Saskatoon Construction III

[Overklll]

I did not notice this previously, but I agree the current arrangement is subpar for vehicles and pedestrians. The 'yield' where you are going directly into traffic I *think* is the first I have seen. And there is a tonne of conflict at this point, maybe it worked when horse and buggies were around! ;-)

Originally Posted by phone

For those who haven't seen it yet...

One thing I noticed that I don't see discussed in the report (perhaps I missed it) is the realigned road configuration at the foot of the Broadway Bridge. No more free flowing traffic northbound to 4th Ave. That's a plus for me, as navigating that intersection as a pedestrian as it's currently arranged is quite frustrating. There is no quick way to head north on 4th if walking down the south/west side of the bridge, and no quick way to head east on 19th if walking down the north/east side. This will make it so that you don't have to cross the street at five corners to avoid jay-walking at the foot of the bridge.

[phone]

Originally Posted by Overklll

And there is a tonne of conflict at this point, maybe it worked when horse and buggies were around! ;-)

Haha well considering that the Broadway Bridge was built in the 1930s, I doubt horse and buggies were the consideration, but I would imagine we have learned about traffic planning since those days.

Actually, now I'm interested to see how the configuration of that corner has evolved over the years. What did it look like before 1932? Does the current configuration differ significantly from its original (post-bridge) form?

I'm sure this information can be found somewhere. Maybe a trip to the local history room is in order....

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by phone

Haha well considering that the Broadway Bridge was built in the 1930s, I doubt horse and buggies were the consideration, but I would imagine we have learned about traffic planning since those days.

Actually, now I'm interested to see how the configuration of that corner has evolved over the years. What did it look like before 1932? Does the current configuration differ significantly from its original (post-bridge) form?

I'm sure this information can be found somewhere. Maybe a trip to the local history room is in order....

Funny you should bring this up as yesterday DTNYXE posted this throwback of the intersection from 1955:



https://www.facebook.com/DTNYXE/photos/a.178813565604915/2281614355324815

[YXE]

Originally Posted by The Bess

Looks like Duchuck has bought both the Nutrien and Princeton towers

https://www.westerninvestor.com/saskatch...eit-portfolio-sells-in-saskatoon-5796088

Good to see a local developer get its hands on these prominent properties. They'll be more keen to make something happen sooner rather than later, versus a Toronto developer (Dream) who wouldn't have the focus on a property like this.

While the old police station hasn't exactly been a huge hit, you can hand it to them for doing *something*. Not to mention it's a beautiful building, anyway.

Very curious to see what their plans are with these towers.

[phone]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Funny you should bring this up as yesterday DTNYXE posted this throwback of the intersection from 1955:



https://www.facebook.com/DTNYXE/photos/a.178813565604915/2281614355324815

Interesting! The bones look more or less unchanged.

I also seem to recall seeing a proposal for a Victoria Bridge replacement that connected with Melrose from that era. I believe it was on Terry Hoknes’ StarPhoenix archives group. Lots of neat trivia there.

[roryn1]

Not entirely Saskatoon related, but Stoon developer Baydo has some flashier condo projects planned for Ontario: https://baydo.ca/our-projects/

Hopefully they bring these designs to saskatoon.

[The Bess]

Maybe Dutchuk is anticipating that the proposed arena will be built on north midtown parking lot which would make these towers more valuable and put more options on the table for them.

[Overklll]

The north midtown parking lot is the obvious choice, even based on the selection criteria. I am not even sure why 2 options were presented in the first place.

I personally liked the ToysRus location as the traffic could have easily been routed directly in/out of an underground parking structure right to Idylwyld Fwy and out of downtown. Or I guess it is a good parking garage location too as I am not sure what else fits there once ToysRus closes. I am not sure how they manage to stay open as it is...

Anyway, veering off topic now! ;-)

[reddo]

Originally Posted by roryn1

Not entirely Saskatoon related, but Stoon developer Baydo has some flashier condo projects planned for Ontario: https://baydo.ca/our-projects/

Hopefully they bring these designs to saskatoon.

On a related note baydo recently broke ground on phase 3 of their development in Evergreen. I've been told it's 12 stories high but can't confirm that personally.

[Echoes]

Saskatoon YMCA’s CEO clears up some rumours about downtown location

I might be reading too much into this but there seems to be some cryptic messaging here that that the YMCA may indeed move from its present location, presumably to make room for the TCU expansion/new convention centre:

Dodge suggests the YM will probably look different in five, ten or twenty years, just like the past ten years have seen changes which include new childcare services in Fairhaven. The YMCA has 18 different locations in Saskatoon, Martensville and Warman. The service organization could remain where it is, or it could move elsewhere in the downtown area, or it could move to a few different downtown locations. For instance, the health and fitness facility could be in a different location from the daycare centre.

Short of clearing up rumours, this seems to be fodder for starting rumours!

[roryn1]

I don’t think the YMCA/YWCA has ever been an attractor to new downtown residents. The loss of a generally decent sized liquor store downtown is also a downfall for core amenities. Maybe they are in other cities but ours are archaeological sites that I have never seen nor heard anyone going to. It’s too bad the chain store for core amenities like gyms, liquors, grocers, are too scared to open downtown.

[mmx]

Saskatoon is the mining capital of Canada. Astana is the mining capital of Kazakhstan. Compare their two skylines. In 70 years Saskatoon's has barely evolved from the dustbowl landscape seen in Elvis-era pictures. Queen Elizabeth has visited 4 times, 1959-78-87-05, and Her Majesty probably noticed very little change in the downtown perennially dominated by the old Bessborough Hotel. In the same time frame, Boratville has sprouted numerous Norman Foster buildings all over and is unrecognizable, totally transformed. Why the difference one might ask? Is it that we in Saskatchewan are too scared to build or perhaps been victims of colonization. I think it may be the latter.

[WhipperSnapper]

Money laundering, corruption built Kazakhstan's skylines. Canada is not that different with the same players building in Kazakhstan building here. Saskatoon is just far down the totem pole.

Toronto is the mining capital of Canada as far as money is concerned.

[circle33]

Originally Posted by mmx

Saskatoon is the mining capital of Canada.

By what metric?

[905er]

don't worry... Saskatoon is getting those beautiful new Baydo towers. Catching up to Kazakhstan

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by circle33

By what metric?

Toronto is definitely the mining capital via the TSX. most of BHP’s new Jansen mine corporate jobs have the option to be in Toronto or Saskatoon. Nexgen is also the same, but with the option of being in Vancouver. I also saw that Orano’s brand new office by the airport (near Cameco’s headquarters) is up for lease

Idk if you’re a mining exec it’s hard to work in a city that doesn’t even have a U.S. flight.

[phone]

Originally Posted by roryn1

Toronto is definitely the mining capital via the TSX. most of BHP’s new Jansen mine corporate jobs have the option to be in Toronto or Saskatoon. Nexgen is also the same, but with the option of being in Vancouver. I also saw that Orano’s brand new office by the airport (near Cameco’s headquarters) is up for lease

Idk if you’re a mining exec it’s hard to work in a city that doesn’t even have a U.S. flight.

Fair enough, but the answer to that should be to market the airport to improve US connections rather than fatalistically cry that no executive would ever want to locate here. Do we want a better city or do we want to whine about its shortcomings, which, I might add, are largely inherent to a cold-climate regional centre that's not even half a million in population?

I might observe that a big part of the issue re: a rather staid downtown skyline (River Landing aside) is not the absence of office construction but rather the existence of Stonebridge. If that office park didn't swallow up so many commercial tenants over the last 15 years, we could easily have another 1 or 2 decently sized office towers downtown. The decentralized suburban office market represents a failure of city planning, especially when considering that Stonebridge is only about a 7 minute drive from the city centre.

For my part, I choose to be optimistic that projects that help make Saskatoon an attractive city to locate, such as the arena/convention centre project, get off the ground and help drive a positive feedback loop that will lead to, among other things, increased construction activity in the city centre (including Broadway and Riversdale). Especially since Stonebridge is basically built out at this point, though the office park slated for Brighton concerns me. Things like the Remai help, and we still have a long way to go, but we are making progress.

I just get a little tired of people moaning about how small town it is here instead of looking at the progress that's been made over the last 20 years. Every obstacle or setback is viewed as this fundamental and insurmountable challenge, while so many successes get hand waved away as one-offs or insubstantial.

There are a lot of people in this city who are committed to its success, and we can get there, but not without a positive outlook. Spaces like this forum may drive the conversation to a greater extent than we realize....

[phone]

Originally Posted by 905er

don't worry... Saskatoon is getting those beautiful new Baydo towers. Catching up to Kazakhstan

Yes yes, Baydo bad, glass good. Cunning observation.

[phone]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Money laundering, corruption built Kazakhstan's skylines. Canada is not that different with the same players building in Kazakhstan building here. Saskatoon is just far down the totem pole.

Toronto is the mining capital of Canada as far as money is concerned.

You are right, and Saskatoon is certainly far down the totem pole, but that doesn't mean we can't take steps to make it a more marketable location. I have a hard time seeing this place move that high up in the national ranks (maybe we will be firmly alongside Halifax in my lifetime, if we are lucky), but we can still try our best to make sure that our slice of the pie is a good one.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by roryn1

agreed! I hope this works because the provincial parks around the city in a 2hr radius look like garbage compared to when I was a kid. Federal status is our only hope to keeping this rejuvenated. I never understood when the Regina Legislature gets so much more attention for the wascana pond when our meewasin is a legitimate tourist attraction for the province.

Why can't Wascana Centre and Meewasin both be attractions in Saskatchewan? Shouldn't we invest in making both excellent places for residents (and tourists too). Why is it one or the other?