Saskatoon Construction III

[ToonTownRob]

Interesting that the article was written by and appeared in the Kingston paper.

[YXE]

Does anyone have an idea when we'll hear about the downtown arena/convention center location? Pre-pandemic, I believe we were expecting to hear in the second quarter. Haven't heard anything in a while!

[Echoes]

New downtown library to feature skylit atrium, public plaza and large theatre
Public tender documents outline many features expected to be part of the $134-million project, which is scheduled for completion in 2026.

Author of the article: Alex MacPherson • Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Publishing date: Sep 08, 2020 • Last Updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read

Saskatoon’s new downtown library will be built around a large skylit atrium and concourse, the building’s “defining architectural and spatial feature” through which up to a million people each year will eventually pass.

The $134-million New Central Library (NCL) is also expected to include a 200-seat theatre, a café and retail space, special collections for children and teenagers and an outdoor public plaza, according to public tender documents.

It is also expected to feature a “reconciliation and Indigenous Learning Circle Space,” as well as special local history collections, an art gallery and plenty of smaller rooms that can be booked by the public.

According to the Saskatoon Public Library’s request for a prime design consultant on the project at Second Avenue and 25th Street, the building will be three or four storeys tall, and based on reconciliation, sustainability and accessibility.

The tender cites the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre on the University of Saskatchewan campus and Wanuskewin Heritage Park as “indicative projects” that “blend modern materials and traditional elements.”

“The physical form of the building itself, as well as the interior and exterior spaces and art, will visually embody local First Nation and Métis identities and express the aspirations of the Saskatoon community as a whole,” the tender states.

“Reconciliation will be evident in the integration of local First Nation and Métis perspectives into the programs, services, and collections available within the library walls.”

The tender also outlines a more specific project timeline, with the concept design complete by May 2021. Construction is anticipated to start in May 2023, after detailed design work is completed.

The 136,000-square-foot replacement for the Frances Morrison Central Library, described in the document as “a critical piece of the long-term plan to address the population growth and increased service demands,” is slated to open sometime in 2026.

[....]

https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...-656cadf76bcb/

[roryn1]

The blue highlight is where it’ll be at ~3 stories (I’m assuming each story is minimum 20ft like most modern libraries)? This will be a monster project since it’s taking up a entire block that’s so underutilized. In ten years time we’ll have gone from zero coffee shops near this block to three! (new starbucks on the corner, new Sparrow Coffee, soon to be new coffee shop in the library). Centre Downtown won’t know what hit it!


On a side note you can see no progress has been made to Tees and Perse- one can only hope they got their finances back in order and they’re rejigging it as a cool condo project. We need more of our older buildings turned into hipsteresqie lofts. I highly recommend walking by The Rumley - it’s on a street not many people walk by right now but they are beautiful $600K lofts. More of these projects please!

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by YXE

Does anyone have an idea when we'll hear about the downtown arena/convention center location? Pre-pandemic, I believe we were expecting to hear in the second quarter. Haven't heard anything in a while!

I saw that land negotiations were still underway. Negotiations seem to take forever.

[ToonTownRob]

Originally Posted by roryn1

The blue highlight is where it’ll be at ~3 stories (I’m assuming each story is minimum 20ft like most modern libraries)? This will be a monster project since it’s taking up a entire block.

????? I thought they purchased only the east half of that block. Can anyone confirm?

[905er]

Originally Posted by Stormer

YouTube video of Baydo's architect in action...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiTg...rr_watch_on_yt

Thank you for that!! too funny

Lets see how this one turns out... maybe it'll be better than the renders after all.

[Wyku]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Isn’t this the guy who at the beginning of his reign require a shirt and tie in order to meet with him? Talk about elitist.

And also demanded to be referred to as your/his worship.

[scotty c]

Originally Posted by ToonTownRob

????? I thought they purchased only the east half of that block. Can anyone confirm?

As far as I know only the east side of the block, just up to the alley.

[prairieguy]

Yes...sounds like just east side (strip mall and old Pat Hotel site/parking lot).
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...land-1.5523429

I look forward to when we can start a dedicated thread for this major addition to Saskatoon

[ToonTownRob]

Originally Posted by roryn1

Also knock him down for being apart of the issues associated with the Lighthouse and then his solution is to just move it again, instead of getting to the root of the problem and increasing social spending lol. Wow. Dude needs to man up and accept that everyone makes mistakes. What a weird mayor we had.

To be fair, social services is not the city’s responsibility. It is the province’s. Cities spend on social services out of desperation when provincial governments drop the ball and dump the problems on cities.

With an annual tax increase of 4% for the last twenty years the city’s budget has well outpaced inflation (something the overpaid city staff can’t seem to understand) and no one is in the mood for more property taxes for fixing social issues.

In this city, the staff run everything. Council only rubber stamps their reports and recommendations, giving the illusion of civilian government. It is shocking how little leadership is displayed by council. They do nothing but react. And mostly after the fact. If you’re looking for proactive leadership don’t look to council. Local elections are all run on name recognition, little better than high school student governments.

[Harrison]

Got back to Edmonton yesterday from a 4-day long weekend trip to Toon Town. It was my second time visiting (first was a brief 2-day business trip) and I have to say I really enjoyed your city. My wife and I visited most of the 'hot spots' - Downtown, Riversdale, 33 St. and Broadway.

I was impressed with the breadth of heritage buildings that remain (including the historic single family homes), as well as the developing River Landing area. The road network is very extensive for a city of its size, as we were never more than 10 minutes away from most areas of the city taking Circle Drive and Idylwyld. One thing I wish the City worked on was basic infrastructure - sidewalks and street lighting could be upgraded considerably throughout the city.

This visit strengthened the feeling of Saskatoon as a 'smaller Edmonton', which is a good thing in my opinion. My next visit to the province will be Regina, as I have never visited there before. I've heard that its not as nice as Regina, but I want to see for myself.

[Echoes]

Glad you enjoyed yourself, Harrison!

[sask1982]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Got back to Edmonton yesterday from a 4-day long weekend trip to Toon Town. It was my second time visiting (first was a brief 2-day business trip) and I have to say I really enjoyed your city. My wife and I visited most of the 'hot spots' - Downtown, Riversdale, 33 St. and Broadway.

I was impressed with the breadth of heritage buildings that remain (including the historic single family homes), as well as the developing River Landing area. The road network is very extensive for a city of its size, as we were never more than 10 minutes away from most areas of the city taking Circle Drive and Idylwyld. One thing I wish the City worked on was basic infrastructure - sidewalks and street lighting could be upgraded considerably throughout the city.

This visit strengthened the feeling of Saskatoon as a 'smaller Edmonton', which is a good thing in my opinion. My next visit to the province will be Regina, as I have never visited there before. I've heard that its not as nice as Regina, but I want to see for myself.

I agree with you - Saskatoon's got a really good thing going. Living in Regina (having previously lived in Saskatoon), I get frustrated with the dramatic difference in downtowns. Regina's really has nothing going for it - skyline is something to look at it, but that's it. Wascana Park & its' amenities are great, and unfortunately that's where it ends. I miss Saskatoon quite a bit and would still be there if it weren't for family all residing here.

[prairieguy]

I think Saskatoon will always be the private sector/entrepreneur led city and Regina will always be the 'government' city, dominated by Public Service employment and offices. Not saying either of those is a bad or good thing, just the reality. They both contribute to the economy and vibe of both cities.

In my opinion...Regina has had some major improvements to the vitality of its downtown but still does feel to be a bit "vacant" at night as compared to Saskatoon.

Bottom line....both cities are important to Saskatchewan and perhaps provide different options and opportunities/choices for people choosing to live and work in our province.

[YXE]

With Mec having been sold to a private investment firm in the U.S., while no longer operating as a co-operative, we can assume Saskatoon's hopes of getting a store are now quite dim. The new owners appear to have a mess that needs to be cleaned up before they can consider expansion; they have agreed to keep 17 of its 22 stores open.

[prairieguy]

I agree....I think MIdtown Mall will be needing to look for a new tenant for that space. It is really too bad, not just for Saskatoon but from a Canadian retail perspective.

[roryn1]

[EarlyByrdProductions]

It's been a while since I've been on here and over a year since getting back to Saskatoon. Great to see some of the progress of our own glass towers of Riverlanding, the development building quick behind Sask Cr off Broadway and the facelift of the buildings along 2nd Ave. Pretty tough to see such hard times for independent stores and venues in town, specifically along 2nd Ave and 20th street.

Happy to see so many taking advantage of such epic trails, parks and beaches throughout the backbone of our city along the river - it's a pretty special feature not many cities in the world have. Still wishing we had a few more patios you could see the river from but Shift Cafe at Remai and Bess Patio will have to do for now! Does anyone know if any of the new highrise builds will include public accessible rooftop patios? Prairie Sun on Broadway is looking nicer than I thought...still think it's a waste to not have any rooftop patio space on the heart of Broadway though!

I also thought I'd share this great insight on the History of the Renaissance specific to the mindset of how to construct cities with intention to focus on art, creative architecture and layout to uplift the human experience! Wish we would think like this more often as a global society! (starts at 7min30) :
https://youtu.be/fI1OeMmwYjU?t=450

Cheers!

[TheCricket]

The old Jerry's Food Emporium, just off 8th Street is now a MOA Market of Asia. This is their 2nd location in Saskatoon I believe with the other location on the West side of Saskatoon over on Dawes Avenue.