Developer of old Saskatoon police building looking to lock down tenants in tough market

Brent Suer does not feel sentimental about the memories that were made — and crimes that were solved —  inside the old police building he is redeveloping on Fourth Avenue South in Saskatoon.

Instead, Suer sees the building's former life as a police facility as a logistical challenge. All the concrete and steel associated with keeping criminals locked up has made the inside of the building harder to demolish to make room for office space.

Getting rid of the cells, he said, took some heavy lifting.

"There was a massive amount of demolition in there because it was all poured-in-place concrete with very thick steel for the security reasons and a lot of the mechanical, electrical, etc. — what was required to accommodate those cells," Suer said.

Suer is transforming the former Saskatoon Police Service headquarters, constructed in the 1970s, into an office building called River Quarry on 4th.

Speaking over the grind of construction at the site last week, he hurried to explain all the specifications he said will set this building apart in a difficult rental market.

The new building, which Suer purchased unrenovated for $10.7 million in 2016, will comprise 64,020 square-feet of office space and have 178 parking stalls.

He said he has allotted money to renovate the building to meet the LEED environmental standard set by the Canada Green Building Council.

Suer hopes these measures will reduce operating costs for tenants, who pay a set rate — separate to the negotiated rent — for expenses like heating and cooling.

He wants to make the building more attractive to prospective tenants at a time when tenants are harder to lock down.

"Vacancy rates are high, lease rates are down and there's lots of options, and that's part of the reason why we haven't got anybody committed — there's other options," he said.

"We compete with them. There's still activity going on, people are leasing, people are looking. That's very positive and we think that the quality of the building we have here … not all buildings have all those features."

A plumber and pipe fitter who works with Duchuck Holdings, Suer said he has been working on designs for the building for about two years.

Those plans have changed several times since construction began. A planned gym area has shifted locations within the building, and new elevators have been installed due to surprises that the building presented along the way.

Although Suer acknowledged the redevelopment presents some risks, he said he does not lose any sleep over the project.

"You don't get old heritage buildings every day or even a beautiful concrete structure like this," he said.

"When you transform that into the building we're going to have, it's rewarding and it's fun. It's also a lot of work and some days aren't that much fun."

Suer said he is confident tenants will be found for the building, and he expects construction to be completed by the end of the year.

He said an office tower is also proposed to be built in the adjacent parking lot next door to the River Quarry building in the future.