Saskatoon Construction III

[prairieguy]

their original plan and renderings were quite exciting...with windows opening up to street activity and second story, as well.

I too am disappointed in their 'step back' in terms of level of development. This is just too important a street to settle for the 'norm'.

[macca]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Not assigning any blame, just expressing my disappointment.

i was!

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Not assigning any blame, just expressing my disappointment.

I know that they tried to do different things there. There was an earlier rendering showing 2 stories, and a parkade plan that went to Council seeking permission to build underneath the sidewalk in order to be able to fit something functional.

do you think council had something to do with maybe going into the one storey development instead of the 2 storey one last year?

lets hope something better happens to the old RBC lot on broadway.

[casper]

Originally Posted by alt_center

This gem is gracing the fairly prominent intersection of Warman Rd. and 7th Ave.

A retro architecture building. Looks like something you would see small town Saskatchewan as a bar pretending to be a hotel.

[Echoes]

Not excusing its ugliness, but it's going to be a mosque, which helps explain the lack of windows and bulky mass. I believe there's supposed to be a small dome on top.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Not excusing its ugliness, but it's going to be a mosque, which helps explain the lack of windows and bulky mass. I believe there's supposed to be a small dome on top.

Cool. A mosque would be an interesting addition. If it also had a Minaret that would be a neat building to have in that location.

[Temperance]

The best I could say for this is "better than a parking lot." The Farnam Block should never have been allowed to deteriorate and never been torn down. This is a sign of a city that doesn't respect itself. We have so few heritage buildings and we just knock them down to build something that I'm sure will resemble an upscale strip mall.

Originally Posted by macca

i was!

[The S'toon Goon]

That hotel being built by the exhibition kinda just popped up! Or maybe I just haven't been in that area in a while. Either way it looks like it's at least 5 floors which is more than I would have guessed would have been there.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

their original plan and renderings were quite exciting...with windows opening up to street activity and second story, as well.

I too am disappointed in their 'step back' in terms of level of development. This is just too important a street to settle for the 'norm'.

When are we going to stop acting surprised when developers step back from their impressive first options and come up with some reason to build something that is generic and cheap?

I swear this happens a lot in this city. I understand why, but it's a huge annoyance seeing all these unique concepts either get dialed down or never built.

[Echoes]

Developer reveals plans for old police station refurbishment to begin in 2018

Duchuck Holdings Ltd. says it expects the old police station, which it bought for $10.7 million, to be ready by the end of next year.

Alex MacPherson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Published on: December 19, 2017 | Last Updated: December 19, 2017 6:00 AM CST

The new owner of Saskatoon’s old police station has been working on the building’s interior for weeks and plans to begin transforming its concrete exterior into a sleek glass facade this spring, despite not having tenants lined up to occupy it.

Most companies won’t start work on an office building until leases are signed, but Duchuck Holdings Ltd. is confident it can begin filling the 64,020-square-foot office building before the end of next year, according to a spokesman for the Saskatoon-based developer.

“We don’t have any deals done but we are talking to a number of potential tenants,” said ICR Commercial Real Estate managing partner Barry Stuart, who brokered the deal and spoke on behalf of Duchuck Holdings president Brent Suer.

“There really is a need for this kind of redevelopment in our market. Much of the city’s Class A (office space) is really decades old (and) the greenest building is one that is already built,” he added, noting that the developer is still aiming for a LEED gold certification.

Duchuck Holdings bought the police station — which it plans to rename River Quarry on 4th — from the City of Saskatoon for $10.7 million late last year. It revealed its plan for the building, which took longer than expected to develop, on Monday.

The company’s announcement comes as the city’s downtown office market struggles with sky-high vacancy rates. Colliers International reported this year that around 15 per cent of offices were empty, but forecast modest recovery and a concurrent “flight to quality.”

Stuart said the high vacancy rate is not a significant concern because demand for top-tier offices has remained comparatively strong — Colliers pegged the Class A vacancy rate at 5.6 per cent last year — and the new building will be desirable to potential tenants.

Although he declined to say how much money Duchuck Holdings plans to spend on the refurbishment — which includes new mechanical, electrical, plumbing and 85 heated parking stalls — Stuart said it’s considerably less than a new build would cost.

“I don’t believe we have competition due to timing, pricing and specifications,” he said.

Competition, however, could be on the horizon as a consortium of companies begins work on the first of two office towers planned for River Landing, while a local firm mulls a new nine-storey office building on a block along 22nd Street East.

The 13-storey tower under construction at River Landing is part of a $300 million complex being developed by Triovest Realtors Advisors Ltd. for owners Victory Majors Development Corp. and Greystone Managed Investments Inc.

[....]

http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local...-begin-in-2018

[mitchellk12]

i like the crisp look it has. no more ugly tan color

[Wyku]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

That hotel being built by the exhibition kinda just popped up! Or maybe I just haven't been in that area in a while. Either way it looks like it's at least 5 floors which is more than I would have guessed would have been there.

It's been going for awhile now--funny, I thought it was really dragging in how long it was taking from when I first noticed it going up . Maybe the quick pace of River Landing has my expectations thrown off a bit though .

[Wyku]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Developer reveals plans for old police station refurbishment to begin in 2018

Wow, looks great! It will really change the feel when walking past that area for sure, if it actually ends up looking like that of course .

They'll have to update their renderings to switch the bike lane placement and add some white pilons though...

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by casper

Cool. A mosque would be an interesting addition. If it also had a Minaret that would be a neat building to have in that location.

How is a fugly building acceptable just because it is a mosque?

[macca]

shiny new tower beside it too

saskatoon has no shortage of vacant sites with renderings of dreams

[casper]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

How is a fugly building acceptable just because it is a mosque?

Depends. If it has some ornate cladding on the outside and is decked out then it will look good. Most mosques are square buidlings with a small tower.

If they make it look like a small town saskatchewan hotel, then it is simply fugly.

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by macca

shiny new tower beside it too

saskatoon has no shortage of vacant sites with renderings of dreams

thats saskatoon square tower your talking about right?...or do you know something we dont know.

[macca]

north side of the building (where the parking lot is now), left side of the rendering

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by macca

north side of the building (where the parking lot is now), left side of the rendering

good eye. guess we will wait and see

[YXE]

Originally Posted by mitchellk12

good eye. guess we will wait and see

I have a friend who was doing some work on this project in the summer with the architect involved. They were looking at putting up an office tower next to the building where the parking lot is currently located. So, can confirm that that's 'the plan'. (In a perfect world with an incredibly robust economy...)