Saskatoon Construction

[gowest]

Originally Posted by newflyer

Why develop in a square?? ... wouldn't a circle make all the outer limits equally as close to the centre?

A circle makes sense, that's why Saskatoon planners won't think of it.

[shmakim]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Can anyone think of any others?

The only Fuddruckers in Canada.

[dsim249]

Originally Posted by shmakim

The only Fuddruckers in Canada.

Ohh good one. I love Fudds!

[lbird]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Open+bids+recommended+River+Landing+site/2244706/story.html

Ken Achs, president of Mid-West Development Corp., wrote a letter to council questioning the legitimacy of the project's financing, the city's previous decisions to extend deadlines for Lake Placid and "emphatically setting a drop-dead date (that) it appears you may go back on."

"What will happen if this condo-hotel-office development is over-budget and partly built?" he wrote. "The city needs to get more realistic expectations if it wants to encourage real development."

His company has made three different proposals on the site that "were more practical than grandiose," but has no more interest in developing there, Achs said in an interview Thursday.



The voice of reason. Lake Placid has shown themselves to be about as credible as Bernie Madoff. After that Cyprus financing bullshit, the city should have run away at the speed of light. If I was a private investor looking at Lake Placid's history of lies and failures, I would *never* give them my money, and neither should the city, which would be on the hook for hundreds of millions if the River Landing deal fell apart like so many big projects have in North America over the last few years.

[midnightrambler]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Hahah. I have to admit, I kind of like that McDonalds. Although I've only been inside once... In all my travels, I've never come across another Walk-Thru McDonalds. I'm sure they exist somewhere else (or maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention to the McDonalds to notice one), but to me, it's just another funny Saskatoon quirk.

A few other funny Saskatoon quirks:

- Giant bust of Mahatma Gandhi in downtown, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
- Saskatoon Bus Stop Refreshments, our lovely British double decker bus downtown.
- The Victoria Bridge (or Traffic bridge, or whatever it's officially called now),
Which is hilarious to drive on with an out-of-towner, as they are usually terrified that they're going to hit oncoming traffic or ram into the guard rails.

Can anyone think of any others?

I remember when the Gordie Howe statue was infront of toys R us, well kind of the greeting to the parkade.. But they moved it out to Credit Union Centre, and it looks great there now.

[kiwi4life]

Originally Posted by jas321

Our growth has been steady the past few years, but nothing extraordinary. I think the city has us pegged around 400,000 by 2025. A significant addition, but not enough to warrant us as 'the new Calgary'.

mhm, i see, still very good for saskatoon, things are gonna change quite a bit. Cool, thanks.

[kiwi4life]

Originally Posted by gowest

It's time the city planners looked at their map and realize that it is folded at Idywyld Drive. The constant movement east is going to destroy the city. Saskatoon used to be called the HUB city as it serviced all of Saskatchewan. The planners should go back to that name so the downtown is the hub. I am surprised that downtown business people don't realize that the more the city moves east, the less people will want to come to the downtown area. Unless a city has mountains or lakes next to it, there is no reason it shouldn't develope in a square. That way it will always have a vibrant hub. How is the so called westside every going to change when the city itself keeps pushing it away and ignoring it. The planning department might as well build their office in Willowgrove, then they will be central. Wake up City Hall, there are four directions on a compass.

wait a minute, didnt, we hear something bout the city, they also wanted to develop... i think new neighbourhoods in the west or something???... there was something im pretty sure, does anyone know???

[shmakim]

Another quirk of Saskatoon: The very first Real Canadian Superstore debuted on 8th St in Saskatoon under the name SuperValu. I remember it being received as a heavy-handed business installation cause they dropped extra money for underground parking (for a grocery store!!!) and paid for the traffic lights out front. Isn't there still a "SuperValu" in Martinsville?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Canadian_Superstore

[midnightrambler]

Originally Posted by kiwi4life

wait a minute, didnt, we hear something bout the city, they also wanted to develop... i think new neighbourhoods in the west or something???... there was something im pretty sure, does anyone know???

Blairmore is the west development. I think it is slated to be pretty big. There is a lot of development going on the west side as well. Just not as much as the east side. I'd say it's a 65-35 east-west side development split right now, but it will likely narrow with the Blaimore development and the new neighborhoods. Hampton Village is growing at a good rate currently, could be a finished area in 2-3 years.

[drm310]

I agree. It seems that council has been so desperate to get something built as a legacy project, they will bend over backwards to accommodate Lake Placid. It's disgusting when they will consider breaking their own rules just to push a risky project through.

Meridian has a proven track record of planning and finishing developments that are appropriate for the market they're in. I can understand why Ken Achs is uninterested in pursuing any work in River Landing, given council's hell-bent determination to have a showpiece building, no matter the cost.

I hope this kind of attitude doesn't discourage Meridian from doing more good work in the future. Looks like they're committed to the U of S residences, thankfully.

Originally Posted by lbird

The voice of reason. Lake Placid has shown themselves to be about as credible as Bernie Madoff. After that Cyprus financing bullshit, the city should have run away at the speed of light. If I was a private investor looking at Lake Placid's history of lies and failures, I would *never* give them my money, and neither should the city, which would be on the hook for hundreds of millions if the River Landing deal fell apart like so many big projects have in North America over the last few years.

[midnightrambler]

Originally Posted by drm310

I agree. It seems that council has been so desperate to get something built as a legacy project, they will bend over backwards to accommodate Lake Placid. It's disgusting when they will consider breaking their own rules just to push a risky project through.

Meridian has a proven track record of planning and finishing developments that are appropriate for the market they're in. I can understand why Ken Achs is uninterested in pursuing any work in River Landing, given council's hell-bent determination to have a showpiece building, no matter the cost.

I hope this kind of attitude doesn't discourage Meridian from doing more good work in the future. Looks like they're committed to the U of S residences, thankfully.

I think we all agree that that the Lake Placid development, if completed, would be a great addition to the city. I think that their portrayl as being sketchy is only partly warranted... If Lobsinger shows up with a cheque for the land, I think the city should proceed with the development. I'd just hate to see another 3 years of planning. I'd say that the government is partly responsible for this debacle as per usual, and of course the credit crunch has affected developments all over the world so that is not suprising either.

[lbird]

Originally Posted by midnightrambler

Blairmore is the west development. I think it is slated to be pretty big. There is a lot of development going on the west side as well. Just not as much as the east side. I'd say it's a 65-35 east-west side development split right now, but it will likely narrow with the Blaimore development and the new neighborhoods. Hampton Village is growing at a good rate currently, could be a finished area in 2-3 years.

Most of the fast-growing commuter towns are on the west side of the river (e.g. Warman, Martensville, Langham, Viscount), so if you take the whole CMA into account, it's about 50-50 growth on each side of the river. One possible wrinkle is that if and when the proposed new north bridge gets built it may be easier for the bedroom-commuterites to drive to the University Heights/Preston Crossing big box locations than to downtown.

[lbird]

Originally Posted by socialisthorde

There are a lot of places to get a decent food downtown for the cost of a big mac meal. There is a donut shop (Robins?) in the STC terminal. In addition, there is Ding Dong on 21st, the food fair in Midtown, the wrap place on 2nd. Cafe Sola makes great meals for under ten bucks and there is a great mom and pop greasy spoon on 2nd a couple of blocks north of 25th.

I would take a $3 burger from centrally located McDonalds over all of those except the food court, although I'm not sure why A&W or Subway is any classier than McDonald's. One place you and I missed was Pita Pit which is cheap and reasonably good. You can also get good burritos and other stuff from the Sous Chef on 2nd for $7 (my favourite), although I'm not really full unless I buy a bit more from there, which ruins the cheapness.

[Wyku]

Originally Posted by shmakim

Another quirk of Saskatoon: The very first Real Canadian Superstore debuted on 8th St in Saskatoon under the name SuperValu. I remember it being received as a heavy-handed business installation cause they dropped extra money for underground parking (for a grocery store!!!) and paid for the traffic lights out front. Isn't there still a "SuperValu" in Martinsville?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Canadian_Superstore

From what I remember, SuperValu was in the old location where the wholesale club is and Superstore opened at it's current location, but it was awhile ago and I was quite young at the time heh.

[Jerry]

This great weather is allowing the crews to continue work on River Landing.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by kiwi4life

wait a minute, didnt, we hear something bout the city, they also wanted to develop... i think new neighbourhoods in the west or something???... there was something im pretty sure, does anyone know???

Check out the projected growth plan. It appears the west side may get a few new neighbourhood's.

Projected Growth Plan

[kiwi4life]

Alright thanks guys!

[kiwi4life]

does anyone know when the new south bridge is slated to start construction, and who mayby building it???

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by lbird

I would take a $3 burger from centrally located McDonalds over all of those except the food court, although I'm not sure why A&W or Subway is any classier than McDonald's. One place you and I missed was Pita Pit which is cheap and reasonably good. You can also get good burritos and other stuff from the Sous Chef on 2nd for $7 (my favourite), although I'm not really full unless I buy a bit more from there, which ruins the cheapness.

The Sous Chef in the KG is definitely a must try and becoming my favorite as well.

[Regina Boi]

Originally Posted by Jerry

This great weather is allowing the crews to continue work on River Landing.

I had a chance to check out River Landing this fall, and it looks great. I wish Regina had something like that. Saskatoon is very lucky!