Saskatoon Construction II

[Temperance]

Originally Posted by casper

I was thinking along the lines of Metropolis at Metrotown. That area of the Metrotown shopping centre is full of arcasdes, food outlets, Lots of business that would complex the movie theatres.

What's that?

[Echoes]

Commercial condo proposed

By Sean Trembath, The StarPhoenix January 19, 2015

The chair of the Riversdale Business Improvement District says a planned commercial development is "exactly the kind of thing we've been advocating for."

"It's serving a great market that's not served very well in the city," Curtis Olson said.

The Blok, which is slated to be built just south of 22nd Street on Avenue B, will feature as many as 13 commercial condos, giving entrepreneurs the chance to own the space they work in.

"It's allowing more businesses to gain an ownership foothold in the neighbourhood than what we currently have," Olson said.

The concrete-and steel building was designed to be "cool," with urban areas like Vancouver's Granville Island as an inspiration, according to Kari Fox, a realtor with the Commercial Group.

Inside, the design is such that there is flexibility in the size of the units. If a buyer wants more space than what is listed, Commercial can adjust the floor plan.

"We can create whatever size someone wants. It's a bit of a Tetris puzzle," Fox said.

The exception is the penthouse, which occupies the entire 2,700-foot top floor. Each of the second and third floor units will have their own balcony.

Prices in the city have risen steadily on the back of a Saskatchewan economy that has trended upward for many years, Fox said.

"It's been five very strong years. Planes used to fly from Winnipeg to Calgary. Now we're on the map," she said.

Fox said the price of $350 to $450 per square foot makes the units cheaper than a lot of offerings in the city.

Permit applications have been submitted to the city, according to Fox.

"They'll be breaking ground as soon as mother nature will allow," she said.

[....]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Commercial+condo+proposed/10740589/story.html

[Echoes]

Infill backyard suites are coming soon

By Chris Morin, The StarPhoenix January 19, 2015

The first wave of garage and garden suites could be built as early as this spring, say developers. After working for the past half-year on getting ready for construction, Jeff Nattress, owner of Laneway Suites Ltd., a company that's poised to build the suites in Saskatoon, has released the plans for his first project, which will go up early this year in North Park.

Nattress says that he now has close to 10 garage suite projects on the go.

"There is quite a bit of interest - I'm getting calls nearly every day," he said.

So far Nattress has two applications submitted with the city, and expects that more are on the way.

One is located on his own property, and will serve as a model suite. He also has another application for a suite to be built in King George, and is working with the owner of a lot in City Park who has already been approved for discretionary use.

"Many of the suites are in the application phase, which is the first step." Others are getting the initial survey, some are applying and some are just in discussion, says Nattress.

The suites are part of the city's neighbourhood level infill development strategy, which is designed to increase density. Earlier this month, the city debated changes to zoning bylaws that were intended to preserve the character of established neighbourhoods within Circle Drive and in Montgomery and Sutherland.

Councillors said more discussion would be needed before any bylaw changes are passed.

Crystal Bueckert of BLDG Studio has already designed a dozen garage suites for projects in Saskatoon, including one for Nattress, and says the majority of what is coming is located in the city's core areas.

"Because these suites are built in the back lane, they don't change the streetscape of the neighbourhood. You would typically only see them if you drove through the alleys," said Bueckert.

[....]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Infill+backyard+suites+coming+soon/10740592/story.html

[North_Regina_Boy]

Good to see these come to fruition! Might also make the lanes of neighborhoods a more welcoming place... Also I wonder if the city will pave the back lanes that these are located on?

[drm310]

Former owner urges saving Farnam Block

By Andrea Hill, The StarPhoenix
January 19, 2015 11:05 AM

A former owner of the historic Broadway building facing demolition is calling on Saskatoon residents to come together and save it.

"If I had the money, I'd certainly buy the block back myself. But I haven't got it," said Robert Davidson, who once owned the Farnam Block Building on the corner of Broadway Avenue and 11th Street.

Saskatoon residents have a history of saving historic sites, Davidson said. For example, many helped raise money in the early 1990s to keep the Broadway Theatre's doors open. The theatre is now a community-owned cinema run by a non-profit group.

"That's what you need - something like that," Davidson said.

"There's probably not an awful lot of people who'd do it, but it might be worth a try."

Farnam Block, which was built in 1912 and once housed Lydia's Pub, has been vacant since July 2013 when the pub closed down. The new owners, who purchased the building in December, have submitted an application to tear the building down. The application has not yet been approved. [...]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/saska...+saving+Farnam+Block/10740587/story.html

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Infill backyard suites are coming soon

By Chris Morin, The StarPhoenix January 19, 2015





http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Infill+backyard+suites+coming+soon/10740592/story.html

Regina is experimenting with these. There are benefits but lots of issues. The biggest one is parking. There are already terrible parking situations in these new neighbourhoods. If the residents of the backyard suite have cars, they have to park on the street. The streets are already full and in some cases only allow parking on one side because the streets are so narrow. I do not imagine these would be allowed on such streets.

One other big issue is the loss of privacy for neighbours across the alley. they would have the suit looming over their backyard and there are no trees in new areas.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Temperance

What's that?

Metrotown is the largest shopping centre in Metro Vancouver. It is actually three shopping centre inter-connected. Metropolis is what was originally built as Eaton's Centre where there was an Eatons.

The Metropolis part of the complex has a wing that houses the Cineplex Silver City. However that part of the mall has video arcades, TGIF (and similar restaurants). The other shops are things like a chocolate place, a model care place etc. It has the right mix for a an evening out for dinner and a movie.

Circle and 8th is from that now. However it is the only place allowed to have movie theatures out of the downtown core so it has a lot of potential.

[nook]

Wal-mart doesn't look to put themselves in malls anymore. They got out of both of their mall locations in Saskatoon years ago. I don't think we need more than two Canadian Tires. Filling in the Target spots is gonna be difficult.

But I could see them doing what Southland Mall did in Regina when Wal-mart left their mall... Renovating and putting some store space in there. They have Sport Chek, Marks, and Atmosphere (which is already opening in the old Petsmart location in Centre Mall) in the former Wal-mart space.

Maybe a place like Bed Bath and Beyond can come in and fill the spots at at least one mall. Maybe HBC will bring back Zellers and thank Target for renovating their locations for them (HBC still owns the right to Zellers, they just sold Target their leases)

[North_Regina_Boy]

Same when Zellers left Victoria Square Mall in Regina, however, I think they are doing something in there... Or maybe not.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Regina is experimenting with these. There are benefits but lots of issues. The biggest one is parking. There are already terrible parking situations in these new neighbourhoods. If the residents of the backyard suite have cars, they have to park on the street. The streets are already full and in some cases only allow parking on one side because the streets are so narrow. I do not imagine these would be allowed on such streets.

One other big issue is the loss of privacy for neighbours across the alley. they would have the suit looming over their backyard and there are no trees in new areas.

So, Regina is piloting them in a suburban location to start with? Saskatoon has allowed them city-wide on a discretionary basis and, as far as I can tell, uptake has been completely in older neighbourhoods. There are at least mature trees in those neighbourhoods which could help with the privacy aspect. I've glanced over the regulations in the past and I believe there are limits on % of neighbour-facing walls that can be windows, etc.

It will be interesting to see how these work out once a few are built and people get a feel for them in their neighbourhood. It's a great opportunity to diversify housing options.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by nook

Wal-mart doesn't look to put themselves in malls anymore. They got out of both of their mall locations in Saskatoon years ago. I don't think we need more than two Canadian Tires. Filling in the Target spots is gonna be difficult.

But I could see them doing what Southland Mall did in Regina when Wal-mart left their mall... Renovating and putting some store space in there. They have Sport Chek, Marks, and Atmosphere (which is already opening in the old Petsmart location in Centre Mall) in the former Wal-mart space.

Maybe a place like Bed Bath and Beyond can come in and fill the spots at at least one mall. Maybe HBC will bring back Zellers and thank Target for renovating their locations for them (HBC still owns the right to Zellers, they just sold Target their leases)

Regina has 3 Canadian Tires so Saskatoon could easily have 3. The former Southland Walmart includes a Canadian Tire as well as their other 3 stores you listed.

The former Zeller's at Vic Square is under re-construction as a Good Life Fitness and reportedly a Marks, Atmosphere and Jysyk.

So there are options for these big spaces, but they are not necessarily the ideal anchor for Malls. That is they do not necessarily draw the same shoppers that the mall tenants are after.

[drm310]

The future remains uncertain for historic building on Saskatoon's Broadway Avenue
Owners say all options, including demolition, are on the table

CBC News Posted: Jan 20, 2015 7:20 AM CT
Last Updated: Jan 20, 2015 8:20 AM CT

There’s new talk this morning about an old building that has stood on Saskatoon’s iconic Broadway Avenue for more than 100 years.

The Farnam Block was built at 650 Broadway Avenue in 1912, and is unique in its multilevel street access. Stairs reach up to the main level, and the basement also has storefront access for shoppers.

The building, however, is in rough shape, and the new owners are now exploring all the options, including the possibility they may have to tear it down. [...]

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/...on-saskatoon-s-broadway-avenue-1.2919301

[Arts]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Regina has 3 Canadian Tires so Saskatoon could easily have 3. The former Southland Walmart includes a Canadian Tire as well as their other 3 stores you listed.

The former Zeller's at Vic Square is under re-construction as a Good Life Fitness and reportedly a Marks, Atmosphere and Jysyk.

So there are options for these big spaces, but they are not necessarily the ideal anchor for Malls. That is they do not necessarily draw the same shoppers that the mall tenants are after.

I can easily see a Canadian Tire taking over that anchor space at the Centre mall - especially as the Holmwood sector (Brighton with it's planned 15,000 population is very soon, if not already, under construction) is just a couple km's east down a wide open underutilized arterial road (8th st). But it largely depends on what is planned for the "mixed use - residential/retail/institutional" designation on the land at the south along 8th St.

[Echoes]

Decision on Lydia's building demolition a numbers game

By Andrea Hill, The StarPhoenix January 20, 2015

The new owners of the historic Farnam Block building on Broadway Avenue say they want to preserve the feel of the neighbourhood, but economics will dictate their decision on whether or not to demolish the building.

"The finances have to work, the numbers have to work," building co-owner Roger Kiva told a city committee on Monday.

Kiva and Dean Potapinski, owners of the building at the corner of Broadway Avenue and 11th Street, submitted an application last month to demolish it. The application has not yet been approved; the city's municipal heritage advisory committee called the owners to a meeting to discuss options available to restore all or part of the building instead.

Katherine Kambeitz, a senior planner for the city, said if the building receives heritage status and is renovated in such a way that heritage aspects are preserved, the owners could be eligible for a tax abatement of 50 per cent of the costs related to the renovations, to a maximum of $150,000 over a 10-year period.

"But there is leeway to potentially increase that," Kambeitz said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kiva said those numbers would have to be "exceeded significantly" to make restoration of the building financially viable.

"From the numbers that we've currently gathered, (the available tax rebates) are not significant enough to warrant the numbers to work," he said.

Gaby Akl, the real estate agent representing the owners, told the committee that the Farnam Block has "very serious structural issues" and is inaccessible.

"Bricks are falling off here and there," Akl said, adding that no substantial work has been done on the building since it was built in 1912. The Farnam Block has been vacant and gathering graffiti since Lydia's Pub, which once occupied the building, shut down in July 2013.

[....]

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Decision+Lydia+building+demolition+numbers+game/10743734/story.html

[Echoes]

It appears that a craft brewer called 9 Mile Legacy Brewing is setting up a storefront location in the Farmer's Market/Ideas Inc. building at River Landing:


From Ideas Inc on Twitter

I'm loving this craft brewing explosion in the province!

[Temperance]

Originally Posted by Echoes

It appears that a craft brewer called 9 Mile Legacy Brewing is setting up a storefront location in the Farmer's Market/Ideas Inc. building at River Landing:
From Ideas Inc on Twitter

I'm loving this craft brewing explosion in the province!

There are some great brewers now just in Saskatoon (Prairie Sun and Saskatoon Brewing)

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Regina has 3 Canadian Tires so Saskatoon could easily have 3. The former Southland Walmart includes a Canadian Tire as well as their other 3 stores you listed.

Saskatoon's basically got another Canadian Tire being built right now due to the one in Martensville. I don't think that would affect a store on 8th Street, though. That's a pretty underserved market for their kind of stuff.

[Brutopian]

Warman Prepares Launch of Community Plan in February

Written by Mitchell Wrishko, saskatoonhomepage.com

Sunday, 18 January 2015

Success starts with a plan.

The City of Warman is preparing to roll out its Official Community Plan or OCP in February.

Warman grew 8 percent last year after newly improving their water resevoir to serve 10,000 to 14,000 people. Now, they have grown so much they are going to improve it again to make it able to handle 30,000 people.

Mayor Sheryl Spence says like the resevoir, infrastructure is going to be a big part of the plan.

[........]

Read more:
http://www.saskatoonhomepage.ca/warman-prepares-launch-of-community-plan-in-february/itemid_21

[North_Regina_Boy]

Warman truly is the nicer of the two communities (Martinsville the other) its layout and such is far superior IMO. However, I do wonder when they will replace the stop signs on highway 784 traffic lights in the middle of town?

[ninipanini]

I would be a little bit surprised if Canadian Tire opened up at Circle mall... they had a location there until the late 90s or early 2000s (can't remember which) when they re-located to preston crossing. If I remember correctly it was in the space where pet smart was...?