only about 3,000 people living there now, I think that if the geographic boundaries were expanded to include the entire city centre, it is an ambitious yet very feasible goal.
Increased density does not have to mean 30-storey condos and office towers. In fact, I think that would be a big mistake. Given Saskatoon is a winter city, the last thing one would want is to have a bunch of tall buildings blocking out the sun and creating wind tunnels.
Rather, what is needed is the design and positioning of buildings to capture the sun, as well as the creation of fewer, quality plazas and pocket parks that are sheltered and protected from the wind. This type of design is called horizontal density (in contrast to vertical density involving high buildings).
Horizontal density means clustering six- to 12-storey buildings in a way that minimizes the wasted space so typical in North American urban design. It means buildings linked more closely to the sidewalk rather than set back from the street with useless plazas, planters and otherwise "dead spaces" in front.
I believe Saskatoon's planned River Landing project is the right scale for the city and has the right mixture of uses needed for it to become a wonderful new anchor for the south side of downtown. As well, the redevelopment of the old railway lines would create a great opportunity for mixed-use urban development and create a grand entrance to the city centre from the airport.
Improved entrance needed
Entrances to a city centre are important since, for many visitors, they give that all-important first impression of a city. Currently, Saskatoon's city centre has no sense of arrival, and in fact, anyone driving would think that the downtown is just another suburban shopping mall in Anywhere, North America.
In fact, my first impression was it being a huge surface parking lot for The Bay, Sears, Toys R Us and the backside of the Midtown Mall and Galaxy Cinemas. It looked like a power centre or Big Box development that I would see at the outer edge of Edmonton or Calgary. It was certainly not an impression that invited me to stop and explore.
I was pleased to learn that discussions are underway for a major redevelopment of 25th Street with a connection to Idylwyld Drive. I think this is a catalytic opportunity to create a great new anchor at the northwest corner of the city's downtown. I also was pleased to hear of plans for a new library, new police headquarters, maybe even a new events centre or art gallery. All of these are interesting ideas.
As you move forward, I encourage you to think BIG and dare to be different in designing this space. After all, one only gets to do something like this every 50 years.
At the same time, don't let the magnitude of this opportunity overwhelm, as there will never be a perfect plan, only a right one for Saskatoon. Don't get bogged down in endless discussion, consultation and the all-too-frequent "paralysis of analysis."
(Part 2 Friday: Ideas on creating a unique sense of place for Saskatoon, through architecture, public art, and character districts.)
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