City report puts proposal to buy city yards in limbo

A proposal to buy the city yards in Saskatoon is not getting the endorsement from City Hall.

The report being presented to the city’s finance committee Tuesday is recommending nixing a proposal from Arbutus Properties.

Arbutus, the same company that developed the second Costco store in the city’s southeast corner, expressed interest in buying the land near the police headquarters in March.

The proposal included plans for a full-size grocery store, experiential retail, and mixed residential.

The report concluded it is not in the city’s “best interest” to proceed with the sale of the yards which serve as a hub for many civic operations.

The report said the yards are still actively being used and the city has no relocation plan if a sale was to proceed.

Mayor Charlie Clark told the Brent Loucks Show Tuesday he was disappointed with the report.

Clark said he understands relocating the city yards will be a costly venture, but it isn’t something that has to be done all at once.

“What I think was really missing in the report is the opportunity to look at phasing and look at stages of how we could get the ball rolling on seeing some development.”

“It makes sense in the north downtown as a place to live. It’s so close for people to walk to work to support downtown business.”

The yards currently encompass 31 acres of land north of 25th Street along the Canadian Pacific Railway main line.