Saskatoon Construction

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Morogolus

Reading the reader comments of the Star Phoenix and CBC whenever there's an article about the River Landing, you think they decided to move the landfill there. It just blows me away how much they complain about it. The only thing they seem to think the city's money should be spent on is snow removal and potholes. Ugh, it just annoys me...

Anyways, what is that thing they are building on the west side of RL? Like some kind of viewing platform?

Yes a viewing platform and stairway to a roadway above.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Out and about today, and noticed that they finally took that wooden/plastic cladding (not sure what the technical term would be) off the Gathercole arch in front of the Presephone Theater. I think it looks pretty nice.

I was starting to wonder if they were going to reveal them this year. The finished job does look very nice and the arches got to see their first Santa Claus parade today.
I should also note that a second arch will be installed on the east corner after parcel Y is developed.

[milanboy]

[QUOTE=Jerry;4572580]I was starting to wonder if they were going to reveal them this year. The finished job does look very nice and the arches got to see their first Santa Claus parade today./QUOTE]

I have to wonder why they rebuilt the arch with it's BACK to the downtown and front to the riverbank. It would be much more welcoming if it's front were to the entry point.

[kgc087]

[QUOTE=milanboy;4572586]

Originally Posted by Jerry

I was starting to wonder if they were going to reveal them this year. The finished job does look very nice and the arches got to see their first Santa Claus parade today./QUOTE]

I have to wonder why they rebuilt the arch with it's BACK to the downtown and front to the riverbank. It would be much more welcoming if it's front were to the entry point.

I think its supposed to be a "gateway" to downtown idea, so that would explain why the arches face the way they do.

[Echoes]

Regardless, the arch looks fantastic!

[dsim249]

Somehow stumbled across some renderings for a 'hypothetical' proposal for the Holy Family Cathedral of Saskatoon. I think I recall this being posted a year or two ago... But I think it's worth a second look. Very remarkable.











Source: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2008_07_01_archive.html

[Morogolus]

Big day boys, city council is meeting regarding the future of the River Landing project this afternoon plus we get to see if M. Lobsinger has the money and the Riders are off to the Grey Cup.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/River+Landing+megaproject+still+viable+mayor/2254896/story.html

I'm curious to see how badly city council is going to screw this up..

[midnightrambler]

Originally Posted by Morogolus

Big day boys, city council is meeting regarding the future of the River Landing project this afternoon plus we get to see if M. Lobsinger has the money and the Riders are off to the Grey Cup.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/River+Landing+megaproject+still+viable+mayor/2254896/story.html

I'm curious to see how badly city council is going to screw this up..

My solution to this is simple. If Lobsinger shows up with a check for the land council should proceed in selling to Lake Placid, if he doesn't then the project is dead.

The DCD guidelines really put a kink in this whole process, council has to agree with the development and then sell the land for said amount. So if someone else wants to buy the land they have to spend a couple million to simply propose a project knowing full well that council could reject the proposal and then be out 5 million in research, development, and architectural drawings. This could take another 3 years for a project to come foreward, and people will be disappointed when it isn't as grandoise, and looks like every other development in the city.

The private sector doesn't really operate like that. They buy land, they build what they want based upon the market.

This is what happens when government meddles into private development. Imposition, delay, authority, control, and in the end nothing much happening.

Council made a mistake in being to hasty to impose deadlines a mere 4 months after the project got fully approved.

I am pretty sure that this City's economy is set to explode again. So the market is going to dictate what happens around the city, and it is likely to be more housing and more suburban neighbourhoods.

[kiwi4life]

well jeeze, something has to happen now, i wanna know whats to happen with this project, i just want an answer now. i just wanna know whats going to happen, if its a go or not.

[kgc087]

I have a really REALLY good feeling that good old Lob will have the money. I hope he does, he really has an amazing vision which is rivaled by no one else in the nation! And yes I agree council will REALLY just screw the whole thing up, can you imagine another playground...it just equals disaster all over the place.

The alternative cathedral rendering is truly inspiring, there is something so moving about traditional religious architecture. AND the best part is, is that it prices out the same as the modern rendering.

Interesting stat I read in Verb today, 86% of Canadians want high speed trains (bullet) in the nation. Toronto alone wastes 3.3 billion in production due to traffic congestion. Would be very interesting to AND very convenient to have high speed rail!

[macca]

No Money For River Landing Yet
Lobsinger still wants in - City looks at options

Reported By Chris Carr
Posted November 23, 2009 - 5:54pm

Lake Placid Developer Michael Lobsinger has a number of reasons why Saskatoon City Council should stick with him, but he still doesn't have the $200 million in financing needed to shore up the deal. Lobsinger failed to follow through on last week's promise to deliver the $4.5 million at today's Executive Committee meeting.

But he says he's still commited to the project.

Lobsinger told the Committee Monday just one signature stands between him and the cash "I sound like a broken record but I could hear from my lawyer any hour. I check my damn email ... every hour because I'm anticipating this."

City administration meanwhile is ready to move on. It is recommending that City Council look at re-issuing the Request For Proposals on Parcel "Y". The committee wants adminstration to look at what the guildlines might be for re-issuing the request for proposals. That will take at least two weeks.

But after investing 8.4 million dollars, and more than two and a half years of his time, Lobsinger is not giving up. If another R-F-P is issued, Lobsinger says he will be re-submitting his proposal.

The City will also look at other options, such as dividing Parcel "Y" into smaller pieces.

http://www.newstalk650.com

[Kruzat]

hahah they keep posting this picture, and he just looks like such an idiot in it...gets me everytime.

Regardless, I'm going to be completely honest here. If Lob comes up with the money, which it 'sounds' like he can, then that great. If he has 200m then there isn't a reason why building this think won't happen. If he doesn't, then it sounds like the city isn't going to settle for some shit developement, they want something equal to what LP should be.

I'm not worried. Either way, it'll work. The city knows what parcel y means to the future of saskatoon, and I'm confident they won't mess it up.

[kiwi4life]

jeeze this is very tight, idk how this is gonna play out but def sounds like he could get it done, just seems really tight to me, and everything is well on the edge.

[milanboy]

Originally Posted by dsim249

Somehow stumbled across some renderings for a 'hypothetical' proposal for the Holy Family Cathedral of Saskatoon. I think I recall this being posted a year or two ago... But I think it's worth a second look. Very remarkable.
Source: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2008_07_01_archive.html

If only that were the one they are planning to build, rather than the rather dreary one there decided upon.

[Morogolus]

I know how much we're all following the LP deal. I thought this was a good read and after reading this all these delays completely make sense to me and the city would be stupid to delay the project any longer if the financing is secured. Here's the full text of Michael Lobsinger's letter to council from Monday, I apologize for the lenght.

Re: River Landing Project

I appreciate being invited to the Executive Committee of Council to provide an update on Lake Placid and the River Landing project. Lake Placid continues to await the final transfer of funds from its European Lenders. All appropriate approvals are in place and our leader advises us that it is awaiting one more signature for the transfer of funds to our Canadian Solicitors. $300 million USD is on deposit awaiting transfer. We appreciate the significant support from the City of Saskatoon and its Administration from the outset. It has enabled this important project to move to the point at which it sits today. I have attached a brief history of these events in schedule “A.”

As you can see from the schedule, Lake Placid actually began work on the project in March 2007, sixty days before the Request for Proposal was let. Our company has now invested 32 months of work on this project, as has the City of Saskatoon.

At the time of the RFP there were numerous levels and types of interest. It appeared to be a very competitive situation. However, including local developers, national developers and international letters of interest, when the time came to respond to the RFP, only one developer submitted a formal tender. That was Lake Placid.

From May 2007 until January 2009, with a sales agreement in place with the City of Saskatoon that incorporated the Development Permit and the Building Permit, Lake Placid went through the various stages of obtaining all of the approvals required. These included both internal and external approvals and permits.

At the time, Provincial legislation would not accommodate a development of this type. In February 2008, Lake Placid began working with two separate law firms in order to effect the necessary amendments to Provincial legislation that would accommodate this type of project. In effect, the City of Saskatoon had issued a Development Permit and a Building Permit for a project that did not meet Provincial legislative requirements. It became apparent after many months that the legislative amendments were not forthcoming through this avenue and so Lake Placid took on this responsibility directly.

In September 2008, Lake Placid approached the Ministry of Crown Corporations and explained the situation in great detail. As any amendment would require the involvement of the Ministry of Justice, Lake Placid worked with these Ministries, which resulted in the required change to legislation in May 2009. This legislative amendment has paved the way for future large-scale developments in Saskatchewan.

In May 2009, only six months ago, Lake Placid finally had all of the approvals seeded in order to approach financial institutions with respect to this project. Prior to that point, discussions had taken place with North American lenders but they would not look at any project seriously until the Provincial legislation was amended. Lake Placid, seeing that the global economic upheaval had significantly affected North American financial institutions, began negotiating with individual European investors. With the amended Provincial legislation in place as of May 2009, Lake Placid received a credit facility agreement for
$200 million USD. This was sufficient capital to complete the Saskatoon project. As we stated previously, that has been our goal from day one — to ensure our company had sufficient financing to complete the entire project.

On May 1, 2009, the manner in which the world’s banking operations worked fundamentally changed. Led by the United States, and adopted by all global banks, a program called FINTRAC was adopted. In effect, FINTRAC requires the movement of capital transferred between banks anywhere in the world to have a series of approvals.


Due to our credit facility being in U.S. dollars, approval was required from a lengthy list of entities. This included US Homeland Security, US Treasury Department, European Banking committees and more. Although Lake Placid had entered into a credit facility agreement, and funds were deposited, Lake Placid was awaiting the approvals related to this deposit being transferred
to Canada. All of the approvals are now in place, save for one signature, to
effect that transfer.

The City of Saskatoon has been understanding of Lake Placid’s situation and its ongoing work to have the committed project funds transferred in to Canada. Having said that, Lake Placid recognizes that it does not have a current agreement with the City of Saskatoon with respect to Parcel Y and adjacent lands in River Landing.

I have attached a synopsis of expenditures by Lake Placid on the River Landing project (Schedule “B” hereto attached). You will see that Lake Placid has not invested, in addition to our personnel resources over the past thirty-two months, in excess of $8.24 Million. Lake Placid sincerely appreciates the support it has been shown by the City of Saskatoon. We are also fully aware of the position in which global financial conditions have left the City and this project. Should City Council make the decision to start the process over again, it will likely mean another developer investing millions of dollars as well as months and/or years of time. That is just to get back to the point we are at today. Lake Placid does wish to reiterate that it remains our goal to develop a property that has been sitting vacant for many years into an outstanding project for the City of Saskatoon and its residents.

Lake Placid also reiterates to the City of Saskatoon that upon notice of the transit number, our company will be in a position to tender the appropriate amount of capital to close on the land under its original agreement. We will then proceed with shoring and excavation within thirty days. Importantly, with the notice of the transit number, the City of Saskatoon will know that the full allotment of capital needed to develop the project, in its entirety, is in hand. I apologize for all of the delays which have been beyond the control of Lake Placid. I fully intend to continue to pursue this project to the best of my
ability.

With this capital on its way to Lake Placid, our clearly stated preference for the use of these funds is the River Landing Project in Saskatoon. That was the case at the outset. It remains our clear preference today.

For all the reasons outlined in this letter, we ask the continued support of the City of Saskatoon. As members of the Executive Committee, you can be assured of our company’s commitment to this city and this project. You can also be assured of our commitment to keeping City Council informed about our progress as we move toward a successful conclusion of this process.

Thank you.
Yours truly,
LAKE PLACID GROUP OF COMPANIES
Michael E. Lobsinger

[gowest]

After reading Mr. Lobsinger's letter, one can understand why something of this size took so long to get into place. Any small developement would be a waste on that land. If the money is in place, let's get on with it and put Saskatoon as a leader in Canada.

[ninipanini]

Here's an H&M I walked past yesterday in Uppsala, Sweden... lol they're everywhere in Europe.

I really don't get what the big deal about this store is, as far as I can tell its just another chain... If there's something that Saskatoon lacks... it's UNIQUE stores with high quality clothing not something that can be found literally EVERYWHERE!

[Wyku]

"In effect, the City of Saskatoon had issued a Development Permit and a Building Permit for a project that did not meet Provincial legislative requirements. "

[kiwi4life]

Originally Posted by Wyku

"In effect, the City of Saskatoon had issued a Development Permit and a Building Permit for a project that did not meet Provincial legislative requirements. "

What!!!??? whats that for, im confused?

[kiwi4life]

Originally Posted by gowest

After reading Mr. Lobsinger's letter, one can understand why something of this size took so long to get into place. Any small developement would be a waste on that land. If the money is in place, let's get on with it and put Saskatoon as a leader in Canada.

Y i agree with u there