Old Saskatoon Transit site, downtown parking lots could be up for sale soon

The City of Saskatoon wants to sell off the old Saskatoon Transit site, plus several downtown parking lots, in the next five years.

The update come courtesy of a recently-released map of downtown parcels the city is considering selling.

There are the usual suspects: the two River Landing parcels the city is currently using as parking lots, for example.

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But the map also includes the former home of Saskatoon Transit on 24th Street as well as three lower-profile downtownparking lots.

The inclusion of the Transit site is notable because an arts group in the city, artSpace Saskatoon, wants to transform the former Transit hub into apermanent studio, rehearsal and performance space for working artists.

"The bus barns are ideal in a lot of ways," said artSpace president Andrew Haas. "Just the proximity to downtown, and the neighborhood it's in is a very artistic neighborhood."

Arts group to bid on Transit site

Haas said the city's plan to put the site on the open market did not take his group by surprise, and that the city has been open about its plans.

"We're looking forward to being able to respond to however they planto offer that parcel to the market," he said.

Lesley Anderson, the city's director of planning and development, said there's technically still the possibility of brokering a direct deal with artSpace.

"But we're looking at creating an opportunity for anyone that's interested who would meet the goals of what we're looking for in that development to be able to bid on it," she said.

Site needs work

Previous studies have pinned the cost of getting the site ready for redevelopment including demolition, remediation, servicing upgrades at between $6 million and $8 million, said Anderson.

The latest environmental site assessment will be made public later this year, and Haas says it contains good news.

"By all accounts it's far better than we expected," he said.

"The remediation that needs to take place there will be far less costly than originally expected."

One parking lot already for sale

The new map also identifies three parking lots besides the ones at River Landing the city wants to sell.

Two are located on 25th Street directly across the Saskatoon Police Service headquarters. The other, which is already being marketed, is on the corner of 5th Avenue and 25th Street.

The timing of the sale of the River Landing parcels will be revealed in future reports to city councillors.