For those who don't read the local fishwrap...
Block 146 Fate Uncertain
No development planned yet for area near Galaxy Theatre
Published: Thursday, October 05, 2006
Cineplex Galaxy Saskatoon has been drawing patrons to Hollywood's latest offerings for a month now, but there is no blockbuster development ready to be unveiled for the rest of the downtown city block on which the theatre sits.
The fate of the remaining part of Block 146, as it has come to be known, is in the hands of Tonko Realty Advisors, a Calgary land development and management firm. Tonko has been handed the task of marketing the remaining Block 146 land as well as managing the theatre lease for Greystone Managed Investments Inc. of Regina.
Greystone, on behalf of a multitude of public-sector employee pension funds, bought the land from Princeton Developments Ltd., an Edmonton company that has sold off all of its Western Canada holdings in the past year. These pension funds have real estate holdings across Canada.
Princeton owned Block 146 for most of this decade after buying the land, which had been assembled many years earlier by the city. Former Princeton official Lanny White was recognized last week at the gala opening of the Cineplex Galaxy for his work in signing up the theatre chain to lease the site.
Peter Cohos, the principal partner with Tonko, says it's only in the past few months that Greystone has assigned his company the task of marketing the balance of the Block 146 land.
In his visits to the city to look over the site, Cohos sees a two-pronged approach to getting development on the rest of the block.
To the south of the main entrance to the theatre is a strip of land that Cohos is calling "parcel two," which is open for retail development. That land runs from the city sidewalk on Second Avenue, south along the east wall of the theatre.
"The plan is to build anywhere between 10,000 to 12,000 square feet of retail space that they would hope would be complementary to the movie theatre," Cohos said, adding that retail includes restaurant space.
"The obvious thing is you put up a restaurant there and the business community would use it at lunch time and the crowd wanting to go to the theatre at night would use it then."
The big question is what will happen with the land south of the theatre, which is now a gravel parking lot and comprises at least 50 per cent of the total Block 146 site.
Cohos says that land and its possible use is a "blank canvas" right now and will depend on how quickly developments at the nearby River Landing project occur.
"We are very intrigued to see what happens with the south lands. In other words, will Ellen Remai go ahead and build the condo and the hotel?" Cohos said, adding how quickly Persephone Theatre gets built and what other government money that helps to attract will also be a factor.
Should Remai's company place a condo tower adjacent to its proposed hotel spa, then Block 146 could have residential development as well, he said.
"It could also be an office building in that location. It would be kind of a lovely place to have an office building if Mrs. Remai actually builds the hotel and there was food facilities and a person could go for a lovely walk along the river walk."
Cohos says Tonko won't sit passively on the land, as the pension funds that now own Block 146 will only maximize their return if the land is developed.
"On the flip side though, let's not build something for the sake of building and have it become a financial disaster for those pensioners as well," he said.
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There's new garbage/recycling bins downtown. Pretty exciting stuff.
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