Saskatoon Construction III

[roryn1]

I think I was verbally and almost physically harassed twice in front of this lot by homeless folks because of how dead it was. Journalists weren’t even working there before the pandemic.

Hooray let’s turn this into an active lot with people!

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by roryn1

I completely agree! I live near this lot and their always empty parking almost takes up the sqft of the building, and they have a lot of trucks backing up early in the morning waking up condo residents. Their trucks pulling up and backing into the building are even crushing the underground parkade of a neighboring building. This is easily a company I would support with moving out to the downtown - at least their dwindling paper operation, move their journalists to another building downtown, building a beautiful condo/commercial center right there. 5th is my favourite street in the downtown thanks to its beautifully large trees.


This image is the Starphoenix lot, along with the parking lot to the north owned privately, never maintained (currently no grass even grows where grass should be), and leased by the city. I find it amusing that the city promotes infill in every way possible, but then leases this massive spot (spots aren't even leasible to the tenants in the nearby condos), utilizes it at 50%, the owner of the lot maintains it extremely minimal (I contacted the city about the lack of grass and they (the greedy owner of the lot) said it wasn't economical for them to maintain it which is a farce when they're easily pulling in thousands $$ from surface parking).

This post is from 2020. I have hated this lot lol

[roryn1]

We should also ensure that the Williams or Remai DONT buy this lot. They own enough spec dead building shit downtown. I cannot wait until those two ‘developers’ leave our downtown alone. Remai owns the yellow grossly unmaintained highlighted lot above, and williams own the grossly unmaintained old credit union lot that they’ve over promised and under delivered on for 12 years now. Those two developers are the largest detractor to our beautiful downtown.

[Roquentin]

Damn roryn1 back with a vengeance. Speaking truth to power. I agree with everything.

[drm310]

CKOM article about the StarPhoenix, no paywall.

https://www.ckom.com/2023/01/18/chan...ina-saskatoon/

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Roquentin

Not to knock on a beleaguered, essential industry, but it's about time. In the grand scale of Saskatoon's history, it's bizarre to still have a single light-industry-esque use in the midst of the city's densest urbanity.

I agree with this. The current land use, even before the Starphoenix outsourced their editing to Regina and their ad sales to The Philippines and stopped publishing seven days a week and all of the staff worked in-office, hasn't been intensive enough for decades.

Originally Posted by roryn1

Not sure why this sucks.

I was responding to a specific portion of Crisis's post where they said there would be no Starphoenix by the end of the decade. I agree with them, and that sucks.

I am all for the Starphoenix moving its printing operations out to an industrial area, selling its land so it can be redeveloped, and leasing downtown office space for its newsroom. But unfortunately, I think the future of the newspaper is a complete shutdown of its printing operations and I wouldn't be surprised if the "newsroom" consists of three or four individuals in the near future. I don't think Postmedia will rent office space for an operation of that size.

There was a time when having reporters working from a downtown location was important because there was a dedicated court reporter who would go back and forth to the civic and provincial courts multiple times per day, and there was a dedicated politics reporter who would go to City Hall for every press conference, and there was a health reporter who would go to RUH or St. Paul's or City Hospital for every press conference.

There was a time when local elections and local highschool sports and local healthcare matters received in-depth, well written, and well sourced news coverage. There was a time when local papers would send local reporters to important national and international events to give the local angle. Unfortunately times have changed, and not for the better.

I am all for progress and I certainly want Roryn to sleep well if they ever move back to their downtown Saskatoon apartment. But I think the changes that have happened to Saskatoon's local news environment over the past two decades are the opposite of progress.

[Crisis]

I'm really curious about the logistics of the physical delivery of the Star Phoenix now that it will be printed in Estevan.

Oddly enough, we currently receive our hard copy of the SP before midnight on the day prior to the publication date. That sounds confusing - what I mean is that our Friday paper is often put in our mailbox at 11:45pm on Thursday. So, in one way, it still leaves time to have a paper printed in Estevan shipped up to Saskatoon at delivered by 7am in the morning.

However, I'm sure that the printed news that is already old when being printed in Saskatoon will be even older once printing is moved to Estevan. I'm afraid that this will mean my Friday morning paper will mainly contain Wednesday's news in the future. One more nail in the coffin of print journalism...

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by Roquentin

Damn roryn1 back with a vengeance. Speaking truth to power. I agree with everything.

I just love to see shakeups of our downtown land owning overlords that make downtown suck haha. Remai Art gallery is great but Remai’s and William’s need to admit the damage to downtown they’re doing with their monopolized land ownership they hold on to. Our city isn’t their play pen.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Crisis

I'm really curious about the logistics of the physical delivery of the Star Phoenix now that it will be printed in Estevan.

Oddly enough, we currently receive our hard copy of the SP before midnight on the day prior to the publication date. That sounds confusing - what I mean is that our Friday paper is often put in our mailbox at 11:45pm on Thursday. So, in one way, it still leaves time to have a paper printed in Estevan shipped up to Saskatoon at delivered by 7am in the morning.

However, I'm sure that the printed news that is already old when being printed in Saskatoon will be even older once printing is moved to Estevan. I'm afraid that this will mean my Friday morning paper will mainly contain Wednesday's news in the future. One more nail in the coffin of print journalism...

Postmedia doesn't give a crap about whether the print product is quality or not.

But logistically it would still possible to deliver a paper printed at 11 or midnight to Saskatoon by 6 or 7 the next morning if the paper made that a priority. You could even have a small printing operation in Saskatoon so that sections held back from printing because of late developments (usually sports) could be added to the papers once they arrive in Saskatoon.

After all, the NYT was able to deliver the daily paper to Philadelphia by 6am even in the 1930s.

Originally Posted by roryn1

I just love to see shakeups of our downtown land owning overlords that make downtown suck haha. Remai Art gallery is great but Remai’s and William’s need to admit the damage to downtown they’re doing with their monopolized land ownership they hold on to. Our city isn’t their play pen.

Looping the Starphoenix lot in with the downtown surface parking lots is dumb. Until pretty recently the building was very well used. And almost every building downtown without a parking garage has a large, private parking lot.

[The Bess]

There is a survey on high density on the city engagement site, it is linked to the 12th street development.

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by The Bess

There is a survey on high density on the city engagement site, it is linked to the 12th street development.

Thanks....I took the time to complete. It is very short, so I encourage others to complete as well. I am hoping the majority will support the rezoning, but whatever your opinion it is best to share it with the city....otherwise, don't complain after the fact!

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

Thanks....I took the time to complete. It is very short, so I encourage others to complete as well. I am hoping the majority will support the rezoning, but whatever your opinion it is best to share it with the city....otherwise, don't complain after the fact!

I was sent the survey too. But it was more of a city wide survey for high density developments. I'm in support for more of that.

[Roquentin]

Originally Posted by The Bess

There is a survey on high density on the city engagement site, it is linked to the 12th street development.

https://www.saskatoon.ca/engage/high-density-mixed-use

[The S'toon Goon]

I noticed some work being done at (or maybe adjacent) to the lot beside the parktown to the south. I think I recall that lot being for sale, but hadn't heard anything else. Has anyone heard anything going up there?

[Roquentin]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

I noticed some work being done at (or maybe adjacent) to the lot beside the parktown to the south. I think I recall that lot being for sale, but hadn't heard anything else. Has anyone heard anything going up there?

As far as I know, that parking lot was sold along with the Ukrainian Museum's building:

https://www.icrcommercial.com/wp-con...dina-Cres-.pdf

For $10.7M, you'd expect the buyer to have ambitious plans, and the property's current M4 zoning would allow for any number of uses (including high-rise residential, hotel, and/or office uses). My guess is that we'll eventually see an apartment building there, much to the chagrin of the folks in the condos next-door.

I'm very curious about the future of the museum, and I wonder if they'll relocate to another spot downtown. As I peruse their website, I find no mention of relocation plans, so it might be premature to speculate. However, I keep thinking of the soon-to-be-vacated Frances Morrison Library. I wonder if it might find new life as a museum and home to other local cultural groups and institutions. It's a nice thought.

By the way, the two small properties (not all three) at the corner of 23rd and Spadina are for sale, again with M4 zoning:

https://www.icrcommercial.com/proper...atoon-SK-Call/

Between that corner, the lot south of St John's Anglican Cathedral, the Knox United Church's parking lot, and this property south of the Park Town Hotel, these two blocks of Spadina might see considerable investment in the coming years. Throw in the Star Phoenix property, and this area is ready to explode. I'd wager that there's a lot of smart money to be made by the group that moves first on a new development in this area. There's no lack of potential here. Fingers crossed.

[canuck10]

Originally Posted by Roquentin

As far as I know, that parking lot was sold along with the Ukrainian Museum's building:

Both of those lots were owned by the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. The parking lot sold in 2021 to a numbered company. The title to the museum didn't change - it is still owned by the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. I suppose there might be some kind of agreement for sale on the museum property but it didn't sell with the parking lot.

[Roquentin]

Originally Posted by canuck10

Both of those lots were owned by the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. The parking lot sold in 2021 to a numbered company. The title to the museum didn't change - it is still owned by the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. I suppose there might be some kind of agreement for sale on the museum property but it didn't sell with the parking lot.

Hmm, interesting! I'd wondered if both had actually sold as a package deal. Thanks very much for clearing that up!

Well, so much for my "the library could become a museum" musings! I hope the sale of the parking lot gives the museum some stability in the long term.

I wonder what will happen with the parking lot, though. It's midblock, narrow, and deep. Hmm. Well, I'd love to see the Park Town Hotel expand onto it. I wonder what else would work there (besides a parking lot, haha).

[Roquentin]

Sorry for the double-post, but this caught my eye:

https://www.ckom.com/2023/01/23/fair...llness-centre/

Fairhaven is now experiencing issues that have become familiar to downtown residents. I live downtown, and people in my building are saying that the neighborhood has improved since the shelter was relocated. I don't know if that's really the case or not, but their perception of safety has improved somewhat at least, and that's the kind of thing that might have broader ripples in the long-term health of the core.

However, I'm concerned by the way that the province and the city have gone all-in on their support of the STC. I'll also parrot the opinion of someone who commented on the article's Reddit-thread by saying that I believe smaller, dispersed facilities might be better than one or two larger facilities. As well, consultation is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed moving forward. I don't think that Mark Arcand's opinions should be the de facto will of the province or the city.

[Echoes]

Update on the New Central Library project contains this nugget:

SALE OF 311 23RD STREET
Saskatoon Public Library’s Board has sold the building and property at 311 23rd Street (the existing Frances Morrison Central Library) for $4.45 million. The transfer of ownership will occur on Dec 1, 2026. Duchuck Holdings Ltd. purchased the property and SPL does not have details on the future or intended use of the building. The Frances Morrison Central Library will remain in operation until closer to the opening of the new central library. A permanent closure date has not been set.

https://saskatooncentrallibrary.ca/c...hedule-update/

[circle33]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Update on the New Central Library project contains this nugget:



https://saskatooncentrallibrary.ca/c...hedule-update/

Good to hear. They do nice work.