Station 20 West short on cash
Project requires $1.25 million before construction can start
By Lana Haight, The StarPhoenix August 14, 2009
Construction of an inner-city grocery store at Station 20 West is on hold while organizers work to raise more money to build the facility.
"It's better to have all the money in hand," said Station 20 West Community Enterprise Centre project manager Paul Wilkinson.
"We have enough to put the foundation in, but would it be prudent to do that without having the money for the rest of the building?"
On Monday, Saskatoon city councillors will be asked to pass a motion that would prohibit city administration from issuing a building permit until "a complete and verifiable capital plan is presented in confidence to the satisfaction of city council," says a report written by a city administrator.
Wilkinson says his group is not being singled out, but that he's been told this will be the city's standard practice for private-sector projects from now on.
"They want to be sure all the money is in place to finish a project before it's started. We're not unhappy about this," said Wilkinson, who is confident the remaining $1.25 million will be raised within the next few months.
The future of the Station 20 West Community Enterprise Centre was put in jeopardy last year when the Saskatchewan Party government withdrew an $8-million funding commitment made by the previous NDP administration. That sent supporters of the project back to the drawing board.
The centre, which would include a co-operative grocery store, a community kitchen, a large multipurpose room and offices for community organizations, has been redesigned for a second time and is now expected to cost about $5 million to build.
Three organizations have agreed to provide long-term interest-free loans totalling $550,000.
Another $1.2 million has been donated or pledged by "serious" organizations that Wilkinson would not name at their request, and the centre's board expects to qualify for a $2-million loan.
That leaves $1.25 million to be raised before spring, which is when Wilkinson now hopes construction on the 29,000-square-foot building will start.
But the delay in construction means city council will need to extend a deadline for the ground-breaking from this fall to the fall of 2010. The city sold the land to the centre's board for $1 with the understanding that if construction did not start within a set time, the city would buy back the land.
Those behind the project are hoping for a large contingent of supporters to come out to Monday's council meeting when councillors will also discuss the extension.
"Your attendance is really appreciated to demonstrate the depth of community support. Please bring friends," says an e-mail being circulated this week by Child Hunger and Education Program, one of the prospective tenants of the centre.
"We will greet you with . . . Station 20 West buttons on hand for you to wear at the (meeting)."
The Station 20 West presenters will also ask council to endorse the inner-city project and support the fundraising efforts as they go to government, corporations and other sectors of the economy. The fundraising drive will take on a higher profile this fall with the launch of a campaign, said Wilkinson.
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River Landing budget balloons by $6.3 million
By David Hutton, The StarPhoenix August 14, 2009
The budget for River Landing has gone up for the second time this year, with city council to consider a $6.3-million increase to the project Monday to cover construction increases.
The extra costs deal primarily with the riverfront area of River Landing Phase 2, west of Idylwyld Drive. The west riverfront area, to be completed by late 2011, will include a pedestrian bridge, landscaping and trails, a small boat dock and cleanup of the former A.L. Cole pumphouse.
The city is banking on recovering the cost overruns through the increased value of the land it is selling in the area, reducing the impact on taxpayers, said Sandi Schultz, the city's manager of special projects. The value of city-owned parcels of land, including the A.L. Cole site and the land parallel to the Idylwyld bridge slated for a restaurant and an apartment complex, has increased according to a new appraisal, a city report says.
The total revenue from land sales adds up to more than $15 million, including the Ecovillage sustainable housing development and Lake Placid's $200-million River Landing Village, which the city still hasn't secured payment for.
"The additional cost will be covered by land sales," Schultz said.
A $3.6-million contract to complete pedestrian links to Avenue B and Avenue C, a retaining wall, irrigation and landscaping requires an extra $2 million. An extra $2.3 million is required to complete work to remove the existing lift station, build the west boat dock and install the sewer line fed by the lift station, a city report says.
"The costs are required to complete the plan as it was designed several years ago," said Coun. Charlie Clark. "Since we're part of the way there I don't think we have a lot of choice.
". . . A lot of the amenities that are required there are pretty essential to finishing the plan that has been pre-determined for some time. It's hard to go back from what that overall design is."
If the city is unable to sell the land, the replacement of the lift station and the construction of the boat dock and the east pedestrian route would be delayed, the report says.
The increase, if approved by council, would bring the total capital cost of River Landing, originally budgeted around $35 million, to $66 million, funded through provincial and federal grants, land sales and city borrowing. The cost increases during the past five years are linked to rising construction costs and unforeseen land contamination and environmental cleanup, Schultz said.
Elsewhere at River Landing, the fences around the small Isinger Park off Avenue C came down last weekend, Schultz said.
City officials have presented their business case to the federal government to retain funding for the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, which is slated to become the area's "destination centre" on the Persephone Theatre site, but they haven't heard any feedback yet on the plan.
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