Developer urges city to ‘save’ downtown
The novel coronavirus pandemic had an immediate and profound effect on Saskatoon’s downtown.
While cars and pedestrians are still visible, shops and restaurants were forced to close their doors to the public, and many offices were deserted as employees began working from home.
Now, as some businesses prepare to open their doors for the first time since mid-march, a prominent downtown landlord and developer is calling on civic leaders to “save” the downtown.
In a May 1 letter to Saskatoon city council, Mid-west Development Corp. CEO Ken Achs raised multiple issues he considers threats to the area’s economic viability if left unaddressed.
They include the “general perception that it is not safe downtown,” which Achs described as both a feeling and a reality evidenced by verbal attacks and even assaults.
In an interview, Achs said cities across North America face similar issues caused by poverty, addiction, mental health issues and other factors, but little is being done to address them.
“It’s the elephant in the room. Nobody really wants to talk about it,” he said.
Achs has long called for change downtown. In 2013, concern about crime and harassment led him to demolish the Second Avenue building that once housed a Mcdonald’s restaurant.
His letter echoes the downtown business improvement district’s call, made just before the pandemic struck, for more policing and a review of funding for social services organizations.
“Something needs to be done,” Brent Penner, executive director of the downtown BID, said on Monday.
City police responded to the BID’S request in March, acknowledging that the area presents challenges but outlining multiple efforts underway to improve the situation.
Those efforts include new officers, a district policing model currently being developed and regular contact with a host of groups and organizations, including The Lighthouse Supported Living Inc.
Achs’s letter comes at a time of deep economic uncertainty for most, if not all, of the roughly 1,000 businesses based downtown — some of which have previously expressed similar doubts.
Second Avenue North has been particularly affected, with a spate of closures in recent years leaving empty storefronts.
Penner said he expects hotels, restaurants and retail businesses to bear the brunt of the pandemic, but he hopes an appetite for commerce and socialization means the core will eventually rebound.
Gordon Burgess runs Caswells Co. Ltd., a 109-year-old menswear store on Second Avenue. He said revenue has been minimal since March 21, but the store is set to reopen later this month.
Burgess shares some of Achs’s views. In an email exchange appended to the developer’s letter, he described the “strong negative view” toward downtown, especially when it comes to safety.
The exchange makes clear Burgess is currently unwilling to commit to a lease extension; in the letter, Achs said the exchange bothered him “on so many levels” and inspired him to pen the document.
In an interview, Burgess said the comment came in the context of a negotiation, and he will always have his eyes open to do what’s best for the business.
While he acknowledged that problems stemming from poverty and addiction may not ever vanish, Burgess expressed hope for the downtown, despite the current economic crisis.
“It’s definitely not a no-confidence vote on downtown,” he said.