Saskatoon NewsSaskatoon Real Estate News November 28, 2013

A new kind of recycling

As affordability remains an issue in Saskatoon, a vacant building in Riversdale is set to be transformed into residential housing that also has come up with a way to help subsidize costs.

525 20th Street West has notoriously held a bad reputation in Saskatoon. It previously held suites that had shared accommodation and attracted a transient type of tenant. Because of that, police were there daily and even had keys to the property.

Now that it’s been vacant for the past 4 years, and with the help of the provincial government with funding, the building is undergoing a regentrification process and will provide some much needed affordable housing to the area.

With the building already there, the thought is that it might as well be utilized. Think of it as a method of repurposing.

The facelift will convert two floors into 12 one and two bedroom rental suites. The lower floor space will become a restaurant and retail space to help offset costs and allowing the suites to become more affordable. Advocates for this project hope that this new approach will catch on which will allow the City of Saskatoon to provide more affordable housing options to the public.

Their plan is to have rents well below market rents, indicating that a one bedroom will be $700/ month and the two bedroom will be $900/ month with completion expected by next spring.

 

Kari Calder

Saskatoon Real Estate Agent

Century 21 Fusion

kari@saskatoonrealestate.net