City looks at options for vacant bus barns
The options for resurrecting the vacant bus barns site in Caswell Hill are expected to be ready this summer, a City of Saskatoon report says.
The city’s transit operations and buses moved from the inner-city location this month to the new civic operations centre south of the Montgomery neighbourhood.
That left the historic bus barns, which include a 103-year-old building, vacant. Any redevelopment is contingent on the outcome of an environmental assessment.
The cost of cleaning up the contaminated site and preparing it for redevelopment is estimated to be $2 million to $4 million higher than the city expects to get from selling the property.
City council voted to spend $1 million this year for remediation and immediate infrastructure improvements of the property, says a report headed to Monday’s meeting of city council’s planning, development and community services committee.
“I am mostly just hearing folks being pleased that the buses are not right next to them,” Coun. Hilary Gough, whose ward includes Caswell Hill, said in an interview on Thursday.
“I’m really excited to see the project move forward. I think people are really just looking forward to seeing the next steps.”
The environmental assessment is supposed to begin next week, said the city’s director of planning, Lesley Anderson.
Concerns about the vacant buildings acting like a magnet for crime and vandalism will be tackled by regular inspections and monitoring, the report says.
City officials also plan to remove all equipment of value and expect that the environmental assessment and preparation of the site for redevelopment will maintain activity.
City hall staff may also be moved into the building’s offices on a short-term basis, the report says.
“I think it’s great,” Gough said. “I think it’s good, creative thinking on the (city hall) administration’s part.”
City hall staff are also planning a walk-through on the site for area residents to assure them the property will remain safe and secure, Gough said.
The environmental assessment is supposed to be completed in April, according to a city report.
Depending on the outcome of the environmental assessment, city hall staff will revise the concept plan for the site that dates back to 2010.
The revised plan will remain true to the “values and vision” of the original, the report says.
City hall staff identified the $2 million to $4 million shortfall last year after four groups expressed interest in redeveloping the site.
In May 2016, the city revealed that the environmental assessment could not take place until Saskatoon Transit operations moved, noting the remediation could take as long as a year.
Anderson said she understands the pace of redevelopment is frustrating for those who live in the area and want to see the buildings repurposed.
“We’re also frustrated at how fast it’s moving forward,” she said Friday.
Charles Olfert, an architect whose offices are located across from the bus barns, repeated his concern about the slow pace of the redevelopment project, since the city knew the buildings would be vacated.
However, Olfert, who is advising an artists’ group that wants to redevelop the site, said in an email that he applauds the city’s “community based” approach to the bus barns.
“It’s better to take more time and do the project right,” he said.