Saskatoon | River Landing Village | 88m-63m-50m-55m | 18-20-17-13 floors | U/C

[SkydivePilot]

It's the same story as Capital Pointe in Regina - lol!

[circle33]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

And once again how long is Nasser allowed to speculate on Saskatoon's premier piece of river-front property? 10 years? 20 years? perpetuity?

Originally Posted by Article

Without deadlines imposed by city council, the timing of the project is firmly in the hands of the company. Victory Majors owns the land and the city can't force it to start construction

It would appear perpetuity is the short answer to your question.

Mega projects are rarely a good idea.

[micheal]

Originally Posted by SkydivePilot

It's the same story as Capital Pointe in Regina - lol!

the only difference with cp is that if they don't start construction before the end of June, everybody gets their deposits back.

[EpicPonyTime]

I'm not sure what is better: holding out for River Landing and receiving nothing, or going back to the drawing board and getting something built on the land, even if it won't be as impressive.

[Arts]

Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime

I'm not sure what is better: holding out for River Landing and receiving nothing, or going back to the drawing board and getting something built on the land, even if it won't be as impressive.

me personally, I will hold out for quality every time. Having nothing built is better than having the wrong thing built, and I personally don't find bare land an eyesore.

However, that being said, I don't think it's right for Nasser to hold this land which he committed to building a quality project on indefinitely. If he cannot proceed as he agreed to the land should be bought back by the city for the exact amount he has paid for it.

[The S'toon Goon]

I can understand waiting for the majority of condos and offices to be sold before starting construction. However, if they have a hotel lined up and if Cavalier Enterprises is still a partner you would think they do, so why not start that building first? That may inspire enough confidence to sell enough condos or offices to get the other towers started.

[Crisis]

What has to be kept in mind is that this whole development is planned to sit on top of a very large, very expensive underground parkade. It simply isn't feasible to proceed with only part of this project before having firm commitments for all of the buildings.

[The S'toon Goon]

^^^

Good point. I blanked on all of the underground stuff.

[drm310]

Parcel ‘Y': Victory Majors developer asking for patience

By Wendy Winiewski, Global Saskatoon
July 24, 2014 5:56 pm
SASKATOON – The 2014 construction season is well under way. Cranes are a common sight in the downtown skyline.

Parcel ‘Y’, east of Persephone Theatre and south of 19th Street remains untouched. The fenced-off and weed-ridden lot is waiting to realize its full potential.

Thursday afternoon, John Nasser with Victory Majors, came to the site for a discussion.

While a new development has been approved for River Landing, construction has yet to start on the cornerstone project.

“We would have liked to have started by now but honestly, it has been a roller coaster,” said Nasser.

Victory Majors has owned the land since 2010. It was originally sold to Calgary’s Lake Placid Developments but failing to meet financial deadlines, the deal fell through. [...]

Read more: http://globalnews.ca/news/1472858/pa...-for-patience/

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by drm310

Parcel ‘Y': Victory Majors developer asking for patience

By Wendy Winiewski, Global Saskatoon
July 24, 2014 5:56 pm
SASKATOON – The 2014 construction season is well under way. Cranes are a common sight in the downtown skyline.

Parcel ‘Y’, east of Persephone Theatre and south of 19th Street remains untouched. The fenced-off and weed-ridden lot is waiting to realize its full potential.

Thursday afternoon, John Nasser with Victory Majors, came to the site for a discussion.

While a new development has been approved for River Landing, construction has yet to start on the cornerstone project.

“We would have liked to have started by now but honestly, it has been a roller coaster,” said Nasser.

Victory Majors has owned the land since 2010. It was originally sold to Calgary’s Lake Placid Developments but failing to meet financial deadlines, the deal fell through. [...]

Read more: http://globalnews.ca/news/1472858/pa...-for-patience/

A caveat should have been put on the property with stipulations and deadlines about when any construction should commence, Holding onto the property and doing diddly squat for four years is ridiculous.

[Arts]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

A caveat should have been put on the property with stipulations and deadlines about when any construction should commence, Holding onto the property and doing diddly squat for four years is ridiculous.

Which other developers were itching to buy this land and build on it? I don't think there have been too many qualified bidders able to complete the vision of what we all want to see lining up to throw their money at it.

The only viable alternative to being patient was to subdivide the parcel and allow multiple developers to build cheap commercial low-rises on it.

[Brutopian]

River Landing highrise project still viable, Saskatoon analyst says

Despite city council passing major downtown project

CBC News
Dec 16-17, 2014

A real estate analyst says the Saskatoon highrise development approved by city council yesterday should not impact one that was given the go-ahead years ago.

Council approved a proposal from North Prairie Developments to build two new downtown highrise towers that include condos and offices. Plans are for one of the towers to stand at 105 metres, making it the tallest building in the province.

However, another development proposed by Victory Majors in 2010 at River Landing, which includes residential, a hotel and office towers, has yet to begin construction.

[........]

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/sas...tory/1.2875388

[drm310]

Saskatoon River Landing project the Banks progressing
Developer also has thoughts on the future of River Landing

CBC News Posted: Jan 08, 2015 7:11 AM CT
Last Updated: Jan 08, 2015 7:47 AM CT

[...]

Atchison raised the example of The Banks when asked about the so-called anchor project on the premier section of land at River Landing.

Atchison said he has little hope construction will begin there soon.

"Well if you think of the time it takes to get a building permit and everything else that goes with it, muster your construction crews…it would be nice to see 2015, I think it would difficult at this time."

The local developer, Victory Majors, said the mayor is correct.

In an e-mail to CBC News, John Nasser said the company remains committed to building a hotel, commercial and residential development at River Landing, but that there are several variables in play and that it will be a couple of years before construction begins.

[...]

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...sing-1.2893661

[Brutopian]

I happened to drive by Parcel Y today and thought I noticed some folks drilling on the property. Soil testing perhaps? Did anyone else see a crew out there today?

[Dillweed]

I would be inclined to think that this project is probably not going to be going ahead any time soon. Maybe within 3 to 5 years or so but considering how long its been on the drawing board which is how long? - seems like a long time to me. It appears to me that it won't be in the foreseeable near future is my guess.

Granted Rivers Landing is a larger project, "The Banks" is not exactly a small project either. When Looking at the the success of The Banks which I understand was the best pre-sale of any of Le Fevre's projects anywhere. One does have to be left scratching their heads how a developer who has never done a project outside of BC and probably never even set foot in Saskatoon until only a few years ago, would appear to have good understanding on what the Saskatoon market will buy. Not saying that Victory Majors or any other developer doesn't, I have my own thoughts as to maybe why The Banks has been so successful, but they sure seem to be doing something right in Saskatoon.

[macca]

As brutopian pointed out, geotechnical work has been happening onsite for a few weeks. There could be positive news soon. Stay tuned.

[Echoes]

I've been hearing rumblings of news on this soon.

[macca]

https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...cil_270415.pdf

pg 456

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by macca

https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...cil_270415.pdf

pg 456

So Nasser has sought out and apparently found additional partners to proceed in a "phased in" approach to development. Sounds like, if approved, an office/retail component would be the first phase developed. The condo phase (IF it were to even proceed) could then be sold to yet another partner.

I guess this is good news???? Really still no commitment to proceeding or any time schedule, but I guess bringing additional partners to table is positive. I AM disappointed that the condo phase does not appear to be part of initial plan....we really need more options for downtown living and there are so few options with river front location. Look how well The Banks was received.

I want to be happy and excited, but still jaded I guess.

[Crisis]

Sorry, should have posted this in the main Saskatoon thread.

Originally Posted by macca

https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/defau...cil_270415.pdf

pg 456

I failed to notice the "pg 456" note in the above post. As a result, I was scrolling through the document and did stumble across this little gem (pg 9):

Parking Restriction – Millar Avenue between 51st Street and
60th Street [File CK. 6120-2 and TS. 6120-3]
316 - 328
Recommendation
That parking be restricted on Millar Avenue between 51
st
Street
and 60
th
Street to create an extra lane of traffic in each direction
to improve traffic flow.

Presuming that they put in lane markings, this should significantly improve traffic flow on that major artery to the new north industrial development.