Redevelopment of bus barns site hits COVID snag
Proponent of Caswell Hill project seeks delay amid slowing economy
Long-standing plans to redevelop a portion of the former city bus barns in south Caswell Hill have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roman Todos, who serves as president of the historic neighbourhood’s community association, says he’s disappointed by the news.
“Another delay is just par for the course,” Todos said.
Late last year, Saskatoon city hall agreed in principle to sell a portion of the Avenue C North property, which Saskatoon Transit vacated in early 2017, to a developer for an undisclosed price.
A report headed to city council’s planning committee next week states that the pandemic’s effects on the local economy upended that plan.
“Due to the impact on the proponent’s existing operations and the resulting uncertainty, the proponent has indicated they require postponement of project announcement,” the report states.
The report goes on to note that the proponent — who is not named — also requested that planned timelines be changed.
The report notes that Saskatoon Land, the city’s in-house developer, agreed to the proponent’s requests.
Todos acknowledged that the pandemic created new challenges for businesses, but said he believes the redevelopment project should not have taken this long.
He said finishing the project “will send a statement that our community is important,” and added that any redevelopment will also benefit nearby neighbourhoods such as Westmount and Riversdale.
Coun. Hilary Gough, whose ward includes Caswell Hill, said factors such as the size of the site, environmental remediation and buildings with unknown structures make redevelopment difficult and time-consuming.
“It’s a really complex job,” she said, adding that while the redevelopment could “possibly” have moved faster, “rushing a project of this nature isn’t in anybody’s best interest.”
While it is unfortunate that the pandemic intervened, Gough said, it is significant that the developer remains interested. She is confident the neighbourhood will get a “really excellent project.”
Rose Kasleder, who is challenging Gough in the upcoming municipal election, has pointed to the lack of progress on the redevelopment as an example of “stagnation” under the current mayor and council.
The South Caswell Concept Plan, which was created a decade ago, envisions various uses for parts of the former bus barns, including community space, townhouses and a park.
City hall was expected to lay out options for the property in the summer of 2017, about six months after Saskatoon Transit moved its fleet to the new Civic Operations Centre. However, it was not until the autumn of 2018 that city administrators recommended selling the property in stages, beginning with the block on Avenue C just north of 24th Street West.
The report notes the city received two proposals to its open-market sales listing, both of which were evaluated by a nine-member committee that included community association representatives.
The property also has to be rezoned before it can be developed.