Still no set ETA for Saskatoon’s downtown grocery store

Work on a downtown grocery store in Saskatoon is still on hold while its developer is trying to meet the city’s requirements for a different project.

Arbutus Properties president Jeff Drexel told Gormley on Thursday that his company has requested to start work building an affordable housing project before completing all off-site services required for the project.

Saskatoon’s city council, however, did not grant Arbutus an exception.

“We’re pretty frustrated that they’ve tied up our project to build 244 portable units and we don’t really see a reason why,” Drexel told Gormley.

The developer doesn’t want to see any delay to the grocery store’s construction and Drexel said the hope is to still proceed and have the store built by the end of the year.

“We don’t want to penalize the residents of the city so we’re trying to get it done,” he said. “It’s just probably going to be delayed.”

The main problem facing Arbutus is the amount of money invested in the affordable housing project. Drexel said he was hoping to recoup some of that cost to assist as the grocery store got underway.

“I don’t want to play those games,” Drexel said. “We want to try and deliver this as quickly as we can even if it’s a cash crunch for us.”

Drexel explained the offsite infrastructure his company is tasked with paying for and completing — with regards to the affordable housing project — has already had $5.5 million of the total $7-million cost invested.

“We’re well underway so the risk is significantly reduced if not absolutely zero given that there’s also existing capacity,” Drexel explained.

He said the company just wants to be able to start construction on the foundation of the project while that offsite infrastructure is still being developed. He noted the required infrastructure still would be well-completed before construction concludes.

It’s an exception that Drexel feels is appropriate.

“I’d be supportive of anyone who wanted to start an affordable housing project if they were granted an exception by the city to start early. We’re not even asking for any money,” Drexel said.

While Drexel is frustrated still and doesn’t feel the city is willing to meet Arbutus halfway, he said they’re still determined to build something great for the city and show people what they can do.