Massive Saskatoon condo and office project heads to council

A proposal for a large residential and office development in downtown Saskatoon is one step closer to reality.

The city's Municipal Planning Commission voted today to recommend council approve rezoning forthe City Centre Tower Project.

It includes threebuildings. The tallest would stretch approximately 105 metres into the sky and would become the tallest building in the entire province.

The company behind the venture, North Prairie Developments Ltd., wants permission to build higher than the 76 metre restriction currently in place in the city's downtown.

City administration is recommending an exception be made to the project, because the buildings will contain room for public parking.

"It looks like the first six stories of the building are going to be a structured parkade," said Alan Wallace, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Saskatoon. "They provided a facade so the structured parkade appears to be a part of the building."

The company is also asking that the building area, currently occupied by the Saskatoon provincial cabinet office and a former Affinity Credit Union branch, be re-zoned as one large area.

While the Municipal Planning Committee will make recommendations on the project, a final decision will be made at Saskatoon City Council later this month.

Phase one of the project has already been completed, and is currently occupied by mining company BHPBilliton.

The second phase, expected to reach 105 metres, likely won't start construction until late 2015 at the earliest. A third building, approximately 87 metres tall, would be started at a later date.