Saskatoon Construction II

[blacktrojan3921]

Good luck on winning the seat Zach =)

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by zachjeffries

Hey Everyone,
I'm a long-time reader and occasional poster... Just wanted to let you know that I'm running for Saskatoon City Council this fall in Ward 10 (Erindale, Arbor Creek, Willowgrove, etc.). Over the years I've really enjoyed the ideas (and agree with many of them) on this forum about how to make Saskatoon an even better city. Feel free to drop me a line or check out my website: http://www.zachjeffries.ca Let's keep the conversation going!

Cheers,
Zach

Good luck in your run for Ward 10 Zach Jeffries. Good to hear you have enjoyed some of the ideas on our forum.

As you know you will be running against incumbent Bev Dubois a long time councillor. Also joining the challenge for the 2nd time is Mark Horsemen. This has the making of a great race.


Elections - City of Saskatoon

Ward Boundaries

The next municipal and school board elections will be held on October 24, 2012. Also remember there will be 4yr terms starting with this election.

[Jerry]

City hall must join 21st century
By Jordon Cooper, The StarPhoenix July 23, 2012


I have been following the debate over Mayor Don Atchison's journal and schedule with some interest. Civic affairs columnist Gerry Klein made some observations about the mayor's website and use of technology that made me realize there's a much bigger problem with how city hall uses technology to communicate.

The Saskatoon.ca website has been around for many years. Its current design has its roots back in 1998 and, while it has been updated slightly over the years, the site architecture is old enough to be starting high school this fall.

Each civic department has been empowered to put a lot of stuff online - generally in PDF formats that aren't always done correctly and can't be indexed by a search engine. Unless you know some information is there or just happen to be browsing the site looking for interesting stuff, you won't find it. [...]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/C...#ixzz21SFPmPWO


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amen !

[TheCricket]

Does anyone have any idea what's going onto the newly fenced land mass on the corner of Louise & 8th? I thought maybe someone was waiting for Mrs. Kemp to give up her Dairy Queen so they could build on the whole lot, but it appears something is going to be happening sooner than later on that property next to her 8th Street ice cream institution.

[shmakim]

Originally Posted by TheCricket

Does anyone have any idea what's going onto the newly fenced land mass on the corner of Louise & 8th? I thought maybe someone was waiting for Mrs. Kemp to give up her Dairy Queen so they could build on the whole lot, but it appears something is going to be happening sooner than later on that property next to her 8th Street ice cream institution.

No idea but I'm delighted to see the movement! TWO corners of 8th and Louise have something happening (NE corner definitely as there's a skeleton structure up), NW corner of 8th and Arlington is ready for development, and it looks like the dead lot on the corner of Louise and Preston is getting there too!

[Echoes]

Congregation stays in any sale of site
Deal to hold condition that services continue

By David Hutton, The StarPhoenix July 21, 2012

The historic Third Avenue United Church is hitting the market.

The church's congregation will meet next week to approve a plan to sell the 99-year-old downtown building with the hope someone will buy and renovate it as a 1,000-seat concert hall or arts centre.

Under any deal, the 120-person congregation will continue to hold services and the historic collegiate gothic structure will not be torn down, said Peter Barnacle, chair of the church board's building committee, which drafted the conditions in a request for proposals.

"The idea is the building will be sold, but preserved for use by the congregation for an indefinite time," Barnacle said.

"Our hope is that a new owner would be able to maintain the building in a manner in which we're having more and more difficulty doing."

There will be a number of conditions that any group buying the building must meet, Barnacle said. For instance, the Saskatoon Children's Choir, a longtime tenant, should be able to continue to use the space. The next iteration of the building must also be consistent with the church's values, he said.

"We're not looking for it to be turned into a strip club," Barnacle said.

At least two groups have expressed an interest in bidding, both of which are targeting a concert hall or arts centre concept, Barnacle said. The building has phenomenal acoustics, seats 1,000 people and has a history of hosting symphony performances and concerts, including the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra.

One potential bidder has approached the church congregation directly, while the other is working with Mark Turner, a local pianist and arts promoter who this year started the non-profit Third Avenue Centre to put on concerts and community events in the space to help the church.

Turner has rallied support for his concert hall concept plan, including keen interest from the University of Saskatchewan, which is exploring a joint venture to rent space for concerts, wind orchestra performances, lecture series and drama productions. Discussions are at the early stages, but the university is looking to expand its reach in the downtown, said Colin Tennent, associate vicepresident of facilities management at the University of Saskatchewan.
[....]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Congre...#ixzz21TZmVlOB

^ There are such great possibilities for Third Avenue United Church. I especially like the idea of a joint venture with the U of S.

[Echoes]

The Regina thread first picked up on this one with a similar ad posted in their paper, but ALT Hotels is shopping for a site in downtown Saskatoon:


Source - from The StarPhoenix

[Dino35]

[QUOTE=TheCricket;5774331]Does anyone have any idea what's going onto the newly fenced land mass on the corner of Louise & 8th? I thought maybe someone was waiting for Mrs. Kemp to give up her Dairy Queen so they could build on the whole lot, but it appears something is going to be happening sooner than later on that property next to her 8th Street ice cream institution.[/QUO

If I recall correctly, it is going to be a 15 minute lube shop

[casper]

Originally Posted by Echoes

The Regina thread first picked up on this one with a similar ad posted in their paper, but ALT Hotels is shopping for a site in downtown Saskatoon:
....


Interesting. I had never heard of this chain. From their website they appear to have a different focus that a lot of other hotels....

"ALT Hotels
Being ALTernative means doing away with room service, valets and doormen: ALT focuses on your needs, the essential things that bring added value to your stay.Our "service light" approach allows us to offer guests a unique rate: the same $149 price, every day, all year round.

.....
ALT Hotel Toronto Pearson contains:

Geothermal heating and cooling.
Heat recovery from ventilation exhaust to preheat cold air coming in from the exterior.
Heat recovery from water used in commercial washers.
Energy efficient lighting, a central switch in the rooms to allow lights to be turned off remotely and sensors in the stairwells to control the use of lighting.
Huge thermal windows with low emission rates that maximize natural light.
Domestic water heating by geothermal energy.
Automatic regulation system for ventilation, air conditioning and heating.
A white roof to minimize the creation of heat islands ...." Source: Group Germain (http://groupegermain.com/en/media-alt-pearson.asp)

If they build something like this in Saskatoon will this be the first geothermal high-rise in the city?

[Dino35]

Originally Posted by zachjeffries

Hey Everyone,

I'm a long-time reader and occasional poster... Just wanted to let you know that I'm running for Saskatoon City Council this fall in Ward 10 (Erindale, Arbor Creek, Willowgrove, etc.). Over the years I've really enjoyed the ideas (and agree with many of them) on this forum about how to make Saskatoon an even better city. Feel free to drop me a line or check out my website: http://www.zachjeffries.ca Let's keep the conversation going!

Cheers,
Zach

I am so happy to see some competition for Bev Dubois in this Ward. Apart from her rant about Tim Horton drive-throughs she has been a pretty useless councilor in my opinion. There are a lot of issues in this Ward and I will be happy to see the thoughts of new people. It will be a very interesting election given the growing discord with the current administration.

P.S. I'm already tired of seeing the Bev Dubois bus signs and posters all over the Ward and its only July!

[Brutopian]

Circle Drive bridge project moves forward

The StarPhoenix July 23, 2012

The Circle Drive south project continues to inch toward completion.

City officials toured media through the massive project on Monday.

The $300-million project remains roughly one month behind the scheduled Sept. 30 completion date. The heavy rainfall Thursday morning set crews back, but the sunshine this week is helping, said Doug Drever, project manager for the city.

“Construction is taking place all over the project,” Drever said before the tour.

The concrete deck of the new south bridge continued to be poured, including another section close to the centre Monday afternoon. The bridge deck will be finished by the end of July, Drever said.

The five new interchanges are in various stages of completion.

The closed section of Lorne. Avenue is expected to be reopened following the August long weekend.

[........]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Circle...#ixzz21VJHMsKj

[skSK]

Originally Posted by shmakim

No idea but I'm delighted to see the movement! TWO corners of 8th and Louise have something happening (NE corner definitely as there's a skeleton structure up), NW corner of 8th and Arlington is ready for development, and it looks like the dead lot on the corner of Louise and Preston is getting there too!

My friend is working with a company based out of Calgary at the Louise and Preston site. She tells me they're just doing soil remediation work now. No news on what could potentially build there. I seem to remember someone saying a Tim's was going in.

[zachjeffries]

Originally Posted by zachjeffries

Hey Everyone,

I'm a long-time reader and occasional poster... Just wanted to let you know that I'm running for Saskatoon City Council this fall in Ward 10 (Erindale, Arbor Creek, Willowgrove, etc.). Over the years I've really enjoyed the ideas (and agree with many of them) on this forum about how to make Saskatoon an even better city. Feel free to drop me a line or check out my website: http://www.zachjeffries.ca Let's keep the conversation going!

Cheers,
Zach

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. It's time for a common sense, hard-working Councillor who can bring some innovative ideas to the table.

If you have some specific ideas you'd like to share for the area or if you'd like to help out, please message me. Saskatoon's a great city, but I know we can make it even better!

-Zach

[Brutopian]

'Critical' $10M expansion for facility planned for fall

By Creeson Agecoutay, The StarPhoenix July 24, 2012


For 12 years, Kelly Fraser has had to travel thousands of kilometres to care for her two children, Lexi and Donovan.

Through the years she has found comfort at Ronald McDonald House of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, which is planning a $10-million expansion with the goal of helping more families as they cope with their medical situations.

[........]

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Critic...#ixzz21YVIo4o3

[Brutopian]

Some great recent photos of the South Circle Drive Project here.

[shmakim]

Originally Posted by Brutopian

Some great recent photos of the South Circle Drive Project here.

Woowwwwwww.... Atch was correctly quoted when he said there's still a mountain of work to do. I understand that just structural prep takes a lot of work but it sure looks rough still. I sure hope the finishing touches, um, like grading and paving, don't take long - should provide some stellar visible progress.

[ninipanini]

Originally Posted by skSK

My friend is working with a company based out of Calgary at the Louise and Preston site. She tells me they're just doing soil remediation work now. No news on what could potentially build there. I seem to remember someone saying a Tim's was going in.

ANOTHER Tim's.... seriously. I hope that's just a rumor and something more interesting pops up.

[The S'toon Goon]

If I'm not mistaken, a few years ago, the site beside Dairy Queen was rumored to be of interest to 'The Cheesecake Cafe' which is a chain restaurant that I believe started out west. Who knows if they are still interested, but I'd take that over another Tim's any day.

[kgc087]

So does anyone have thoughts about how the north downtown should develop? I've heard mid density, once councilor is saying high density, everyone is saying green, the only thing mentioned to make the area green is it will run on district energy.

For myself I think this is the perfect location for higher density, so buildings up to 30 storeys. It would be great if the city really pushed the necessity of a livable human scale street front. So maybe the first 3-5 floors are terracing backwards towards a tower which is further back on the lot. This will just allow for more light and air into the space. I think the area should be smothered in trees, medians and planters. A green roof program could be developed, either having it as a collection of hardy plants or as a usable garden. I think the whole space should be mixed use with large pedestrian friendly sidewalks and narrower streets.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by kgc087

So does anyone have thoughts about how the north downtown should develop? I've heard mid density, once councilor is saying high density, everyone is saying green, the only thing mentioned to make the area green is it will run on district energy.

For myself I think this is the perfect location for higher density, so buildings up to 30 storeys. It would be great if the city really pushed the necessity of a livable human scale street front. So maybe the first 3-5 floors are terracing backwards towards a tower which is further back on the lot. This will just allow for more light and air into the space. I think the area should be smothered in trees, medians and planters. A green roof program could be developed, either having it as a collection of hardy plants or as a usable garden. I think the whole space should be mixed use with large pedestrian friendly sidewalks and narrower streets.

Ideally, I personally would like to see the majority of the North Downtown develop in the 4-6 storey range, with select sites allowing for highrises above that. I would like to see an intimate, urban scale, with consistent street walls, narrow, well-treed streets, and high quality pedestrian and public space. I think an urban plaza and pocket parks integrated in would be great. As well, I see Ontario Avenue becoming the north-south "spine" of the neighbourhood, and I would like to see retail fronting at least this street (as well as 25th Street), complete with patios and the like. On lesser side streets I would like to see townhouse style units that meet sidewalk, with apartments above.