Saskatoon Construction III

[scotty c]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

Was dropping my wife off this morning downtown and drove by the conversion happening at the old police station (River Quarry) and was thinking it would make a pretty decent new downtown library!

I wonder if the Library Board/City would ever consider something like that...add a restaurant to main floor and the rest could be dedicated to Central Library.

https://riverquarry.ca/

Thoughts?

If the city wanted to use that as a library it would have been far more prudent to do the renovation themselves rather than sell the building, wait for the renovation and either buy or lease back.

[The S'toon Goon]

Originally Posted by scotty c

If the city wanted to use that as a library it would have been far more prudent to do the renovation themselves rather than sell the building, wait for the renovation and either buy or lease back.

I agree.

That being said, maybe the library can get in on the tower portion of the project if that happens. Have it built to suit their needs. Might require a long term lease agreement. Not sure if that's appealing to the library or if they want to own their spot.

[NotToScale]

Originally Posted by The S'toon Goon

I agree.

That being said, maybe the library can get in on the tower portion of the project if that happens. Have it built to suit their needs. Might require a long term lease agreement. Not sure if that's appealing to the library or if they want to own their spot.

I think their current location is prime, and if it eventually comes to building a new downtown library (which I think is needed), maybe they can lease a temporary space while the current building is demolished and rebuilt. But only if they can aquire (not sure if they do) the building beside them on 3rd Ave. Having a presence on three street fronts, with public amenities, gathering spaces and the option of programs to spill out onto the street facing city hall could create a nice public square feeling.

[roryn1]

I live two blocks from the downtown library and at the moment I avoid walking by it and go to the City of Saskatoon building side of the street. Its current state draws a lot of people that harrass people walking by - even witnessed a guy with wire cutters stealing a bike next to the front doors this summer lol. I would personally just like to see it demolished and turned into a parking lot now as the suburban libraries can cover what an iPad somehow can't do. 90% of the time I go there, the book I want isn't there and I have to drive to a suburb location anyway.

On a plus note for 4th Ave... High Noon Barber opened up last month at 233 4th Ave North. It is a really awesome atmosphere that we didn't have downtown taking up space in a building that was vacant forever. I highly recommend everyone check it out for men's haircuts and shaves - they also feature a ton of great local hair products. Prices aren't too bad either. I'm not affiliated lol, it's just great to see something like this in a more central downtown area. http://www.highnoonbarber.com/

[bryceyourself]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Shoppers. In Regina, all the Shoppers now have groceries including some meat and produce. Maybe that will happen in Evergreen.

Yeah that would be perfect there but there's already a Shoppers down the road so I don't know if they'd build another. In fact every mid sized grocery chain that I can think of has a presence in the area so I don't know what they could put in there, all I know is something is sorely needed. Even a 7/11 with a gas bar would better than what we have now.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by bryceyourself

Yeah that would be perfect there but there's already a Shoppers down the road so I don't know if they'd build another. In fact every mid sized grocery chain that I can think of has a presence in the area so I don't know what they could put in there, all I know is something is sorely needed. Even a 7/11 with a gas bar would better than what we have now.

Shoppers is shown on the map on Block TT as already going in.

[SaskE30]

There was an open house last night regarding a rezoning for a proposed mixed use development at Cumberland and 8th. It would feature 9 storeys of retail, office and residential.

Councilor Block posted a picture of the rendering on her Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/CynthiaBlockSk?r...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[IMG][/IMG]

[Crisis]

Regarding the Cumberland and 8th development shown above, the Original Joe's adjacent to this building is slated to move into the ground floor of the new building (note the corner with the patio). The existing OJ's building would then be demolished after they occupy the new space.

[prairieguy]

This is fantastic news....when this location was going through its recent redevelopment and upgrade, I was lamenting the fact they were not taking the opportunity to add some density and residential along the BRT. This is excellent for this area!

[prairieguy]

Arena convention centre

When I was driving by the Sears end of the Midtown Mall I was wondering again about the Toys'r'us location for an arena convention centre. That lot may be large enough for a well designed arena, but not enough space for convention centre.

Then I thought, the empty lot behind and around the Scotiabank Theatre might be large enough for convention space and could be connected with skywalk/meeting space. Not sure if it is an option, but perhaps even the theatre space could be used(when needed during the day for meeting space) for larger conventions?

I think the South Downtown is a great option for an arena development, with Remai, Persephone, Riverlanding and Farmers Market all so close....it's just space is so limited. The only other feasible option to me is the North Downtown. The lot across from current TCU Place would be my preference over city yards, as I don't see the need to develop another "additional entertainment district" that could take away from our existing vibrant downtown restaurants, pubs, shops.

[NotToScale]

Originally Posted by SaskE30

There was an open house last night regarding a rezoning for a proposed mixed use development at Cumberland and 8th. It would feature 9 storeys of retail, office and residential.

Councilor Block posted a picture of the rendering on her Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/CynthiaBlockSk?r...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[IMG][/IMG]

This is definitely something that should become common along 8th street. Great if it moves forward.

I'm assuming the façade facing 8th St. is the one with "business" on the front?

[Oiler]

Originally Posted by Crisis

Regarding the Cumberland and 8th development shown above, the Original Joe's adjacent to this building is slated to move into the ground floor of the new building (note the corner with the patio). The existing OJ's building would then be demolished after they occupy the new space.

Glad to see mixed-use and density.... but blah.... is this another Baydo-esque “in-house” design? Do we only have 5 materials and a half dozen colours in Saskatchewan? I’ve seen enough of that charcoal grey slate for a lifetime.

[roryn1]

I just can’t imagine them spending the costs in concrete and soundproof windows to actually make a building right next to 8th street traffic enjoyable. I lived on Portage Ave in Winnipeg which is a similar atmosphere, and going on to my balcony was just for nice pics of Portage, and never to enjoy how loud it was out there haha. This would be a wild horizontal step if they do decide to build something more expensive psf right on 8th - those drawings and an open house at a grocery store sure don’t entice me to “move your grandma or college kid here” though lol.

[prairieguy]

This is exactly the type of development that is happening in other cities along their rapid transit routes (whether that be bus or rail - see Calgary builds along their line).

It makes total sense to increase density close to amenities and public transit. I agree....design is pretty crappy...but the idea/concept makes perfect sense to me and hope it is successful enough to prompt more similar development.

This type of development would also make people like Mr. Naylor in Varstiy View very happy, as development would not be in his "neighborhood".

[mitchellk12]

Originally Posted by prairieguy

This is exactly the type of development that is happening in other cities along their rapid transit routes (whether that be bus or rail - see Calgary builds along their line).

It makes total sense to increase density close to amenities and public transit. I agree....design is pretty crappy...but the idea/concept makes perfect sense to me and hope it is successful enough to prompt more similar development.

This type of development would also make people like Mr. Naylor in Varstiy View very happy, as development would not be in his "neighborhood".

im sure this is just "a" rendering, and not "the" rendering. Glad to see something like this be proposed along 8th.

[The Bess]

This is an old article but shows some work being done at wanuskewin.

https://thestarphoenix.com/news/loca...ding-expansion

[Westsider4life]

RE Cumberland Square Development:

I hate to say that I disagree with some of the folks here characterizing this 'density' as good and harmonious with transit routes. This is not residential density but further office space density that complicates Saskatoon's larger objectives. I don't think that putting another engineering firm (for example) in an 8th strip mall will not improve parking, traffic, or transit.

This would have been a prime opportunity for some quality high density residential along 8th street. I would have considered moving!

This said, I realize that the rendering appears to allow for expansion but that is a precarious promise. Its progress (which is always good) but not quite as on-point as I would like.

[prairieguy]

I think the quote provided along with the rendering may have been misleading. My understanding is that this will be 3 stories commercial with 6 to 9 floors of residential.

However, I may be the one misinterpreting that!

[Crisis]

The Cumberland & 8th building is a 3 storey commercial building that has been designed to accommodate additional floors above. When, or if, those floors get built is just spectaculation.

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by Echoes

According to this agenda the city planning commission is considering the Urban Capital proposal on Broadway on Tuesday. I think that would put it at City Council for a vote in February?

So do we know any more about this as to timeline for Council to vote on it?

My understanding is that there were a few minor changes (i.e. options for more retail and something about options for plaza(?), but otherwise support from planning department.