Saskatoon city council chooses parking lot north of Midtown shopping centre for proposed new downtown arena

Saskatoon city council voted unanimously at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to choose the parking lot north of the Midtown shopping centre for the city's proposed new downtown arena.

The decision marks "a pivotal moment for our city," Mayor Charlie Clark said at Wednesday's special meeting.

"In terms of a decision to shape our city and shape our downtown, this is probably one of the biggest decisions that has been made in the last 50 years."

The move was a long time coming. City council decided in 2018 to start planning for a downtown event and entertainment district.

City administration recommended the parking lot north of the Midtown shopping centre for the facility, but it wasn't the only option. Based on the administration's analysis, the city yards in the north downtown area would be a feasible alternative.

The decision to recommend the lot north of Midtown was based — among other things — on "an evaluation of the sites against extensive technical criteria," according to the city.

Residents also seem to prefer the Midtown location between the two options. According to a city survey, 63 per cent of respondents listed the site's proximity to amenities such as restaurants and bars as a key opportunity.

Clark said many important questions have been raised about the cost of the project and how it will be paid for.

"The reality is we can't tell the community how much it will cost in any accurate way without knowing the location, because we need to know the location so we can develop that more detailed plan," he said.

Doing the detailed design is going to take a big investment, he said.

A tentative timeline presented by administration at Wednesday's meeting suggested preliminary capital cost estimates reporting and a preliminary funding strategy would be in place by the third quarter of next year.

The city still has to buy the north parking lot from Midtown Plaza Inc., at a price tag of around $25 million, according to the city.

A motion to that effect was also passed unanimously Wednesday afternoon.

City administration is now authorized to enter into an interim parking operation and management agreement with Midtown for parking on the north lot after the closing date.

Despite all the work done so far, it will still be at least six years of designing, budgeting, council decisions and construction before the ribbon is cut, Dan Willems, the city's director of technical services, said earlier this month.

During Wednesday's meeting, city manager Jeff Jorgenson said administration had taken a lot of questions about whether council's vote would be the "go/no-go" decision for the entire project.

"The administration's perspective is 'No,'" he said. "That day will come in the future — likely more than a year from now."