Saskatoon Construction II

[hunter12]

Originally Posted by Wyku

Yup, totally agree as well. Just look at the row of houses in the picture at the top of that article--brutal! The land cost for the lot is pretty outrageous, small lot or "large" lot, but the pricing seems to be driving the small lots:

"Lots are becoming too expensive, and many are opting for smaller lots because that's all they can afford, he noted.

Saskatoon Land's annual report backs up Mah's assertion. The average cost of a lot in Saskatoon has dropped from a high of $137,503 in 2013 to $134,872 due to increased demand for smaller lots."

I bought my lot in 1998 for 38,000 plus GST. According to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator if the price of lots would have increased by the inflation rate my lot would cost 52,600. Shows you how crazy the price of lots has gone.

[jigglysquishy]

It's not fair to do a simple inflation calculation. Asphalt, concrete, and construction costs have all risen far faster than inflation.

[Measuring Stick]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

It's not fair to do a simple inflation calculation. Asphalt, concrete, and construction costs have all risen far faster than inflation.

^^^^

Completely agree jigglesquishy. The land acquisition cost is also an input that increases much faster than inflation. In a fast growing centre land values for urban holding land increase dramatically as well as investors buy and hold land awaiting developers offers to purchase. All of these costs pushed lot values higher; but none more than servicing/infrastructure costs, which were rising at up to 10% per year.

[dsmmace]

44 x 113 lot in Rosewood...$149,000. Yikes.

[4LSaskatoon]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Meter poles to be reborn as folding chairs, racks

By Andrea Hill, The Starphoenix May 8, 2015





http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/saska...folding+chairs+racks/11039675/story.html

COMPLETELY AGREE and appreciate the design ideas mentioned. Anyone with mobility issues will appreciate this option... or even the bike owner..

[Irvin]

HOUSING STARTS

Saskatoon had 97 single family starts and19 multiple starts for a total of 116 for April
Regina had total starts of 117

YTD - Saskatoon now has 695 total starts for 2015

[Irvin]

Stonebridge Center

Has anyone heard what restaurant is pending on the last free standing site in this development - it has been pending for a very long time - tells me that it is likely new to Saskatoon and the developer is showing quite a bit of patience to get it.

[Davidson]

I'm going to preface this by admitting I know nothing about urban planning, but my question is are "density" and "walk ability" actually totally independent concepts? I seem to read a lot of here about wanting to build a city that has high density and walkable, but in my experience these are not necessarily related. For instance, Stonebridge has high density due to lots of condos and apartments, but there is absolutely nothing walkable about that neighbourhood - you have to drive to get anything you want, I.e. A loaf of bread. Whereas I live in an older Saskatoon neighbourhood with a huge lot (by today's standards) yet I can walk two blocks to get groceries and other services. To me I think what we should really strive for is "mixed use" - residential with some commercial seamlessly integrated. Am I off base here?

[circle33]

Originally Posted by Davidson

Am I off base here?

No, I don't think you are.

University Heights is similar. Lot's of residential density. Lot's of retail relatively close. The sea of asphalt dividing the two makes it anything but walkable.

[jigglysquishy]

They can, but are not necessarily related. A big issue in the new suburbs is that all the retail is concentrated in one location. So if you're not near that location it's not walkable. The older areas also have a lot more greenery which is more "inviting" to walk.

Compare Varsity View to Stonebridge. Varsity View has four retail locations. 8th Street, College Drive, 14th and Clarence, and Temperance and Wiggins. Four distinct locations to walk to. Stonebridge has one (giant) one. Stonebridge's retail is also separated by parking lots which makes it difficult to walk to.

Another big issue is that the high density units are not inviting. They have large setbacks both vertically and depth-wise. It makes the buildings seem taller than they are and the surfaces are not permeable. The buildings are not built to human-scale and are thus not pleasurable to walk past. An old walk-up in Riversdale has a much more inviting front than a condo in University Heights.

The goal should be to pair density with walkability to contribute to a high quality of life. Mixed use is considered the ideal form of urban planning. It sounds like we'll see some of it coming in Aspen Ridge, which is striving to create a more walkable neighbourhood.

[circle33]

The Edge is starting to have an impact on certain vistas.

[dsmmace]

I don't think the announcement is public for the new restaurant at the Stonebridge Center.

At 311 Cope Lane is listed as Shoeless Joe's.
http://www.shoelessjoes.ca/mobi/locations-list.html

[kiwi4life]

Tower crane base in stonebridge behind Tim Hortons by the sobey's. Pagnotta towe crane, Meridian site.

[slats]

I know Stonebridge gets a lot of hate on this forum, but I actually live there and it is definitely more walkable than it is given credit for. I walk or bike to lots of different amenities and love having kilometers of parks and pathways that connect the majority of my destinations. Within a 10 minute walk radius I have 2 grocery stores, a liquor store, my bank, several pharmacies, a future school, and a pile of restaurants/bars (yes I know they are all chain places, but that's a different issue).

[Toontone]

Still have not seen any evidence of a second Earl's opening on 8th street in the old Adrenaline location.
Is it still the plan or was that just a bad rumour?
Current Earl's staff claim they know nothing about it other than it is a bad rumour that has been going around for some time now.
Just curious......8th street would be a much closer location for me.

[Toontone]

Originally Posted by kiwi4life

Tower crane base in stonebridge behind Tim Hortons by the sobey's. Pagnotta towe crane, Meridian site.

What does this mean? Am I missing something?

Thanks

[SkydivePilot]

Some of you guys may have seen this: Touchstone Centre. It is a proposed nine-storey office building that is located near the airport behind the three hotels. It is very nice-looking!

[kiwi4life]

Five story seniors complex is getting built in stonebridge. Five concrete floors.

[lbird]

Originally Posted by slats

I know Stonebridge gets a lot of hate on this forum, but I actually live there and it is definitely more walkable than it is given credit for. I walk or bike to lots of different amenities and love having kilometers of parks and pathways that connect the majority of my destinations. Within a 10 minute walk radius I have 2 grocery stores, a liquor store, my bank, several pharmacies, a future school, and a pile of restaurants/bars (yes I know they are all chain places, but that's a different issue).

Yes, Stonebridge is not that bad for a new suburb. Lots of mistakes, but there are three separate retail centers(not one), linear parks that connect the neighbourhood well and a mix of good mix of residential, retail, office and even industrial that you don't find in many neighbourhoods.

It is annoying that, for example, there's no pedestrian/bike lanes on two sides of the street in large parts of the neighbourhood and how the entire area is hemmed in by circle drive, but I would take this suburb over the ones that were built in the 1980's when I grew up.

[dsmmace]

I think Kiwi is referring to Meridian Developments newest project, LutherCare Senior Condo in Stonebridge behind the new Tim Horton's off Preston. Pagnotta has started the Crane base late last week for a rather large tower crane.