In celebration of the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer break, the Kinsmen Park rides will be hosting their “School’s Out – Customer Appreciation Evening” on Friday, June 29, 2012. They’ll be offering FREE rides between 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. that day, so round up the kids and come on out for some family fun! For those of you who have never been there, Kinsmen Park has a terrific merry-go-round carousel and an awesome miniature train.

The park itself is a beautiful space to spread a blanket and enjoy a picnic so come early and make an evening of it. Kinsmen Park is here, in beautiful City Park. Learn more about City Park and other great local areas at our Saskatoon Neighbourhoods page.

Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer announced an expansion of the Lighthouse that will add 65 affordable housing units by December of 2011, essentially doubling the capacity of the supported living facility. The $11.5 million dollar addition will be funded with an investment from the federal and provincial Affordable Housing Trust.

Once completed, the facility will offer a total of 128 units at the downtown location. There are currently more than 80 people on a waiting list for the Lighthouse, which caters to “the poorest of the poor,” executive director Don Windels told the Star Phoenix. I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. 

All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Today marks the launch of Parkview Green, the first of a handful of affordable housing projects in the works as a result of the Pleasant Hill revitalization project. Located at 1505 and 1507 19^th Street West the project is a joint venture between River Ridge Homes and Ehrenburg Homes. The project features twenty-four family oriented homes (town homes and bungalows) priced between $190,000 and $240,000. Additional financial assistance is available to buyers with family incomes below $52,000.

The Parkview Green sales brochure is here.

Visit Alan Wallace’s Pleasant Hill Village blog for more information on revitalization in the Pleasant Hill area of Saskatoon.

The owners of Christie’s Mayfair Bakery have announced that they will expand their operation this summer with the addition of a retail store at the corner of Broadway and 10th. The new store will be known as Christie’s il Secondo.

Expect to find all of the wonderful creations currently available at Christie’s 33rd Street location plus some interesting lunch offerings like authentic Italian pizza, panini sandwiches and fresh Italian coffee.

Located in Saskatoon’s Nutana area, the Broadway business district is known for its unique shops and services. Christie’s should be a natural fit and a perfect addition to the community. 

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

The North Park "graffiti wall" takes on a new life as artists work at a theme change from Where the Wild Things Are to "Old Town Cartoons." Every other year, the home owner who erected the privately owned concrete sound attenuation wall at Warman Road and Empress invites select graffiti artists to ply their skills and display their work along one of Saskatoon's busiest traffic corridors. What was initially a concern for a community taken by surprise seems to have become a cherished neighbourhood treasure as evidenced by dozens of honking cars and waving drivers who showed their support as artists diligently worked at the transformation today.

A few more at my flickr. There's a great gallery of the previous theme, Where the Wild Things Are, at the Digital Expressions blog if you haven't had the chance to see it. Check out our North Park neighbourhood profile.

I hope that you're enjoying this gorgeous Saskatoon weekend.

Norm

“The future is written for Riversdale” and at least one Saskatoon business leader sees better times ahead.

Curtis Olson, of Shift Development Inc. recently purchased the old Joe’s Cycle Building at 220 20th Street West. When renovations are complete the building will become his company’s head office and a business hub for other “forward thinking businesses” who see a brighter future for an area that has seen its share of social challenges over the years.

Olson told the Star Phoenix, "I have spent a lot of time in Riversdale. I've kept a very close eye on that neighborhood and Caswell Hill. In my mind, the future of those two neighborhoods has already been determined because I know the demographic of people buying houses and moving into these areas and it is a very progressive, very urban-focused demographic of people moving in.”

Read the Star Phoenix story here.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

A plan to extend 25th Street from 1st Avenue North to Idylwyld Drive will move forward despite a doubling of costs since plans for the project were first approved by city council a year ago. On Monday, council approved a $17 million dollar budget paving the way for work to begin. Utility work will start this summer with road construction following next year. The work should be completed in 2013.

Changes should facilitate a smoother flow of traffic between the Central Business District, City Park,  and the Caswell Hill areas. It should also reduce the number of trains that presently travel through the areas to the switching yards that would move out of the downtown area as a result of the plan.

City OKs street extension

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher Royal

LePage Vidorra

Following what Mayor Don Atchison described as “the most due diligence that the city has done on any land sale,” an agreement was struck with Lake Placid Developments to purchase “Parcel Y” at River Landing in Saskatoon's Central Business District for a price of $5,240,494 yesterday.

Star Phoenix writer David Hutton is reporting that “City council, sitting as an executive committee, made the decision in private Tuesday afternoon to advertise the land sale before it was announced at the evening council meeting. The sale still requires the blessing of city council on June 14 because the purchase is for less than market value.”

Recent appraisals on the land suggested a market value of approximately $11 million. Lake Placid had previously purchased the land for $4.8 million but lost it to the city when they failed to meet payment deadlines in October of last year.

On March 22 of this year, Lake Placid CEO Michael Lobsinger appeared before council indicating that he had formed a partnership with Dr. Karim Nasser and that financing had been secured to complete the $200 million dollar River Landing Village previously approved by council.

In mid-April, council agreed to enter into negotiations with Lake Placid subject to an independent audit to ensure that adequate financing was in place to complete the project.

Council will formally vote to approve the sale at the June 14 council meeting after hearing from anyone who might be opposed to the sale. Lobsinger indicates that he’s “ready to move dirt in June or July” and believes that the project can be completed in 36-months.

Read more from David Hutton's report here.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions.  All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Tenants of Saskatoon’s Milroy Apartments learned Thursday of their lost court challenge aimed at stopping the condo conversion project at their building, which was approved by Saskatoon city council on January 14, 2008.

“The decision was that the court is not interfering with city council’s decision. The application to set aside the decision approving the condominium plan was denied,” said Andrew Mason, lawyer for the Milroy tenants. Mason presented his case before Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Mona Dovell on March 12 arguing that council did not correctly interpret or apply provisions in the provincial Condominium Property Act which gives municipalities discretionary wiggle room to deny applications based on low rental vacancy rates. The latest Rental Market Report released in December by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation pegged the vacancy rate in the area at just 1%, and at .6% across the city of Saskatoon.

The Milroy Apartment tenants will now have to decide if they are willing to bear additional costs, which would have to be incurred if they choose to appeal the court’s ruling.

The City of Saskatoon has agreed to undertake a review of its condominium conversion policies and city administrators have already brought a proposal of potential changes forward. The administration will present the court decision to the city’s executive committee on March 31, and according to city solicitor Theresa Dust, a policy debate will likely ensue at the committee’s April 14 meeting.

Read the story from today’s Star Phoenix here.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. 

All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

Tenants of Saskatoon’s Milroy Apartments asked Justice Mona Dovell to overturn the City of Saskatoon’s decision to approve an application to convert the apartments to condos on Tuesday.

Andrew Mason, the lawyer representing the group of tenants who are opposing the decision argued that city council either misinterpreted the provincial legislation that governs condominium conversions, or ignored it.

Bill Davern, legal council for the City of Saskatoon maintained that council has jurisdiction to make the decision without interference from the courts, that they “fairly considered” all factors which the law requires them to consider, and that the decision to grant the application was “not unreasonable.”

Davern told Justice Dovell that 21 additional applications for conversion projects are waiting for approval and that if she decides that the courts should have the final say in this instance that it would open the door to future actions.

“I don’t know whether the court, with all due respect, is properly equipped to do that.”

Justice Dovell reserved her decision and promised to deliver a judgment as soon as possible.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. 

All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra

In spite of the fact that approval has been obtained and the Kelsey Apartments have been separately titled, the building’s owner, Victory Majors Investment Co. has decided to abandon its plans to sell the units off. Kay Nasser, founder of the company has announced that they will hold onto all 77 units and rent them out.

The original plan was to create “luxury condo units,” but skyrocketing construction costs got in the way. Nasser told Star Phoenix business editor, Murray Lyons, “The market wasn’t there and we couldn’t get people to do the work. It was getting prohibitively expensive.”

The Kelsey has been renamed, the “Phoenix” and the property manager will begin showing the vacant 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments to prospective renters this weekend.

Given the extremely low vacancy rates for apartments in Saskatoon, I think we can see this as a pretty positive story. Does it finally make more sense for owners to hold and rent the apartments that they own? Could this be the first sign of a turn around that works in favour of local renters? Only time will tell, but in the mean time, 77 new apartment vacancies certainly can’t hurt.

I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. 

All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.

Norm Fisher

Royal LePage Vidorra