Costco developer pitches downtown grocery store for Saskatoon

The same company that brought a second Costco to Saskatoon wants to build a "missing and much-needed" grocery store near the downtown core.

Vancouver-based Arbutus Properties has told city councillors it wants to start negotiating with the city to buy the "City Yards" property next door to Saskatoon Police Service headquarters.

In addition to a 35,000 to 50,000 square foot grocery store, the plan also includes "an experiential retail lifestyle centre, combined with urban residential and live/workspaces."

But it's the idea of a full-sized grocery store that gets the most ink in Arbutus' letter to councillors.

"In order to have a vibrant downtown, you need services for people to live there," said Jeff Drexel, the president of Arbutus Properties.

6-month timeline

Arbutus is the same company that developed the 350-acre Meadows residential development three kilometres from Boychuk Drive.

That development included Saskatoon's much-ballyhooed second Costco.

• Much-anticipated 2nd Costco store opens in Saskatoon

But Arbutus is not eyeing a third Costco, said Drexel.

"No, no, no. Definitely not. That's not the intention at all."

As for the "experiential retail lifestyle centre," Drexel explained, "A good example would becreating a climbing wall at Mountain Equipment Co-op, where there's an experience along with just shopping."

He quickly added, "Mountain Equipment Co-op has not been talked to,just for the record."

Arbutus says it wants six months to refine its plan for the 22-acre city yards, including potentially reusing certain "character buildings" on the site.

"It's a strategic reuse of a brownfield site with no tax base to its highest and best use," the company wrote.

'A case of when, not if'

Alex Fallon, the CEO of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA), says the authority had been aware of interest in the property.

"[We] have always maintained its a case of when, not if, there is a grocery store to serve downtown," he said.

But a report released by SREDA last summer said not enough people live downtown to make a grocery store there economically feasible.

• Downtown not the only grocery store-deprived 'food desert' needing nourishment: councillor

Several strikes against the downtown were cited: rent and real estate costs, "safety concerns,"difficulty finding an appropriate site and a feared perception that a downtown location due to its relatively smaller size would not be seen as a "real" or "acceptable."

"We acknowledge the challenges and we do agree with some of the challenges but we also think that in our research we think we can tackle a lot of those challenges," said Drexel.

A new Save-on-Foods is set to open on Eighth Street this weekend. The busy strip is already home to several grocery stores.