POST #307: QUESTIONING SASKATOON’S HOUSING SHORTAGE

JOSH BUCHANAN

May 9, 2024

Based on the housing stats at the end of April, Saskatoon needs roughly 1,250 more residential properties to be added to the current inventory of homes for sale in order to balance the market out. Keep in mind, the number is likely higher than this as there would be even more sales if active inventory was higher. There are plenty of prospective buyers who are being outbid on properties or have simply given up on trying to purchase because the market is too competitive. That said, Saskatoon probably needs approximately 1,500 more residential properties for sale, immediately, in order to have a balanced market.

An additional 1,500 properties does not include the rental market. The number is probably more like 3,000 when including the need for rental housing. With the market being that far from balanced, it’s obvious why home prices and rental rates are on the rise.

What’s going on? Why is this happening?

The biggest issue is that there is not enough building going on in Saskatoon to support the recent level of population growth.

How does this get solved?

The most obvious answer is to build way more housing. However, it’s not happening.

As someone who pays close attention to the economics of the residential market in Saskatoon, wants to solve problems, and cares about having good allocation of resources, this is frustrating for me. I’ve said it before but there’s no major excuse for this. Geographically, Saskatoon could be the largest city in the world. There are hardly any constraints when it comes to expansion. No ocean, no mountains, no nearby borders, etc.

So, why isn’t there more building?

I don’t know for sure. I have my assumptions but I would really like to hear from city planners and home builders directly to see where they stand. Even better, I’d like to get a group of city planners and home builders in a room together and be the mediator to help come up with some solutions because this feels ridiculous to me and there has to be more that can be done.

One thing that has often crossed my mind is the unusual number of empty lots and poorly used property within the city. I know the reasoning behind it, but I still find it odd and unfortunate that many of the city’s most-densely populated neighbourhoods like Blairmore, Evergreen, and Stonebridge are so far from the city center. Neighbourhoods like Varsity View, Nutana, and Haultain are generally not densely populated whatsoever despite being very central. It’s kind of backwards.

Regarding the empty lots and poorly used space in the city, I thought I would identify some areas that I think are very poorly utilized and could be repurposed to build multi-residential units. I feel like I could find hundreds of poorly utilized spaces in this city, but here’s a shorter list of ones I’ve noticed:

1. Kerr Road – just west of Gillam Crescent in Erindale

I grew up in this area, so I’m very familiar with the empty spaces here and never understood why nothing was done with them. Erindale and Forest Grove are desirable neighbourhoods that aren’t densely populated and there are 4 schools nearby.

Here’s where I’m talking about:

I think there could also be some kind of new road access built to connect to the north edge of McKercher which would be great to reduce traffic on McCormand and Attridge.

Looking north on Kerr Road

Looking south on Kerr Road

Both of these lots are HUGE and have been sitting empty for decades in a neighbourhood where most lots had homes built in the late 1980s. I imagine this property is owned by the city but I have no idea why it isn’t used for housing. Both sides would be great for cul-de-sacs of townhouses and you could probably have 40-80 additional units total without being too large of a density burden on the neighbourhood, especially with a new access road to McKercher.

2. Several lots on 22nd Street – between Idylwyld and Confederation

Every time I drive down 22nd Street, I’m surprised at how many vacant lots there are and I don’t understand why they aren’t better utilized. I understand that this is not a super-desirable area to live, however, thousands of people still live here and there is a housing shortage right now. If anything, this is a suitable place to build because there are plenty of amenities and easy access to downtown. The fact that the neighbourhoods along 22nd Street aren’t highly desirable is what should actually make them affordable places to build and create additional affordable housing options in the city.

Here are some examples:

Huge lot on the corner of Avenue H – across from KFC and next to Esso on the north side of 22nd St.

Huge lot on the south side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue H

Small lot on the south side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue M

Huge lot on the south side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue O

Large vacated lot on the north side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue P

Small lot on the north side of 22nd St. near the corner of Avenue S

Small lot on the north side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue S

Huge lot on the north side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue W

Huge lot on the south side of 22nd St. on the corner of Avenue Y

Why are these empty lots not being developed? Instead of building so much in Blairmore and Kensington, why not fill out these first? Are they owned privately? Why don’t the owners sell or develop the land? Are they owned by the city? Why not auction off the property and collect property taxes once housing is built instead of having them sit vacant?

What are the major benefits to anyone by leaving these lots empty?

I know that some of the 22nd Street lots are probably zoned for commercial and are more suitable for commercial, but they’re still empty and shouldn’t be. Even the retail section of the commercial market has very low vacancy rates. Surely, even if they were commercial properties, there could even be some residential units built on top.

3. Raoul Wallenberg Park – Munroe Ave S & 10th St. E

I am a fan of having public parks, however, many of them are much bigger than they need to be and rarely even get used. I think in many instances, the size of the parks could be reduced and a section could be repurposed for apartments. Here’s one obvious example:

This park is huge, it has no amenities, and probably rarely gets used. It’s super close to 8th street, close to the university, and located right between Clarence Ave and Cumberland Ave. If this park was cut in half and one half was repurposed for apartment buildings, it would be a very desirable location and there would still be usable park space, even if it were a 24-unit apartment building added.

4. Corner of Broadway Ave and 8th Street East

I believe there are plans to develop this lot and I understand it’s a very busy corner and maybe not ideal for multi-unit residential properties. However, it’s so central that I can’t wrap my head around why it hasn’t already been better utilized.

5. Haultain neighbourhood

The Haultain area would be ideal for apartment infills. I’m talking about streets like Dufferin, Landsdowne, and Albert, on the south side of 8th Street and north of Taylor Street. These streets are super wide and basically only have detached houses on large lots.

I think there could be a major opportunity for houses on the corners of these streets to be torn down and rebuilt as apartments. You could tear down one unit and easily turn it into a 12 unit apartment building without making the neighbourhood excessively busy and still have ample parking. I think this would be a very desirable place to have more apartment buildings.

Like on Dufferin Ave between 9th and 10th Street, these roads are wide enough that you could create angle parking right on the street.

Offer one of the owners of a corner-lot house 20% above market price, tear it down, and turn it into apartments facing the main roads instead of facing the side streets.

6. Fairhaven – Herbert S. Sears Park

Fairhaven already has a massive park – William A. Reid Park. I know this neighbourhood isn’t very desirable right now, but that doesn’t matter. Again, that’s where land values should be cheapest and create the best opportunity to build affordable housing in established neighbourhoods that have poorly utilized spaces.

I don’t see why part of the park couldn’t be repurposed for apartment buildings. There would still be more than enough park space remaining there and another huge park just a stone’s throw away. Clancy Drive could just extend into a cul-de-sac of apartment buildings here.

7. Meewasin Trail – north of the U of S

I like the Meewasin Trail, but it’s strange to me that there’s so much vacant space in such an amazing location. Is there not at least a small section of land behind the university that could be converted to student housing? There could even be some kind of public transportation like buses or light rail track that takes students from the housing directly to the university. This would create more housing options for students without putting pressure on streets like College Drive and Preston. They’d also have a good view of the river.

8. U of S Science Test Plot Land

This is one of the strangest things in Saskatoon. I get that some people are into testing dirt and crops and stuff like that, but that can be done outside of the city instead of on some of the best land in Saskatoon. This probably made a tiny bit of sense in 1940 but I don’t see how it’s the optimal use of space in 2024.

Instead of building super-dense housing in Aspen Ridge with narrow roads for streets where every house has a basement suite, the university test plot land should be out by Aspen Ridge and Aspen Ridge should be build where the science test plots are.

I know the university has had some financial problems in past years.. no surprise. You’re using prime land for this instead of making more practical urban uses of it. On top of that, instead of building multi-level parking lots on campus, the U of S seems pretty content with just keeping ground-level gravel parking lots. Again, I don’t understand the thinking here.

Am I missing something major?

I’m sure I could find over a hundred other good examples of where space is either completely vacant or at least being poorly utilized.

There needs to be some major adjustments here and re-thinking of how space in the city is being used.

Saskatoon is in such desperate need for housing that the city and/or home builders should probably even have temporary foreign workers coming from Latin America during the summer when it’s their rainy season to build more housing here in our limited building season.

I’m happy to hear feedback if anyone can answer any of these questions and I really wish we could get the necessary parties together to start taking action to solve the housing shortage problem.

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