Saskatoon Construction III

[scotty c]

Is it possible that the Sears location of the mall could be renovated and move the Bay into that location. The current Bay site could then be converted into convention space as it is already attached to TCU Place. Put an arena on the lot North of 22nd and connect the 2 with skywalks. Leaves the former STC site as a prime location for a parkade with ground level bars/restaurants perfectly situated across from the arena. From there it’s an easy walk to North Downtown which could help spur that development. Also spreads the foc points of Downtown (arena and river landing) out which ensures that business throughout downtown will be within walking distance.

[EpicPonyTime]

Originally Posted by saskatoonborn

Well luckily its not like there are a dozen surface lots in the area near by. One of thes could be purchased and used for the trucks and busses during events that require them and used as public parking the rest of the time. Much like a reserved parking meter for example. I doesnt have to be beside andor underneath it.

I can already hear the suburbanites complaining about that. "They take up valuable parking space during shows!" "Why are they allowed to park so close to the arena when attendees have to park and walk? "What's a bus?"

[saskatoonborn]

Lol

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Hear hear.

The people peddling the tired arguments about a parking and traffic apocalypse with a downtown arena fail to apply any critical thinking to the matter.

I took transit to Michelle Obama and bypassed all the traffic to it and was able to get there almost exactly when it started while also having time to grab refreshments - 12 minutes via transit. While leaving Michelle Obama, someone behind me said “if they build this thing downtown they’re going to have to build a humongous parkade.” I turned around and told her how it took me 12 minutes to get here and will probably take the same getting back and how it’s rejuvinated Edmonton. Not much of what I said was absorbed because they couldn’t comprehend not bringing their car downtown.

I don’t think urbanites realize that going to events is an experience that doesn’t just include staring at the event, but actually socializing by going for drinks before and after. They just have such a stubborn mindset when it comes to change and they need to see to believe. We can easily get half the cost covered through sponsorship and a quarter through the provincial and federal gov’s. What’s left is the equivalent of building maybe two overpasses in increased tax dollars in a city that already pays the lowest in the country.

[saskatoonborn]

Talking to my friends last night I think one of the problems is people do not pay attention to the things the city does then they get angry when they hear about something they dont understand or is drastically different from what they are used to. I think the reason We on this forum are all supportive of this move is because we have taken an interest in what actually goes on in the city by both the government and privite parties. They were against the whole losing parking downtown thing as well but had no idea that BRT was coming for example and when I explained that the bus ride could be( at somepoint) just 5 or 10 min downtown they started warming up to the idea. if there is big enough demand for parking someone will build a parkade. there will be a lot of parking downtown in the areas that we have suggested esspecially since RL office tower is going up. I dont know why Its parkade couldnt be utilized on evenings and weekends?

Anyways my point is people need to take a bigger interest in what happens in the city and be more open to the discussion of change instead of getting taken aback by it and getting angry. Perhaps the 10 years of growth is still to recent and new to counteract peoples long standing belief that nothing changes here devloped by nearly 40 years of stagnation.

[Horko]

Some of your points above are the reason i recently joined this forum. Forward thinking and sound ideas from knowledgeable people . I posted a few blurbs on Reddit and got the typical idiotic responses...don't think i'll bother posting on Facebook.

[saskatoonborn]

Originally Posted by Horko

Some of your points above are the reason i recently joined this forum. Forward thinking and sound ideas from knowledgeable people . I posted a few blurbs on Reddit and got the typical idiotic responses...don't think i'll bother posting on Facebook.

Absolutely great to have you here. I typically avoid Facebook like the plague myself as well.

[The Bess]

i remember when the midtown was only one floor then they added the second. I would be curious to know if they could add a third, then they could use the Bay for the convention center and move more stores to the sears side. Maybe a skywalk over 20th where there is lots of room for more retail and maybe some office or condo space. Put a skywalk to the arena and hell you could walk straight to your concert or game.

[macca]

just say no to skywalks

[The Bess]

what if it was a clear tube instead of your typical ugly square hanging in the air

[The Bess]

anyone read the whole report on Idylwyld, here's a portion of it.

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

[The Bess]

Here's a link to the city site

https://www.saskatoon.ca/business-de...agine-idylwyld

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by macca

just say no to skywalks

I don’t think the people that dispute skywalks in our -30 for 8 months city actually live and work downtown to have enough say to say no to them. The fact we don’t have them is a deciding factor in myself moving to a warmer climate since there’s always days you can borderline not get to work without taking a taxi 3 blocks which is ridiculous.

Ex. If you measured people walking from the three office towers in the Scotia Center to Midtown Mall in the summer versus the winter, you’d see a dramatic drop in the winter, which means huge amounts of lost revenue to our downtown and more incentive for shops downtown to close.

[roryn1]

When I was going to school - on the nasty -30 days or windy snow days when it’s not worth it to take transit and freeze in the stops I would park underground health sciences and walk through the skywalks and tunnels all the way to the other side of campus (an extra 20-30 minutes) versus walk outside. No one uses them in the summer as people like Vitamin D and our campus outside is beautiful. Without those skywalks and tunnels though - I’d recommend friends who are entering college to probably do their college experience in a warmer climate. My pattern of doing this is not an anomaly and most underground parkades on campus would be maxed out. If we have heated bus stops I’d definitely rethink my pattern as would a ton of students. This BRT system is going to make immense changes to people’s transportation patterns in this city.

[nook]

I've seen a lot of people photoshopping the Sasktel Centre over certain areas of the downtown lately. This is great, but I think we need to remember that what would be build is an arena with a larger footprint that the Sasktel Centre.

During the presentation to city council, one comparable that was brought up a few times was the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. It contains a convention center and the Wells Fargo Arena. The area was finished in 2010, and the Wells Fargo Arena is a modern arena that seats about 15,000 - 16,000, depending on the type of event. The arena is home to the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League, and also home of the Iowa Wild of the AHL. I went to google maps and took screen shots of roughly the same distance away and did some photoshop magic.

The arena itself would fit in all three downtown locations that I can find, though the Toys R Us location would be a tight squeeze.


North Downtown

22nd and Pacific

20th street

Honestly, I'm a big fan of the 22nd and Pacific location because I think we could tie it into the hotels nearby and perhaps save some money by building a skywalk to the current events centre. It could lead to the warehouse district being a busy hub for the arena, and 22nd street is a major-ish street in the city.

[hunter12]

Originally Posted by roryn1

I don’t think the people that dispute skywalks in our -30 for 8 months city actually live and work downtown to have enough say to say no to them. The fact we don’t have them is a deciding factor in myself moving to a warmer climate since there’s always days you can borderline not get to work without taking a taxi 3 blocks which is ridiculous.

Ex. If you measured people walking from the three office towers in the Scotia Center to Midtown Mall in the summer versus the winter, you’d see a dramatic drop in the winter, which means huge amounts of lost revenue to our downtown and more incentive for shops downtown to close.

I have worked in downtown Saskatoon for over 30 years and I have always wished we had skywalks downtown. When I go to Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg its so easy and comfortable to walk all over downtown when you don't have to go out in the freezing cold. I love their skywalk systems and complain every time that we don't have any. You can get around so much faster because you don't have to stand at corners waiting for a light to change. It sure would make BRT on 3rd ave more attractive if you could get off the bus, go inside, and get all around downtown. Myself and most of those I work with do a lot less shopping and eating out in the winter. We bring our lunch and stay at the office. Skywalks would definitely change all that.

I strongly support skywalks.
Just say YES to skywalks.

[hunter12]

The only logical place for a Downtown Arena is the midtown lot north of the Bay. The midtown lot location would help anchor development to the west and north. It is easy access with major streets on the north, south and east. It can be connected to Sid Buckwold theater, midtown plaza, nearby hotels, etc. I looked at the MTS location in Winnipeg and its footprint would fit perfect in this location. I would strongly support this location. I think the Toys R us location is a terrible spot and I would strongly reject that location. Quite frankly I'm not sure why the Toys r Us sit is even in the discussion.

[roryn1]

Originally Posted by hunter12

The only logical place for a Downtown Arena is the midtown lot north of the Bay. The midtown lot location would help anchor development to the west and north. It is easy access with major streets on the north, south and east. It can be connected to Sid Buckwold theater, midtown plaza, nearby hotels, etc. I looked at the MTS location in Winnipeg and its footprint would fit perfect in this location. I would strongly support this location. I think the Toys R us location is a terrible spot and I would strongly reject that location. Quite frankly I'm not sure why the Toys r Us sit is even in the discussion.

I agree that spot makes the most logistical sense, but after spending last week in vancouver at their convention center on the water - from a tourism standpoint I think placing it where the farmers market is would really make for a beautiful view from the inside of the convention center - something convention center renters would be willing to pay for.

[roryn1]

I was just skimming through Saskatoon’s City Center plan from 2013 and in the 5-10 year phase portion of it they’re proposing this urban park :



I wonder if this is coming to fruition anytime soon. I keep forgetting we too can also have a nice downtown where streets aren’t just for cars

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

[roryn1]

Here’s their plan for what seems to be so far the most popular choice for the arena on this thread. The former C&O rail line is a good start for LRT to the arena in 10 years?