Saskatoon Construction

[Jerry]

SP Business article on Porsche coming to Saskatoon....Porsche sign city is 'growing up'....

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Temperance

Hope that they make the designs public at an early stage and solicit feedback.

Looks like that won't be happening.

"The city decided not to go with a design competition where artist renderings are brought out to the public for feedback before the winning firm is selected."
Source

[Jerry]

The five shortlisted firms for the architectural design team for the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan and their websites.


1- Portland - Allied Works

1- Saskatoon - Downing Henry Architects


2 - Calgary - Gibbs Gage Architects

2 - Los Angeles - Frederick Fisher Architects


3 - Toronto - KPMB

3 - Winnipeg - Smith Carter


4- Winnipeg - Number Ten Architectural Group

4- Saskatoon - Klypac Rusick

4- Toronto - Diamond and Schmitt


5- Toronto - Teeple Architects

5 - Saskatoon - P3A

.
.

[Temperance]

Originally Posted by Jerry

Looks like that won't be happening.

"The city decided not to go with a design competition where artist renderings are brought out to the public for feedback before the winning firm is selected."
Source

Hmm. I was a bit confused about that whole thing. Seems you are right though. That is unfortunate but, on the bright side, at least they have some good firms competing so maybe the design will be a good one.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Temperance

Hmm. I was a bit confused about that whole thing. Seems you are right though. That is unfortunate but, on the bright side, at least they have some good firms competing so maybe the design will be a good one.

Yes I agree it's unfortunate but judging by some of the work on the websites I trust we are in good hands.
I'm really excited to see what they come up with.

[Morogolus]

At least North Ridge isn't one of the companies putting a bid in.

[Jerry]

Four firms remain in running for AGS design


By davidhutton Wed, Apr 28 2010

Filed under: Art Gallery of Saskatchewan
The list of remaining architects bidding to design the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is down to four after local firm Friggtad Downing Henry Architects, who designed City Hospital, pulled out of the competition, meaning their joint submission with Portland-based Allied Works, who designed the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, won't go forward.

The remaining groups are: Calgary-based Gibbs Gage Architects with Los Angeles-based Frederick Fisher Architects: Toronto-based KPMB with Winnipeg-based Smith Carter: Winnipeg’s Number Ten Architectural Group with Saskatoon’s Klypac Rusick and Toronto-based Diamond and Schmitt; and, finally, Toronto-based Teeple Architects with Saskatoon-based P3 Architecture.

Source

[ninipanini]

Heard some great news on the CBC on the way home from work this afternoon! There's going to be some major upgrades made to the airport. The airport manager was commenting that direct weekly flights to to a destination in Europe was his next destination goal for YXE.

Here's the story from cbc.ca/sask:

"Starting next year, the Saskatoon Airport will embark on an $85-million, decade-long upgrade, officials said Wednesday.

The expansion has long been in the planning stages, but the timing has been moved ahead four years in response to growing numbers of passengers, reporters were told at a news conference.

Airport manager Bill Restall said despite the recession, passenger volumes in Saskatoon went up six per cent last year.

"It is just a tremendous, tremendous opportunity for us to do this. Three or four years earlier than what I would have thought we were going to do it," he said. "But it's the right thing for us to do."

The improvement project will start with a major addition to the back side of the terminal building.

A pier-shaped extension will provide more spots for aircraft to pull up to, more space for passenger gates and boarding areas and places for travelers to shop, eat and drink after they get through security.

"It will give us the flexibility. It will give us the customer service. It will give us the amenities that we as a community want," Restall said.

Later phases of the expansion will include additional parking and more work on the runways. Another goal, Restall said, is to start direct service to Europe.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/04/28/sk-airport-upgrade-1004.html#ixzz0mRUNGEcC"



Here's some information from an airport press release, from yxe.ca:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15, 2010

SASKATOON AIRPORT AUTHORITY – MARCH PASSENGER VOLUMES CONTINUES UPWARD TREND!

Saskatoon, SK: Air Travel in Saskatoon for the month of March and the 1st quarter of 2010 continue to set new records. March traffic at the airport grew by 5.6% over 2009 and at 101,926 it marks the 4th consecutive month to surpass 100,000 passengers. January and February of 2010 also reported record traffic.

For the most part, the winter charter season was over at the end of March with passenger usage up by more than 20% in this segment. Saskatchewan, domestic and transborder travel all contributed to the growth with all segments in 2009 seeing an increase. Year-to-date passenger traffic is up 6% versus the first quarter of 2009.

“It’s great to see this growth trend continue”, comments Bill Restall, President & CEO, “but it is even greater to see our air carriers continue to respond with service that meets the needs of this community.”

Delta Airlines added an additional daily departure to Minneapolis at the beginning of April – now bringing three daily departures to that hub. United Airlines continues its daily flight to Chicago but will alter times in June to accommodate an early morning departure and evening arrival. In May, Air Canada’s existing flight to Ottawa will offer (same plane) service direct to Halifax.

Plans for the pending terminal renovation will be unveiled at the upcoming Annual Meeting April 28th. Terminal expansion is scheduled for summer of 2011 and will see significant expansion “post security” with additional retail, food and beverage services as well as an expanded passenger waiting area. "

Cheers to a better airport!

[kgc087]

Wow what exciting news for YXE! This is an amazing opportunity for the airport and Saskatoon. It will really establish our city as a major hub of western Canada. Maybe connections from Vancouver will even stop in Saskatoon?! For the AGOS I think the design is going to be exceptional. It will prob be incredibly modern and use lots of glass steel and wood. I'm really hoping for some deconstructivism to happen b/c I think it will compliment Persephone quite nicely.

[kiwi4life]

Originally Posted by kgc087

Wow what exciting news for YXE! This is an amazing opportunity for the airport and Saskatoon. It will really establish our city as a major hub of western Canada. Maybe connections from Vancouver will even stop in Saskatoon?! For the AGOS I think the design is going to be exceptional. It will prob be incredibly modern and use lots of glass steel and wood. I'm really hoping for some deconstructivism to happen b/c I think it will compliment Persephone quite nicely.

yup i absolutely agree with u there, i definately think that the airport expansion is going to be a major thing for saskatoon, and i definately means alot to the city

[dsim249]

More about the airport and the ridiculous taxi fiasco.

Saskatoon airport expansion ahead of schedule; cab dispute continues


By Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix April 28, 2010 10:02 PM



Plans for a multimillion-dollar terminal expansion were unveiled Wednesday for Saskatoon’s airport, but a long-standing issue grounded visions of the facility’s future look.

Comfort Cabs staged a demonstration outside of the John G. Diefenbaker International Airport minutes before the Saskatoon Airport Authority (SAA) convened its annual meeting inside the building at 10 a.m. About 20 cars circled the airport lot several times as an expression of the company’s desire to serve the facility.

“I would like to be able to have cars here and ready and waiting,” said Ken Yuzik, Comfort Cabs’ general manager.

The company could have been involved in a contract to provide taxi service at the airport had the city’s taxi businesses submitted a joint-submission to the SAA when the authority called for tenders last year, said Bill Restall, the SAA’s president and CEO.

Instead, United Blueline was awarded a 10-year contract in August to serve the airport. Restall defended the contract decision again Wednesday, saying the SAA did not receive a joint submission and United’s offer met the airport’s needs.

“The idea was for them to get together and make a joint proposal and therefore they (would) have resolved it themselves and I can hold them accountable,” Restall said. “It’s like a forced marriage — if I force the marriage it’s not going to work. If they decide to pursue it as a workable business entity, that’s a different matter.”

Restall said there is a provision in the contract with United for the authority to make changes to better serve the public. Restall said the contract might be revisited when the city releases the results and recommendations from a taxi service study it commissioned last year.

Comfort taxis are often called to pick up passengers at the airport when there aren’t enough United cabs available during peak times at the facility, Restall said.

Comfort cabs cannot park in the taxi stand reserved for United, SAA officials explained at the meeting. However, like any other vehicle, Comfort taxis can wait for calls in the airport’s cellphone parking lot, as well as dropoff and pickup zones near the terminal.

Yuzik said a contract to serve the airport would help Comfort drivers make a better living and provide the ground transportation the facility needs.

“We’re hoping after today there will be a little more open discussion on doing something and making some changes,” Yuzik said.

Meanwhile, the SAA is moving ahead with its terminal expansion plans four years early, Restall announced. Once expected to start in 2015, work to extend and upgrade the facility will begin in early 2011 and run through fall 2012.

The $30-million project is part of the airport’s 10-year, $85-million plan to expand and revitalize, he said.

“It will be primarily focused on the parts of the terminal building that are security screening and beyond,” Restall said about the work.

While construction-driven disruptions will be unavoidable at the airport, Restall said the authority will work to minimize inconveniences caused by the project.

The expansion will include a pier-type extension where airplanes can dock at boarding gates, a larger post-security screening holding area, retail and restaurant offerings, larger baggage carousels in the customs area and more washrooms.

Restall also repeated his goal of securing a direct flight from Saskatoon to Europe, an initiative that has been on top of his wish list since at least last year.

“We believe we can fill a flight once a week to Europe,” he said, explaining planes would fly polar routes to Europe.

The SAA also reported at its meeting 1,157,000 passengers travelled through the airport in 2009, a two per cent increase over 2008.

The authority’s revenues also rose last year, growing to $19.3 million from $16.8 million a year earlier.

Source

______________________________________________

That's pretty exciting about potential flights to Europe!

So where are these unveiled designs???
What's an example of this pier-type expansion?

[studentview]

Im sure most of you read the article in the SP today about Janes walk. There are a grand total of 7 planned for the weekend. Being a "CaswellHillian" I am planning on taking the tour of my great neighborhood which includes a cooking lesson at Christies and a walk through at the South Caswell Hill development site. You can find the list of walks here.

http://janeswalk.net/cities/category/saskatoon/

[circle33]

Since you mentioned Christie's, I thought I would point out that they are opening a branch in Nutana, on 10th at Broadway across from Bulk Cheese. It will be great to finally have a good fresh bread vendor in the neighbourhood (and yes I am aware of the Nutana Bakery).

[Morogolus]

One crappy thing about Saskatoon is we're in the middle of no where and flights to international destinations always involve some crappy layover and are 300-400 dollars more then flying out of Vancouver or Toronto.

[dsim249]

That's probably one the reasons they're working on getting a direct flight to Europe.

[macca]

Kind of strange to have a direct flight to London, England but not Montreal.

[molasses]

yeah...I'd really quite like a direct flight to somewhere in Europe....but it would also be quite nice to finally have a direct flight to Montreal. It always amazes me how much more expensive it is to get to Montreal than Toronto or Vancouver.

[midnightrambler]

Good to hear!

I think that Saskatoon is becoming more and more of a regional hub. There are plenty of airlines that travel within the province (Transwest, Westwind, Pronto)... which also increase aircraft movement and overall passenger traffic.... with the economy up North destined to keep growing, this is likely to keep increasing.

Not to mention people from North Battleford, Prince Albert and the surrounding area of the city would have Diefenbaker Airport as their first airport. So when those cities grow, so does the Saskatoon airport.

There are direct flights from Calgary, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver etc... because those are all airline hub cities.... London is a logical next choice because of British Airways wanting to exploit the Saskatchewan European travel market.

Of course there are a few other places that Saskatoon has daily or bi-weekly direct flights to ( Edmonton, Ottawa, or Winnipeg ....excluding charters to Sun destinations). But because we are ourselves a hub city to the northern reaches of the province the airport will grow as the demand to fly to the north does.


Current passenger volumes show that YXE is around 1.5mil per year. When we crack the 2 million passengers per year, which could be in the next couple years, we will likely see strains on the current airport infastructure. There already is strains on the airport, however, with the current baggage pickup system a being a joke. What happens when 3 planes arrive at the same time? Mass confusion because there is only 2 baggage pickup carousel's....

YXE is likely to become a Cargo hub as well. With the number of operations up north it is likely to see cargo increase as well.


Another thing to watch out for is tourism, this place is excellent to travel to in the summertime, where we have the beautiful 14-18hour sunshine days in June July, and August. So that will likely increase aircraft travel as well.
I was suprised to see this in the denver airport... and they were all over the place.

[ninipanini]

First of all I'm very excited to be getting a Christies on Broadway, that would be fantastic!

I would love to see more destinations become available from our airport! I think that the next opportunities for expansion of destinations will come from US airlines starting flights from Saskatoon to their hubs (ie. Continental to Houston, Delta to Salt Lake City (as it almost happened) or United to San Francisco). I think that getting more flights from Air Canada is pretty unlikely, as they've already identified Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver as hubs and Edmonton, Halifax and Ottawa as "focus cities"... they can't really "focus" on every city in the country! Having said that, I don't think direct flights to Montreal or even Victoria would be out of the question.

I'd love to see a KLM flight to Amsterdam, Lufthansa to Frankfurt (or better Munich) but I don't think that's too likely... not even Winnipeg with 3.5million passengers annually has those. We might be more likely to get a discount European airline like Iceland Express which currently offers flights from Winnipeg to some destinations in Europe. Thoughts?

[ninipanini]

One last thought...

Maybe Westjet will pick up some international destinations and start service from Saskatoon?!?!