Saskatoon city councillors to mull five-year farmers’ market lease
A year after first entering negotiations to find a permanent tenant for the Farmers’ Market Building in Riversdale, city council is set to enter a lease agreement with a local business service company.
Last August, Ideas Inc., the anchor tenant for half of the property along Avenue B South, was revealed as the company selected to operate a public market.
"Our vision for this space draws inspiration from national and international facilities that have become landmarks for their respective cities," Ideas Inc. executive director Depesh Parmar said in a release at the time.
“We are inspired by their ability to create a vibrant, animated space for local communities, and a dynamic and diverse destination where patrons can enjoy everything local from produce and artisan goods to locally produced food and beverage."
Administration is recommending the standing policy committee on planning, development and community services enter a five-year lease with Ideas Inc. to operate the property 414 Avenue B South.
The building has undergone a lengthy process to find a tenant willing to meet the city’s requirement of keeping the area animated for six days a week.
City administration and council began voicing those concerns in 2018 when the farmers' market operated three days a week. The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative Ltd. managed the site for 12 years before relocating to a building near the airport in 2020 once its lease expired.
The city issued a request for proposals in 2018 to find a permanent tenant, then cited much-needed repairs to the aging former electrical garage roof as the reason for withdrawing the request for proposals.
Repairs were slated to begin in January 2020, expected to take at least three months to complete. After COVID-19 uncertainty stalled any progress, demolition and construction work began in June 2020.
More than two years later, the city is set to formally begin a new era for the historic property.
The next steps include completing detailed design drawings and issuing a construction tender and awarding and undertaking renovation work.
The approval report before the committee says the lease will begin when the interior building renovations have been completed by the city.
A five-year tax exemption estimated at $53,162 is included in the agreement. Administration is also recommending the city contribute $150,000, to purchase furnishings for the common areas, with 50 per cent coming from the reserve budget for capital expenditures and 50 per cent from Ideas Inc.
Ideas Inc. currently manages the outdoor street stalls on Saturdays outside the building and a seasonal outdoor farmers’ market.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.