Nutana residents wary about new condo
Saskatoon’s focus on encouraging more infill development is getting a big test in the Nutana neighbourhood.
Meridian Development has purchased the corner lot occupied by the Faith Alive Family Church and is proposing to build a seven-storey condominium building.
About 35 people attended an information session about the proposed 45-unit development on June 28, according to Meridian’s Karl Miller, who says the developer has tried to design the building to fit into the neighbourhood.
“We’ve spent a tremendous amount of time consulting with the residents there,” Miller said in an interview Wednesday. “We’re listening and we’re trying to shape it to address their concerns.
“We’re always going to get a little opposition.”
Meridian has tried to address concerns about increased traffic and parking with an underground garage that will create nearly two spots for each unit.
The building is also set back from the street and is terraced to mitigate the degree to which direct sunlight will be blocked for houses on Saskatchewan Crescent.
Those efforts are still not enough for Peter Rhodes, who owns the home just northwest of the proposed building. Rhodes said he has spent more than $1 million rebuilding the stately house overlooking the South Saskatchewan River and intended to move back into the city from the outskirts.
“I think infill is sensible, but to put a seven-storey building there is a bit much, I think,” Rhodes said in an interview. “I wouldn’t mind if it was four or five storeys high.”
Miller said the building ’s height will be about the same as the current church’s steeple. The company commissioned a study to determine whether the development could cause slumping, which has been a problem along Saskatchewan Crescent north of the proposed development. The study concluded the proposed building would not create a greater threat of slope failure, Miller said.
The bottom level of the proposed development would feature twolevel townhouses with front yards to help create a neighbourhood atmosphere. The units are expected to sell for between $500,000 to $1 million, which should reduce the possibility of the condos being rented out, Miller explained.
The project is expected to take about 18 months to build. Meridian will likely seek a zoning change in the fall to allow the development to go ahead. Miller said he did not yet have a cost estimate.
He acknowledged opposition, but said infill projects always draw opponents and the meeting last month was not the worst he’s attended.
Coun. Cynthia Block, whose ward includes Nutana, said she wants to make sure infill does not disrupt the character of older neighbourhoods. She said the project would not even be considered if the location was not a “unique” site with high traffic and high usage.
“From my perspective, I just want to make sure we’re not approving developments that change the face of neighbourhoods with infill,” Block said in an interview Wednesday. “It’s so hard. We all want (infill), but we don’t necessarily want it next to us.”
It’s so hard. We all want (infill), but we don’t necessarily want it next to us.
The City of Saskatoon has set a goal to increase infill development to a five-year average of 25 per cent by 2023 from the current five-year average of 15 per cent.
Darrel Epp, an architect who lives nearby on Saskatchewan Crescent, just north of an 11-storey building on Broadway Avenue, said living in the shadow of the building hasn’t been as bad as expected. He gives Meridian credit for addressing concerns and welcomes greater density in the neighbourhood.
“I think they’ve done as well as they could do by putting that much density in that space,” Epp said. “I think you have to look at a bigger picture. You have to make tradeoffs.”
Peter Szkup, who lives in the neighbourhood, said he plans to circulate a petition opposing the development before city council votes.