B.C. firm wants to transform city yards with homes, retail

A Vancouver developer wants to buy the city yards north of downtown Saskatoon and breathe new life into the area.

Jeff Drexel, president of Arbutus Properties, said the company has approached the City of Saskatoon with a request to purchase about 22 acres in the Central Industrial area.

Drexel said Arbutus wants to redevelop the area with a mix of destination retail shopping, office space and residential that would include a grocery store.

The move would help the city achieve its goals for infill development and to convince more people to live downtown, Drexel said in an interview on Thursday.

“We believe that a grocery store is desperately needed,” he said, adding that the company’s plans align with the city’s goals to encourage more people to live in or near downtown.

Saskatoon residents may be familiar with Arbutus from its Meadows community in the southeast neighbourhood of Rosewood. The Meadows Market includes a Costco Wholesale store that opened in November 2016, and continues to attract new retailers like a Co-op liquor store, a PetSmart and a Marshalls.

Drexel acknowledged redevelopment of the city yards would represent a new type of venture for Arbutus. He added he does not have an estimate for how much he thinks the property would cost.

“It’s a big step,” Drexel said. “We’re not going to solve the problem (of more people living downtown), but we think we can help facilitate solving the problem with this project.”

The city is pursuing federal funding for a $200-million project to relocate the city yards at satellite locations throughout Saskatoon. A $92-million plan to move the yards to the civic operations centre has been shelved.

In September, the city yards property was not identified in a city report as city-owned land with the potential to be developed in the next five years. That has not diminished speculation.

A group aiming to bring a professional soccer franchise to Saskatoon identified the city yards as the location for a potential stadium.

A city vision from 2014 suggested building an innovative park bridge over the Canadian Pacific rail line that slices through the Central Industrial area. The park bridge, a green space that would only accommodate pedestrians or cyclists, was intended to provide connectivity to the area north of the downtown sandwiched between Caswell Hill and City Park.

“I think it’s a great idea that’s very difficult to make happen,” Drexel said of the park bridge.

The 2014 vision suggested redeveloping 84 acres would cost $130 million and could increase the population in the area from 210 to 7,650.

The proposal by Arbutus will be considered by city council’s planning, development and community services committee on Monday. Arbutus wants six months to develop a detailed plan.