Saskatoon city council to consider two infill housing projects

Today Saskatoon city council will consider applications for two multi-unit infill housing developments.

One of them is on Idylwyld Drive North near Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

The other is at the corner of Avenue F South and 17th Street West, across from the Royal Canadian Legion, in Riversdale.

Saskatoon's directorplanning and development, Alan Wallace, said while neither project is very large, they are positive signs.

"The long-term goal for the city is to re-balance our growth a little bit," Wallace said. "And when we see investment in the city centre like these two are, that's a positive signal."

The city hopes to shift the split in development from 80 per cent suburban and 20 per cent infill, to a 70/30 split, Wallace explained.

A higher population will be yielded from these two developments- Alan Wallace, Saskatoon's director of planning and development

The project on Idylwyld involves the refurbishment of existing multiple-unit dwellings (77 in total), and the construction of 85 additional units in two new buildings.

Wallace observed that higher density along Idylwyld, a major traffic corridor, could support changes in transit service.

The project on Avenue F is a redesign of an earlier proposal for 23 units in a single building.

Now, 21 townhouses are to be built.

"A higher population will be yielded from these two developments, and what that does for our downtown is good," Wallace said. "What it does for existing services and commercial areas in these two neighbourhoods is good."