Taller than Nutrien Tower: Proposed Saskatoon development under review

A proposed mixed-use development will reach higher into the sky than downtown Saskatoon’s tallest tower if the project gets approved.

The development would take over the former Star Phoenix building at 204 Fifth Avenue North, including a renovation of the existing space. The plan also includes residential towers on the south and north ends of the block, according to Brent McAdam, a senior planner with the City of Saskatoon’s planning and development department.

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Based on the initial application, the south tower would be 35 storeys high, while the north tower would be 24 storeys. McAdam said that would make the south tower the tallest in the city.

“If built to the scale proposed, it’s about 110 metres or so, which would eclipse the Nutrien Tower, which I think is just shy of about 90 metres,” McAdam said.

The plan for the former Star Phoenix building includes residential towers on the south and north ends of the block. (City of Saskatoon)

The proposal for the development includes roughly 600 residential units and 540 parking spaces, as well as room for offices and retailers, including a grocery store.

The application, submitted by Kindrachuk Agrey Architecture on behalf of Duchuck Holdings Ltd., is currently under review by the city’s planning and development department. There’s no target date yet for ground could be broken, but McAdam said the city is a few months into the formal application process.

Senior planner Brent McAdam said the 600 residential spaces included in the proposal could mean an extra 800 to 900 people living downtown. It would bring “a level of vibrancy to a downtown that you can’t have if you don’t have people living there,” he said. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)

The next steps

Right now, the space is currently zoned as M4, which allows for most aspects of the proposal including, “high-density development,” according to McAdam.

“It’s in our downtown. It’s where we expect high density to be,” he said.

But a rezoning process is underway, because some parts of the project, like the grocery store, aren’t currently permitted, according to McAdam.

But even if the site gets rezoned, it wouldn’t guarantee that a grocer would move into the space.

Additionally, there are airport zoning regulations which would need to be followed. While height restrictions are more of a concern on the southwestern edge of downtown, closer to the Riversdale area, McAdam said the plans still need to be reviewed by the airport authority and related federal agencies to ensure there’s no conflict with Saskatoon’s north-south flight path.

“That review is underway, so that’s something that would be confirmed and settled before we bring the rezoning forward to council,” he said.

In less than two weeks, the public will have a chance to provide feedback and ask questions about the proposal as part of the city’s community engagement phase. A public information meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, May 7 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Saskatoon City Hall.

“We’ll have the developer there. We’ll have representatives from the city able to chat with folks from the public and answer those questions,” McAdam explained.

After the meeting, the application will go forward to the municipal planning commission, though McAdam said those dates have not yet been determined.