Saskatoon Construction III

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by Built different

I don't think this has been posted yet. This was released all the way back in 2018. It's the University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering Master Plan, designed by Brook McIlroy. Recently, the University said demolition of the old arena will begin. Hopefully they have maintained the same design. The University could really benefit from a project like this.


https://brookmcilroy.com/projects/un...g-master-plan/

Looking at some of the description in the link:

The design is based on both a new 25,000 m² (270,000 ft²) state-of-the-art addition as well as a renovation of the 33,500 m² (360,000 ft²) existing complex

This is a much larger (and far more more expensive) undertaking than what I'd Understood was the plan for the expansion. Looks great, though.

[ninipanini]

Is this the south west corner of Broadway and 8th? While going by there yesterday, I did notice that a lot of the trees that were on that lot were cut down... maybe some movement there finally? I can't remember when the old houses on that lot were demolished, but I think it must go back close to 20 years at this point. Would be great to see this location get some use!

Originally Posted by Echoes

What a great bookend for Broadway. Excellent scale and form for that intersection.



https://www.saskatoon.ca/engage/8th-...roadway-avenue

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by ninipanini

Is this the south west corner of Broadway and 8th? While going by there yesterday, I did notice that a lot of the trees that were on that lot were cut down... maybe some movement there finally? I can't remember when the old houses on that lot were demolished, but I think it must go back close to 20 years at this point. Would be great to see this location get some use!

I was wondering the same thing. I saw this post yesterday, then on the local CTV news, there was a story that made me think of this. A man was cutting down trees at 8th & Broadway, when one of the trees fell on him. He was taken to hospital but injuries weren't thought to be serious.

[Pardot Kynes]

The 8th and Broadway development looks really nice. Props to anyone who can sleep while living on that corner.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Roquentin

Wow, I don't love that. I wish they'd been able to make the current location work. That part of town will be left with a big gap to fill. I guess that could also be called an opportunity, but things happen slowly here. I predict big box stores after a long vacancy/demolition process, though I'd much rather see high-density mixed use of course. With respect to the other side of the river, Preston will be in need of a BRT line before long. I wonder what the timeline is on that.

I completely agree with you. Losing an anchor like this will be destabilizing to the neighbourhoods around the current campus. I wish they viewed the campus project as a city-building opportunity to create something more meaningful than just plunking down a cluster of buildings. I would've loved for them to look at a portion of the City Yards (maybe along 25th where the arena is unlikely to end up), which could've helped jumpstart the North Downtown neighbourhood while giving Downtown a bit of a shot in the arm and keeping the campus centrally located.

An "innovation corridor" on Preston with the U of S, Innovation Place, and SK Polytech is a nice sounding idea, but I'm imagining the new campus in a windswept field. At least it's not going out on the periphery of the city, and at least a BRT route is planned for Preston.

Originally Posted by Built different

I don't think this has been posted yet. This was released all the way back in 2018. It's the University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering Master Plan, designed by Brook McIlroy. Recently, the University said demolition of the old arena will begin. Hopefully they have maintained the same design. The University could really benefit from a project like this.

https://brookmcilroy.com/projects/un...g-master-plan/

Thanks for sharing! I've never seen this before, and I was actually just thinking about mentions of this project from a couple years ago when the university had announced demolishing Rutherford and looking to give away those old agricultural buildings to make way for this. I wonder what the timeline is.

Originally Posted by ninipanini

Is this the south west corner of Broadway and 8th? While going by there yesterday, I did notice that a lot of the trees that were on that lot were cut down... maybe some movement there finally? I can't remember when the old houses on that lot were demolished, but I think it must go back close to 20 years at this point. Would be great to see this location get some use!

Yes, this is the southwest corner. Per the info on the city website, it's proposed for the entire block between 7th and 8th.

[EpicPonyTime]

It's really hard not to look at SIAST's plans to relocate and feel disappointed. Edmonton's downtown benefits so much from the buildup of MacEwan's campus. Not to mention the smaller colleges like NorQuest which have their own small campuses. MacEwan has really helped spur development in its vicinity, which was the former site of the Rathole and rail yards years ago. Imagine if they incorporated a new SIAST campus in the plans for north downtown. Oh well, a man can dream.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

It's really hard not to look at SIAST's plans to relocate and feel disappointed. Edmonton's downtown benefits so much from the buildup of MacEwan's campus. Not to mention the smaller colleges like NorQuest which have their own small campuses. MacEwan has really helped spur development in its vicinity, which was the former site of the Rathole and rail yards years ago. Imagine if they incorporated a new SIAST campus in the plans for north downtown. Oh well, a man can dream.

100% agree. I just did a week long class at the University of Calgary campus downtown and it was so much fun to stay at a Marriott only a few blocks away, walk to class, enjoy the food and atmosphere calgary has to offer downtown.

With this being the set in stone reality this just means folks need to prioritize transport from campus to downtown better - similar to how LRT makes MIT/Harvard easily accessible to Boston’s downtown. Boston’s education institutions are almost identical comparable distance from their downtown as well - as a shining golden start example to strive towards aha

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Pardot Kynes

Props to anyone who can sleep while living on that corner.

Saskatoon is dead after 9pm. With the exception of some jerks doing a burnout at the intersection, I don't think this building will be affected by sound. Also, as someone who grew up on a farm but has also lived beside the Skytrain and now lives on Robson street, you get used to sounds pretty quickly.

[ninipanini]

Yes, this is the southwest corner. Per the info on the city website, it's proposed for the entire block between 7th and 8th.[/QUOTE]

We just received a notice of rezoning for that block from the city this afternoon. Looks like the plan is for 2 6-story buildings with dwellings and commercial space on the ground floor. The notice also mentions that there are planned to be 92 below-grade parking spots and 47 surface spaces; more interestingly they also include 54 bicycle parking places with 46 being below grade!

There is going to be an online public information meeting on Tues Dec 6 from 7-830.

I'm excited to see some life finally breathed into this long neglected (and I would think super prime!) corner.

[drm310]

Saskatoon city council set to consider parking lot north of Midtown as site for downtown arena
City administration recommends the parking lot as a potential location

Theresa Kliem · CBC News
Posted: Nov 10, 2022 10:42 AM CT | Last Updated: November 10

Saskatoon is one step closer to determining a potential location for a future event centre and arena.

City administration recommends the parking lot north of the Midtown shopping centre downtown for the facility.

According to a news release, city council is set to consider the recommendation about the parking lot, which is located north of 22nd Street, between First Avenue and Pacific Avenue.

It isn't the only option for a location. Another feasible alternative, based on the administration's analysis, is at the city yards in the north downtown area.
City administration recommends site A, the parking lot north of the Midtown shopping centre, over site B for a future downtown centre and arena. The conditional agreement to buy the parking lot includes a purchase price of $25 million, the city said.

The decision to recommend the lot north of Midtown was based — among other things — on "an evaluation of the sites against extensive technical criteria," the city said in its news release.

This site got the highest score and ranked favourably in almost every category, according to the city. [...]

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...-lot-1.6647191

[scotty c]

Council approved the purchase of the Midtown parking lot today. Should be an interesting few years. During deliberations there was lots of talk about the BRT being pivotal to this location and greater transparency going forward in the process . Hopefully both of those are true.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...rena-1.6652737

[EpicPonyTime]

Throwing back to the conversation about Martensville's new arena from a few weeks ago, it was recently announced the project would receive $32.6 million in federal and provincial funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/over-32...rink-1.6152673

This is huge news for the city and the entire area, and I imagine it drastically moves up the start of construction. Gripes with the plans aside, the city needs desperately needs a new arena, and I'm thrilled that this gives them the opportunity to build something nice rather than something adequate.

Warman also applied to the Program to fund an expansion of the Legends Centre but were denied. I gotta admit, the Martensviller (Martensvillain?) in me feels a bit of Schadenfreude. Bout time we get the nice new toy.

[Crisis]

When Warman built Legends Centre, it was done without any significant funding from the provincial or federal governments. The project was halted at the shell stage for close to a year while applying for additional funding. When that didn’t happen, the town (at the time) bit the bullet and borrowed the money required to complete the project. Yeah, Warmanites are bit choked about getting no funding (again).

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by Crisis

When Warman built Legends Centre, it was done without any significant funding from the provincial or federal governments. The project was halted at the shell stage for close to a year while applying for additional funding. When that didn’t happen, the town (at the time) bit the bullet and borrowed the money required to complete the project. Yeah, Warmanites are bit choked about getting no funding (again).

Any insight into why Martensville would get the funding but not Warman? Is it because the Legends Centre is newer? As a former Warmanite, I’m curious.

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

Any insight into why Martensville would get the funding but not Warman? Is it because the Legends Centre is newer? As a former Warmanite, I’m curious.

No, I don't. As a Warman resident and contractor, I've been following the proposed addition for a few years. The plans are complete and ready to tender. The City of Warman has been passed over in a succession of rounds of government funding. While I have no kids that use the Legends Centre (soon to be re-named the Warman Home Centre Multiplex), nor did I when it was first built, I believe the addition of a second ice surface would be a net benefit for the community as a whole and support taking on debt to finance the expansion. Unlike many recreation facilities, an ice rink can actually be a net generator of revenue.

Interestingly enough, I just stumbled across this article, which contains the latest info of funding the expansion:
https://www.cjwwradio.com/2022/11/22...ill-be-funded/

[djforsberg]

Originally Posted by Crisis

No, I don't. As a Warman resident and contractor, I've been following the proposed addition for a few years. The plans are complete and ready to tender. The City of Warman has been passed over in a succession of rounds of government funding. While I have no kids that use the Legends Centre (soon to be re-named the Warman Home Centre Multiplex), nor did I when it was first built, I believe the addition of a second ice surface would be a net benefit for the community as a whole and support taking on debt to finance the expansion. Unlike many recreation facilities, an ice rink can actually be a net generator of revenue.

Interestingly enough, I just stumbled across this article, which contains the latest info of funding the expansion:
https://www.cjwwradio.com/2022/11/22...ill-be-funded/

Thanks! I agree that it would benefit Warman immensely.

[EpicPonyTime]

I agree that it does not make sense why they couldn't fund both. I imagine it honestly just came down to the fact that Warman already has a new-ish facility, whereas Martensville's arena dates back to the 1980s. Out of the two, the Martensville arena was just more justifiable, but when you have a billion dollars to give away and both arenas would be a net benefit to the entire region, it doesn't make much sense.

As an aside, does anyone remember how much the Legends Centre cost when it was originally built?

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

As an aside, does anyone remember how much the Legends Centre cost when it was originally built?

About $22 million construction costs. Would’ve been about $4 million less if it was done in one straight go, but was split into multiple phases as financing permitted. So the project dragged out, lost economies of scale and was subject to price escalation. As I recall the full build took over 3 years.

[Overklll]

Now that the arena location is set, when will the Riversdale parcels get sold and, hopefully, built on ASAP? The Gather Market is going in spring 2023, I'm worried that there won't be enough action to keep tenants busy. Definitely would make a big difference having another 1,000 residents or so nearby.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by Overklll

Now that the arena location is set, when will the Riversdale parcels get sold and, hopefully, built on ASAP? The Gather Market is going in spring 2023, I'm worried that there won't be enough action to keep tenants busy. Definitely would make a big difference having another 1,000 residents or so nearby.

It’s very clear that city administration overlords have had no intention of building the arena on those parcels, so maybe in 15 years lol. like what is stopping them other than the fact that they’ve been so controlling of it. This administration needs a wake up call. it’s sad how controlling they are of the lots downtown, but somehow don’t care that one of the most prime lots downtown (the old credit union spot) is reaching a ten year anniversary of being empty all because remai’s and william’s are downtown land hoarders. Good thing we have folks like Dutchuk’s and Baydo now to stop their reigning terror control over the city’s land with mediocre builds they think can be offset by a taxpayer built mediocre gallery of art. It’s unfortunate that our city overlords aren’t proactive and carrying to build the perfect socialist city like the Chinese communists in cities like Shenzhen :/. I highly recommend checking out their controllership of that city lol, although it’s the silicon valley of china.