Article Posted in the Globe and Mail, August 24, 2004
Saskatoon forges on with renewal plan
Controversial projects include demolition of landmark building and redevelopment
By GLORIA TAYLOR
Special to The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - Page B9
Workers in Saskatoon used their hands this summer to tear down a 72-year-old building brick by brick, signalling the end to a 25-year battle over how to develop the city's South Downtown.
The demolition of the Gathercole building marked the kickoff for a series of projects envisaged by city council on 20 acres of land lying south of Saskatoon's central business district and north of the South Saskatchewan River. According to a city website, the land will provide "the most significant undeveloped real estate opportunities in the province."
The Gathercole building, originally a technical school and more recently home to the school board offices, was taken down slowly so its bricks and entrances can be incorporated into new structures for the site. But that is little consolation to Gathercole Initiatives Group Inc. (GIG), a group of citizens who fought to have the building preserved. Their hopes were dashed last December when council voted 10-1 to extend 2nd Ave. S. beyond the central business district and into the Gathercole property, a 9.5-acre site bounded by 19th St. to the north, 3rd Ave. S. to the east, the Sid Buckwold Bridge to the west, and the South Saskatchewan River on the south. The Gathercole building had to go because it stood in the way of the planned road.
The GIG had hoped development in the area would be modelled on Winnipeg's 52-acre Forks or Vancouver's Granville Island, according to Lenore Swystun, a former city councillor and spokeswoman for the group. The Forks, where the Assiniboine and Red rivers meet, includes a market, shopping boutiques, restaurants, office space, museum, theatre, historic markets and entertainment venues.
The citizens group initially won city council support for its vision in March, 2003. But the issue was revisited after last October's civic election brought a new mayor and a significant change to council's makeup.
Saskatoon's mayor, Don Atchison, said it was time to move forward with plans to develop the South Downtown using, in part, a 1978, 100-year conceptual master plan prepared by architect Raymond Moriyama. That plan called for a road from the business district south to the riverbank. However, in February Mr. Moriyama told a regional newspaper that a firm, detailed master plan for the South Downtown should be generated first before the city moves ahead with plans to extend 2nd Ave. Nevertheless, Mr. Atchison said the city is prepared to follow the 1978 blueprint, citing the need to move ahead.
"We've been working on this plan now since 1947 . . . and nothing has transpired because everyone is looking for the perfect plan all the time," he said. "And if we keep on looking for the perfect plan, you and I will not be here, and we'll probably be through another 20 mayors and nothing will still occur. And so we're taking the bull by the horns and we're making things happen."
The mayor said he considered "with an open mind" GIG's proposal, but up to $13-million would have been needed to refurbish the old building. "And the city just does not have those dollars."
Mr. Atchison said the city is working toward development of a 20-storey mineral-water spa and hotel on the Gathercole site, along with an adjacent condominium complex. He said the city will eventually put the cleared land up for tender so private developers can compete to build the hotel and the condo project. But he said the real jewel in the South Downtown is the so-called A.L. Cole site, just west of the Gathercole site, which could be used for more private residential development alongside some publicly owned land.
"We have this A.L. Cole site, which is in fact in our lowest-income area, one of our highest-crime areas, high aboriginal residential area as well, with all this unemployment there. I want to get things happening there." Development of the two sites could change the entire character of the South Downtown, he said.
Council has received support from the Saskatoon and District Chamber of Commerce and from the Partnership, a downtown economic development organization. "The business people downtown really want this piece of property to pay its fair share of taxes," said Terry Scaddan, Partnership's executive director.
Stan Peakman, project manager for South Downtown, said the city will spend about $18-million to get projects on the Gathercole site rolling -- $10-million on infrastructure and services and $8-million on a riverfront park. It plans to spend another $40-million on the A.L. Cole site. Council could call for bids as early as this fall to sell or lease a 2.4-acre parcel east of the extended 2nd Ave. for a hotel project and possibly a restaurant and condos, he said. The eventual goal for the other side of the Gathercole site is to develop a live theatre and an interpretive centre. The city has also applied for $15-million in federal funds for the A.L. Cole site. It plans to develop a riverside park, boat launch, public square, community centre and library and to redevelop an existing building for a farmers' market and a business incubator for new businesses.
Central to GIG's dissatisfaction is what it said was the lack of public consultation. Member Joe Kuchta said there was no grassroots public consultation prior to December of last year when council passed its resolutions for the road extension. "The public should have been involved since Day 1 because this is the most important piece of property in the city," he said.
By the time the city held open houses in April of this year, he said, and before the South Downtown Concept Plan 2004 was formally approved by the Meewasin Valley Authority -- whose mandate is to protect the natural and cultural heritage resources of the South Saskatchewan River Valley -- council had already decided on the road extension and sealed the fate of the Gathercole.
posted by Lenore Swystun @ 1:12 PM
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