St. Mary School Launch

On Tuesday November 23, 2010, dignitaries, community representatives, school board officials and others gathered to celebrate the official launch of the new St. Mary Catholic Elementary School in Pleasant Hill. Located on the 300 block of Avenue N South, the school is a new state of the art learning facility which will also contain a wellness centre, walking track, clinic and other publicly accessible features. The school is a centrepiece development within the new Pleasant Hill Village redevelopment project. Completion is expected in 14 months time.

KC Charities Launches Columbian Place

Another significant announcement has been made in the Pleasant Hill Village.

K.C. Charities Inc. held a ceremonial sod turning at St. Mary's Parish Hall.

Attended by 170 people, the sod turning is a major new development for Pleasant Hill Village.

'Columbian Place' is the name given to the new seniors' low income rental complex.

A total of 75 one and two-bedroom seniors' units will be constructed on the 1400 block of 20th Street West.

The project will cost $13.5 million dollars. The Federal, Provincial and City of Saskatoon are all funding partners in the project.

Set to start digging immediately, the project will take over 15 months to complete. When finished, the residents will be an important part of the Pleasant Hill Village revitalization project and enjoy the new park space and watch as school children play at the new St. Mary School.

Bob Jeanneau and Bill Coumont have been driving forces behind the planning of the project.

Congratulations to K. C. Charities Inc.

Work at New St. Mary School Site Begins

The dry warm weather is allowing PCL to commence site work at the new St. Mary School site.

Located at 327 Avenue N South the new school is the heart of the Pleasant Hill Village revitalization project.

Expected completion is early 2012.

WORK PROGRESSES ON PARK

The warm weather has also meant that the park development is moving along.

The asphalt trail system will soon be installed.

If the weather holds, this phase of the park system may be completed by end of October.

Marketing Blitz Set to Begin

The City of Saskatoon is set to begin a marketing blitz of the Pleasant Hill Village project.

With new dwelling units now being completed, the time is right to attract buyers to one of the most affordable new home developments in Saskatoon.

The blitz will include a mail drop of brochures to over 7,000 homes, new signage along 20th Street and radio ads.

Many people who currently rent can afford to own a home in Pleasant Hill Village.

Families with children are particularly suited to this new development.

Cenith Opens Show Home

On September 26th Cenith Developments Inc. opened a show suite at 315 Avenue N South.

The show suite is one of 12 family-oriented townhouses open for viewing.

Three of the units have been sold to Cress Housing, and another three to Quint Developments.

Six units remain available for the general public.

These units are finished on three levels with 2 bathrooms, family room, living and dining areas with plenty of storage space.

Units are being marketed by Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

for viewing, call Jennifer Hauck (241-2229) or Kimberlee Matheson (717-1663).

Solar Installation - Day 2

The Cenith townhouses at Parcel B (315 Avenue N South) have now been fitted with two solar systems for domestic hot water and power generation. The solar panels come from a german manufacturer who is new to Canada - Schuco Canada http://www.schueco.com/web/ca/start/home/solar_energy_products.

The solar panels are expected to have a 25 year life span, or longer.

This is believed to be one of the largest residential installations in Canada, and a first for Saskatoon.

The installation company is a local company called Rock Paper Sun Inc. http://www.rockpapersun.com/index.htm

The show suite at Parcel B will soon be open for public viewing.

New Playground Equipment Installed

As part of the first phase of park development, new playground equipment has been installed at the Grace Adam Park. At this point, the surfacing is not yet complete so it is not ready for use.

Asphalt paths will be going in as soon as the weather cooperates, and after that topsoil, planting, seeding, irrigation etc.

The plan is to have the playground and remainder of the park open for use by the end of October.

The second phase of the park development will not be started until after the new St. Mary School is open.

Solar Installation - Day 1

Cenith Developments has begun to install the solar thermal and solar power panels on their new housing development at 315 Avenue N South (parcel B).

The solar system will produce both heat to reduce the consumption of natural gas for heating water, and solar electric generation to produce power.

The supports are being installed today, and solar panels on Wednesday.

New Cenith Townhouses Nearing Completion

the pictures here are the first looks at the Cenith townhouses located on Parcel B (315 Ave N South). Each unit will have 3 levels of finished space - over 1200 ft2 in total.

On Tuesday August 31st, the solar panel systems are scheduled to be installed.

A show suite will be ready for viewing in early September.

Exterior View of New St. Mary School

this new graphic shows a view of the new St. Mary School looking from the southeast.

Interior Views of New St. Mary School

The Board of Education for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools have released some computer renderings of the interior spaces in the new St. Mary School.

The contracts for the new school have been signed and construction is set to begin in two weeks. If weather co-operates, the school could open in the fall of 2011.

The new school will be located on a new site located at 327 Avenue N South. It will include a wellness centre, walking track and community space.

New Sidewalk on Avenue P

The existing sidewalk on Avenue P has been extended to join with the new park pathway. This area was formerly the access to the Olfert Trucking site.

The fenced area to the right is Parcel F which is a site for a new multi-unit development which will commence in 2011.

Powerline being Buried

Saskatoon Light and Power have found some dry weather to begin burying the powerline which runs along the south boundary of 19th Street West. The powerline cuts across what will become a new park. Burial of the line will mean a much more attractive and safe park space environment for children.

As part of the new park development, former Avenue O South is also being torn up. This street once had single family homes on the west side. Soon it will become a new park.

Kubica Property Demolished

Today, the former dwelling and shop of Kubica Glassworks was demolished.

This is the final piece of property acquired to complete the Pleasant Hill Village project. The City began acquiring property in Pleasant Hill in 2007.

The demolition is another step closer to assembling a development site for K.C. Charities Inc.

K.C. Charities intends to construct a 75 unit Seniors' housing complex on this site, known as 'Parcel E' in the redevelopment plan. Plans are to begin construction in late summer 2010.

Cenith's housing development is under construction in the background.

Parkview Green Launched

On June 17, 2010, the Affordable New Home Development Foundation and the Pleasant Hill Ventures Corp. launched the first new units in the Pleasant Hill Village project. Minister Donna Harpauer, Councillor Pat Lorje, Alan Thomarat from the Home Builders Association and Keith Hanson from the Affordable New Home Development Foundation provided a large gathering with an overview to launch this significant project.

Located at 1505 & 1507 19th Street West, the project is the result of a joint venture between professional home builders - River Ridge Homes and Ehrenburg Homes. Twenty-four family-oriented units with energy saving features and high quality construction are now available.

This was a pioneering effort to bring spacious, bright and affordable new home construction to Pleasant Hill. The units are available to the general public and affordably priced between $189,900 and $240,000. Financial assistance is available to those homebuyers who earn less than $52,000 per year.

Pleasant Hill Celebrates During Construction

The Pleasant Hill Community held there highly successful community PowWow on Monday June 14th. The Mayor Don Atchison, Councillor Pat Lorje, Provincial MLAs, School Board reps and other dignitaries attended the opening ceremony.

In the midst of the PowWow, Saskatoon Light and Power were busy preparing to bury the powerline which runs across what will become the newly designed Grace Adam Park.

On June 17th, the Pleasant Hill Ventures Corp. will be having the formal launch of the new "Parkview Green" residential development at 1505/1507 19th Street West. These will be the first dwelling units constructed within the Pleasant Hill Village project, and will be offered for sale to the general public.

Cenith Developments Plans to have their units ready for sale at 315 Avenue N South by August.

Mortgage Flexibilities and Support

The City has designated Pleasant Hill Village for the Mortgage Flexibility Support Program.
There will be eighteen units available for purchase by the general public starting in June.
Qualified households are eligible for a 5% downpayment grant from the City plus flexibilities such as a longer amortization period and waiver of fees to purchase units in Pleasant Hill Village.

The mortgage flexibility program has been very successful in Camponi Place where 60 families have been able to purchase new units since September 2009. Details about how to apply will be available directly from the builders soon.

Remediation of Parcel F

The environmental remediation of Parcel F in Pleasant Hill Village has started.

Stephanie Langevin of Environmental Services has done a great job looking after all of the environmental screening and remediation for the Pleasant Hill Village Project.

Parcel F will be the next parcel available for development in early Fall 2010.

The site is a former industrial site where Olfert Trucking once stood. Once the site is remediated, it will be certified for residential and park use meaning it will be clean for these purposes.

Other recent developments include the continued construction on Parcels B (Cenith below) and D (Pleasant Hill Ventures). Finished units in these two developments will be available for viewing in July and August. The marketing of these units is set to begin soon. Prices have been fixed at between $189,500 to $240,612.

Park and School are set to begin construction in mid June.

Construction Resumes on Parcel B

Cenith Developments has resumed construction of 12 townhouse units on Parcel B. Located at 315 Avenue N South, these affordable units will incorporate two solar panels systems. The first solar system will reduce the cost of hot water heating via a large holding tank and thermal heat exchanger. The second system will be the first of its kind to incorporate an agreement with Saskatoon Light and Power to sell power back to the grid. The condominium corporation will realize cost savings by generating its own electrical power.

Units are expected to be completed by August 31, 2010.

Marketing of the units will begin shortly through Century 21.

More details will follow soon.

City Acquires Kubica Property

On April 30, 2010, the City of Saskatoon will have vacant possession of the last property to complete the land assembly for Parcel E in the Pleasant Hill Village. 1407 20th Street is the site of Kubica Glass. The acquisition is the last property to be acquired to make the Pleasant Hill Village concept a reality. It opens the door to a sale agreement between the City and K.C. Charities Inc. for Parcel E. K. C. Charities plans to construct a 72 unit seniors' complex.

The next steps, once acquisition is complete, are to conduct an environmental screening of the site, demolish the existing structure and remediate the site, if necessary. The site will be ready for development by Fall 2010.

Second Building on Parcel D

the second of two multi-unit dwellings being constructed by River Ridge Homes and Ehrenburg Homes on Parcel D is now out of the ground. Containing 12 units each, these dwellings will be marketed to the general public beginning in 2010. Attractive, family housing units, each unit will have views in two directions. Prices for the units range from $189,500 to $240,612 for two storey units. This development is located directly across from new park space and the new St. Mary School - both are set to begin construction in June 2010.

New Park Design Completed

Alan Otterbein and his staff at the Parks Branch have completed a final draft of the new Grace Adam Park in Pleasant Hill Village. A Public Open House has been scheduled for Wednesday February 24, 2010 at St. Mary School from 4:30 to 7:00pm.

The new park includes a trail system, play areas for children ages 5-12, a tot play area, two youth soccer pitches and youth ball diamond, potential hockey rink, skateboard area, benches, picnic area and lighting.

The park will be developed in two phases. The first phase is the park area to the south of the new school and around Parcels D and F. Phase 1 will commence in June 2010. Phase 2 is the balance of the park space and will commence once the existing St. Mary School is demolished. The landscaping around the school will happen during the latter stages of construction of the new school, likely in late summer 2011.

Parcel D Takes Shape

The new stacked townhouses on Parcel D are now in the framing stages. Perry Kenke from River Ridge Homes indicates that one framing crew is on site and a second one will arrive soon. Despite a cold December, the expected completion of the units is scheduled for late summer 2010.

The next post on this blog will highlight the new park design which is now in the final design stages and currently undergoing a CPTED Review. The public open house for the new park is scheduled for Wednesday February 24 at 4:30 to 7pm at St. Mary School.

Grover House Demolished

Happy New Year to you all.

In December 2009, the Infrastructure Services Department undertook the demolition of the house at 408 Avenue P South.

This site will become part of the enhanced development concept for Pleasant Hill Village. During 2010, the City will undertake the necessary steps to assemble the land for more park space and a new development site (Parcel F). The City hopes to have a Request for Proposals out for Parcel F in the summer of 2010.