City set to purchase $9M worth of land outside freeway route

Saskatoon city hall is already preparing to expand well beyond the proposed Saskatoon Freeway with a $9-million purchase of riverfront farm land.

A report to be considered by city council’s finance committee on Tuesday details the proposed purchase by the city’s land development branch, Saskatoon Land.

The 550.8 acres of land, which is located in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park, lies just east of an acreage community in the RM called River’s Edge Estates, next to the South Saskatchewan River.

The city owns another parcel of land nearby that is also located beyond city limits and past the proposed route for the Saskatoon Freeway.

“In recent years, Saskatoon Land has assembled several parcels of land in the northeast section of the Saskatoon area, both inside and outside the proposed Saskatoon Freeway and city limits,” the report says.

The lands have been farmed for decades and that would continue for the foreseeable future, the report says.

The land is comprised of four separate parcels owned by a numbered company, 590028 Saskatchewan Ltd.

The lands are located within a boundary set for a time when the Saskatoon region reaches a population of 700,000, the report notes.

“The strategy of acquiring lands well in advance of development has proven to be an effective business model for Saskatoon Land,” it says.

The report notes that land in the Willowgrove and Evergreen neighbourhoods that have been recently developed on the east side of Saskatoon was bought in the mid-1970s. Land in the Kensington and Hampton Village areas on the west side were bought in the 1960s and 1970s.

These land purchases and the eventual sales resulted in “significant investment returns” for the city, the report says.

Regarding the pending purchase, it states that “the favourably unique location of these lands will create strong market demand for future development.”

Saskatoon Land is paying $16,340 per acre for the land, down slightly from the $16,700 per acre it paid for nearby lands in the fall of 2016.

The parcel also brushes up against the portion of the Northeast Swale located outside city limits.

A map showing the location of land shows the proposed Saskatoon Freeway path runs through existing city limits or just outside city limits.

PHIL TANK This aerial photo shows Wanuskewin Heritage Park and the South Saskatchewan River as it travels east of Saskatoon city limits. The City of Saskatoon’s land development branch, Saskatoon Land, is proposing to buy 550.8 acres of riverfront land located near the bend of the river in the upper middle of the photo.