Saskatoon Construction II

[Measuring Stick]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Not to worry, my understanding from following this story is that the east-west transit corridor will be established first, with a north-south corridor (likely Idylwyld) to come later on.

I am no expert on Rapid Transit. But would it not make more sense to make these routes along nearby secondary streets rather than take away driving lanes on already extremely busy streets ?

I am thinking why not use main street and its huge boulevard for an east- west link? This would allow 8th street to maintain heavy traffic flows while still having excellent transit access to the 8th street buisinesses?

My main experience with above ground transit is Chicago and most of the rail line flow parralel to the main roads but not on the mani roads. What do you guys think ?

[WoodlandCritter]

^^^ What I understand from the video is that the reason for choosing 8th st. and other corridors like that is to encourage infill growth in all those parking lots along the roads and create a higher density. There isn't really a lot of room for growth along Main St. so it really doesn't shift the use of transit then. They are trying to encourage higher transit use, so putting the rapid transit near and around where people want to go (downtown, amenities, university, etc) facilitates that.

In regards to the 220 Wall St. building, finally some architecture that fits the context in which it is located. Looks like it will be a nice fit.

[Brutopian]

Traffic bridge slated to lose span
Council approves spending

By David Hutton, The StarPhoenix April 3, 2012

A section of the 105-year-old Traffic Bridge will likely be demolished this fall and the long-debated lights adorning the iconic structure will be snuffed out.

A decision to take down the span of the Traffic Bridge on the Nutana side of the river - a section completely over land - came after an hour-long debate Monday at city council's executive committee.

Council approved $925,000 in new spending, including testing the bridge piers for how much weight they can handle, removing the section and finishing bid documents for the $30-million replacement.

Tearing down the bridge section will get traffic moving both ways on Saskatchewan Crescent East, which has been closed since August 2010, and improve pedestrian movement along the Meewasin Trail.

[..................]


Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/T...#ixzz1qznO7acl

[skSK]

Originally Posted by Echoes

220 Wall Street







http://www.collierscanada.com/5550

(Brochure available for download at this page with more renderings, project features, and floor plans)

I really like it. It's distinctive and a great fit for the area. I really like the features like brick and window recesses (reminiscent of earlier buildings in the warehouse district) being incorporated with modern features (perforated metal shades, LEDs, and colour). The fenestration is interesting as well (the feature corner but also the other sides with the varied window sizes and positions). The first floor looks like a great place for a cafe, especially if it included outdoor seating for the warm months.

[Brutopian]

http://www.612mainstreet.com/

Looking forward to construction starting....

[capitalist]

Hitachi moves Canadian headquarters to Saskatoon to buff up power business
The Canadian Press

Tue, 3 Apr 2012 15:09:00 CST Share |

SASKATOON - Hitachi Ltd. is centralizing its Canadian headquarters in Saskatoon where the company has a manufacturing facility.

The Japanese company says it will integrate its operations in Calgary and Mississauga with Saskatoon to establish Hitachi Power Systems Canada Ltd.

Hitachi says the move aims to strengthen its power systems business in Canada, speed up decision-making and improve management efficiency.

The new president will based in Saskatoon, but there are no immediate plans to transfer jobs from other locations.

Hitachi has been providing power generation equipment to SaskPower since 1970.

Hitachi and SaskPower are also working together on carbon capture and storage projects and have teamed up to research nuclear medicine, science, safety and small reactor design.


News from © The Canadian Press

[Morogolus]

So lemme get this straight our "transit corridor" will be nothing but a higher frequency of buses coming about every 10 minutes or so from our fleet of buses some of which are over 20 years old?

I don't mean to be all "pro car" here but those old buses are stinky, loud and aren't a very enjoyable ride. They would need to completely overhaul the fleet with buses that are environmentally friendly, smooth and quiet. Plus when you get to where you're going, then what? overpriced inefficient taxis? Walking along most streets in Saskatoon isn't very enjoyable. People will just drive.

Also, they can't just shut a lane of traffic down on 8th street and 22nd street for buses. How is that going to work?

I hate to be negative nelly and I appreciate that they're at least trying to think differently but I think this idea will bomb like all the other changes that they keep doing every few years to bus service while watching ridership decline.

[Brutopian]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...er-120403.html

[Jerry]

Architectural controls considered for Broadway
By David Hutton, The StarPhoenix April 3, 2012


The look and feel of new buildings on one of Saskatoon’s most popular streets will soon be controlled by the city.

An architectural control district for Broadway Avenue — the second such district in Saskatoon after River Landing — will be tabled before council this spring. It will set out the parameters for new buildings and guide development along the historic business strip.

“It’s quite pioneering work,” Coun. Charlie Clark said. “It’s more about helping to define what really wouldn’t work on Broadway. It still gives a lot of flexibility to developers. The development community doesn’t want to be told directly what to build.” [...]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entert...#ixzz1r3vNW9Sa

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Jerry

Architectural controls considered for Broadway
By David Hutton, The StarPhoenix April 3, 2012

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entert...#ixzz1r3vNW9Sa

I see that there's more information available on this at www.broadway360.ca

[exploration camper]

Originally Posted by Morogolus

I hate to be negative nelly and I appreciate that they're at least trying to think differently but I think this idea will bomb like all the other changes that they keep doing every few years to bus service while watching ridership decline.

Sorry Morogulus but you should check your facts: http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/...eport-2010.pdf While this report is a little old (2010) it does show an increase in ridership 2006 - 2010 of 27%

Taking away driving lanes on the BRT corridor will be a good thing all around, imagine the psychological impact of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on 8th street as bus after bus whizz by you turning red lights to green. Might make taking that bus seem pretty convenient.

[Echoes]

EGADZ explores options

The StarPhoenix April 4, 2012

EGADZ, a downtown drop-in centre for youth, is exploring a move.

A city committee approved a report Tuesday to change a funding agreement for EGADZ that provides $120,000 annually toward the organization's lease costs.

The agreement will be amended to pay for lease or financing costs.

EGADZ is on a month-to-month lease at its longtime home on First Avenue and 24th Street, the red building it has occupied since 1990.

The board is looking at securing another long-term lease or purchasing a building downtown, said Bill Thibodeau, executive director.

Buying a building "provides for better long-term stability and is a more prudent fiscal decision than continuing to lease a facility and pay lease payments," the report said.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/EGADZ+...#ixzz1r5MP3WTq


Kinsmen contract awarded

The StarPhoenix April 4, 2012

A Vancouver landscape architecture firm has won a bid for the detailed design of the Kinsmen Park plan.

Space2Place, the same firm that did the master plan for the park revamp, will be paid just under $500,000 to bring to life $5-million plans sponsored by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.

The first phase of the project includes planning for new fair rides, a new play area for children, a winter skating loop and a new miniature train loop sponsored by Canpotex.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/entert...290/story.html

[North_Regina_Boy]

Architectural controls should be in place for the following:

Downtown Core
College Quarter
Broadway
8th Street
College Drive
22nd Street
19th Street
20th Street
33rd Street
Idylwyle
Central Ave.

This would create a more inviting spaces.

[Echoes]

Great column. Very well put.

Mould city spaces to suit people

By Gerry Klein, The StarPhoenix April 5, 2012

Mayor Don Atchison assured Saskatoon last week that "in the blink of an eye" the city will have to find room for an extra 200,000 to 250,000 people.

This may sound like just another bit of hyperbole from a guy who advised his administration that, when setting out a vision for a Saskatoon of 500,000 people, it would be wise to be thinking of a million. To someone like Colin Tennent, the University of Saskatchewan's associate vice-president of facilities management, these numbers aren't at all out of line.

When Tennant was planning how to rejig the university campus in anticipation of the building boom expected in the wake of the decision to locate the synchrotron at the U of S, every city he visited that had been put in a similar position warned him to expect the host community to double in size within a decade. Saskatoon hasn't yet doubled, but it is witnessing a population spurt that hasn't been seen in a century, notes Allan Wallace, who manages the city's planning and development branch.

And if Atchison, Tennent and Wallace are correct that Saskatoon has a good chance to reach 500,000 in the next few years, it will be the first Canadian city to reach this milestone in an era when planners, engineers and architects are thinking beyond the automobile.

While this creates great opportunities in Saskatoon, it also presents planners, engineers and architects with some pretty formidable challenges, not the least of which is having to work against a culture that has become hopelessly addicted to the automobile.

To be clear, none of what the city planners are considering would resemble a city without the car. What they do see, however, is subtle shifts in such things as building and street design, transportation models, and creating a sense of space to reflect people rather than vehicles.

[....]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Mould+...#ixzz1rB4CrXtf

[Chadillaccc]

When is River Landing Village starting?

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Echoes

This summer.

Seriously? That's AWESOME!

[capitalist]

Saskatoon's job growth continues

Reported by Chris Mangatal, newstalk650.com

First Posted: Apr 6, 2012 9:48am

The latest updates from Statistics Canada show Saskatoon gained 800 jobs in the past month.

It brings the number created over the last six months to 5,800.

The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce remains determined to creation 8,000 jobs per year.

[capitalist]

City's largest industrial building sold to local developers


BY SCOTT LARSON, THE STARPHOENIX APRIL 6, 2012 11:02 AM



STORYPHOTOS ( 1 )



Wally Mah
Photograph by: Gord Waldner , The StarPhoenix
A pair of local business people have bought Saskatoon’s largest available industrial building.

Wally Mah of North Ridge Development Corporation and Kerny Korchinski, who recently sold Frontier Peterbilt Sales Ltd., have purchased the 363,000 square foot building that once housed the Loblaw’s distribution centre (Western Grocers) at 302 Melville Street. Western Grocers shut its doors in August 2011.

The new owners intend to redevelop the building for lease to a large industrial single-user or to several smaller clients.

“Purchasing this building is a reflection in our confidence in the future of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan,” said Mah. “We envision repurposing this unique and exceptionally well-located building to meet the changing needs of Saskatoon’s existing and new businesses.”

Colliers International facilitated the sale and will handle finding a tenant (or tenants).

The 363,000 square feet, approximately the size of six football fields, can be split into spaces of as little as 30,000 square feet and can accommodate warehouse, office or retail ventures, said Gary Compton, who is leading the Colliers leasing team on the project.

“The perfect tenant would be a large distribution single tenant,” Compton said. “There would be very little to change in the building.

“But the new owners are willing to have smaller, multiple tenants with a minimum 30,000 square feet.”

He said there has been interest from the manufacturing sector, a possible large office and even a big box outlet. They have railway behind the building, the new south bridge is just down the street and Stonebridge is nearby.

The asking net rent lease price is $8.50 per square foot.

Located just west of Stonebridge, Compton said the site offers excellent access to the new south bridge and is accessible from all major highways, plus it has rail lines behind the building.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix


Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/City+l...#ixzz1rHOoqEfZ

[Mike with an M]

Originally Posted by Brutopian

http://www.612mainstreet.com/

Looking forward to construction starting....

Looks to be awesome, and just a block away from me!

[Crisis]

Originally Posted by capitalist

City's largest industrial building sold to local developers

BTW, the title of Saskatoon's largest industrial builidng will be changing soon. The Federated Co-op warehouse on 1st Ave, between 45th & 46th streets is undergoing a 165,000 sqft addition that will bring it from 288,000 sqft up to 453,000 sqft. The 135,000 sqft dry storage addition will be complete this summer with a 30,000 sqft freezer addition to be completed in 2013.