Saskatoon's Riversdale neighbourhood is becoming the new place to be if you're a business owner.

There were 46 new businesses that opened last year and more are expected for this year.

"When someone can reduce their rent from $20 or $25 a square foot and own something and rent something (in Riversdale) between $6 and $12 a square foot ... it's creating more of an interest in that commercial sector," said Randy Pshebylo, executive director of the Riversdale Business Improvement District (RBID).

Pshebylo has watched the number of businesses in the Riversdale area skyrocket since the mid-1990s when there were only 160 businesses, now there are more than 340.

He said with home and business ownership up, more people are invested in the area and see it as an affordable place to set up shop.

"It's creating an interest (with people) wanting to live closer to downtown, closer to the river and that has spurred the investment in the area," he said

Another thing the Riversdale area is working on is catering to a spike in foot traffic.

"A lot of our work that we're doing as the RBID is now focused on pedestrian traffic that we never used to have. What is entertaining for them as they move around the Farmer's Market, come into Avenue A and Avenue B and move to 20th Street?"

While he said the neighbourhood is expanding and changing, "Riversdale will always be Riversdale."

tburdeniuk@rawlco.com

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