A 215-page outlook report, completed by Vancouver-based MXD Development Strategists for $91,000, said the city has enough land, however, to handle the startling demand.
The report projects Saskatoon will hit 325,000 people around 2028, with an average growth rate of 1.8 per cent. At that time, the city will require close to 900 new hotel beds - or six new hotels. Retail space is estimated to jump to 13 million square feet from 10 million square feet. Office space will grow 40 per cent to 6.8 million square feet from 4.8 million square feet. And industrial space will increase to 22.3 million square feet from 15.2 million square feet, the report estimates.
The report suggests employment centres be integrated in developments in the north, east, west and south of the city. The new "mini downtowns" in each area of Saskatoon, which will surround future residential growth, will ease pressure on the city's transportation system by ensuring some people live and work in the same area, thereby easing commuter congestion.
The airport area has the potential to become an "airport city" or "aerotropolis," with a self-sustaining economy, the report said. The coming growth surrounding Saskatoon's airport is being foreshadowed by the development of the Aerogreen Business Park - the office and hotel development in the space adjacent to the airport once occupied by McNab Park, the former military barracks.
The major recommendation in the report is to relax zoning requirements in suburban or big-box-centre areas. The current control zoning is restricting growth as major U.S. retailers and restaurants look to Canada for expansion, the report suggested.
Saskatoon's city centre should be protected and be a top priority for office and residential infill, particularly the area surrounding the 25th Street extension in the north downtown, according to the report.
Mayor Don Atchison suggested the city install minimum building heights to restrict low-rise developments in the core downtown, ensuring the city centre is built up. The growth prediction of 1.8 per cent is "conservative," Atchison added.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, Saskatoon will lead all Canadian cities in economic growth this year, at 4.2 per cent. Last year, Saskatchewan's largest city was rated as the third-fastest growing in population in Canada, according to Census Canada. The city already also has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, and that is expected to fall to 4.4 per cent this year.
from Western Investor April 2012
