I still have to pinch myself from time to time considering that Saskatoon is getting TWO 25 story buildings.
Glad to see Saskatonians are overwhelmed about their projects.
I hope someday that Saskatoon can push through it's 20 floor building height ceiling and start building into the 40 plus floors like Kelowna currently is.
Glad to see Saskatonians are overwhelmed about their projects.
I hope someday that Saskatoon can push through it's 20 floor building height ceiling and start building into the 40 plus floors like Kelowna currently is.
I sure hope i get to live to see a 40+ story tower next to the river. I lived in kelowna for about 6 months of the last 12 months and I am so envious - and there’s less jobs there, just wealth... Come on developers let’s bring that wealth here
Glad to see Saskatonians are overwhelmed about their projects.
I hope someday that Saskatoon can push through it's 20 floor building height ceiling and start building into the 40 plus floors like Kelowna currently is.
Tallest tower in Kelowna is like 34 floors, right? Most of the new buildings are ~20 floors but they are relatively slender and there is a lot of them which is why it's looking and feeling more like parts of greater Vancouver (densely packed slender tallish midrises).
I would take 2 or 3 20 story downtown condos every year over a 40 story one every couple decades, and from the aesthetic of the skyline would prefer if they varied in height rather than form a plateau. A 40 story plunked in the middle of downtown would stand out like a sore thumb and would have to be of very high quality to be impressive (which means high unit prices and less demand thus less densification downtown).
Tallest tower in Kelowna is like 34 floors, right? Most of the new buildings are ~20 floors but they are relatively slender and there is a lot of them which is why it's looking and feeling more like parts of greater Vancouver (densely packed slender tallish midrises).
I would take 2 or 3 20 story downtown condos every year over a 40 story one every couple decades, and from the aesthetic of the skyline would prefer if they varied in height rather than form a plateau. A 40 story plunked in the middle of downtown would stand out like a sore thumb and would have to be of very high quality to be impressive (which means high unit prices and less demand thus less densification downtown).
very sensible reasoning for Saskatoon. If can't build high quality like in BC best to stick with what you know instead.
ya, Kelowna's current tallest is 35 floors and the city is reaching higher, there's a 41 floor and a 46 floor planned buildings apparently.
I'd be ok with Saskatoon having shorter towers than other cities provided they had some element of design. These towers are just incredibly bland and ugly. It's a shame that on the one hand you have REMI and the gorgeous new towers and then there's this crap. It just doesn't make sense. These should never have been approved with it's current design.
I'd be ok with Saskatoon having shorter towers than other cities provided they had some element of design. These towers are just incredibly bland and ugly. It's a shame that on the one hand you have REMI and the gorgeous new towers and then there's this crap. It just doesn't make sense. These should never have been approved with it's current design.
Haha yup. On one side of downtown you’ve now got Ellen Remai’s beautiful art gallery investment, and then when it actually comes down to business the Remai’s aren’t known for good looking work - next to Baydo’s project is her family’s massive parking lot leased to the city that they don’t even maintain nor try to sell to encourage a happier healthier downtown lol. I guess you have to make Saskatoon ugly to make money here..
many many not care for the look here, but... look at it’s neighboring buildings haha. This will definitely be one of the nicest buildings in the north downtown. It’s definitely a step up from what currently exists and I hope it forces neighboring buildings (cough cough Boardwalk ) to finally do some serious upgrades to their nasty buildings.
I could be wrong but I think the entire fifth avenue main level is retail now? That would be extremely exciting if so.. This is going to be a very active street very soon. Everyone on this thread is so excited for River Landing, but what walkable retail space are we really getting from that? Not much...
It's a paradox, isn't it, how soul-crushing commie blocks can still be a step up in the grand scheme of things. If I had to describe downtown Saskatoon in a single word, I think I would say that it is quite bleak. (Or stark? Is stark a better descriptor?) I think I'm going to start basing my opinions of downtown architecture on the question "Does this make the area more or less bleak?"
In this case, in my opinion, the towers look like a lost cause. They're pretty dismal: Baydo's Broadway experiment writ large. And my god, that podium! If I could only have one wish, it would be for improvements to the podium, especially the parkade levels along 5th ave. Imagine walking past that in the winter, ugh. It's so cold and sterile, foreboding and alienating. I like the little walkway in the middle of the ground floor, but not at the expense of entrances onto 5th avenue that would actually add activity to the street and help ensure some upkeep to the streetscape. If only the parkade could be placed behind an active-use frontage, too, to eliminate the blank and window-slit portions of the podium. Some variety in construction materials would be nice too (brick would be a godsend). If these shitboxes had a nice podium, I'd shut up about them forever.
Edit: Wait a minute --- is the walkway in the middle of the ground floor for cars, maybe as a drop-off spot and entrance to the parkade? That seems less than ideal for 5th ave. I wish detailed plans were available.
Last edited by Roquentin; Mar 23, 2021 at 7:05 AM.
I have a weird feeling that they might refine the podium still... fingers crossed!
Well, it's a bit of a blank canvas right now, so who knows. Barring a total redesign, wouldn't it be nice if there were a public art component making use of those big, blank walls? Give this pig some lipstick!
very sensible reasoning for Saskatoon. If can't build high quality like in BC best to stick with what you know instead.
ya, Kelowna's current tallest is 35 floors and the city is reaching higher, there's a 41 floor and a 46 floor planned buildings apparently.
That's crazy! I lived in KO in the 80s for a couple years, then spent all my summers out there in the 90s, seemed like it kept just sprawling and was never going to need to go that tall to densify. I have some relatives that own one of the biggest construction companies in the valley and my dad and bro built condos throughout the valley for most of the past 20 years, so much change but never thought I'd be seeing actual highrises going up there.
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