Saskatoon City Council will be deciding whether it will approve a five-year tax abatement for the construction of a new high rise on Broadway Avenue tomorrow.

Earlier this year, an unnamed Saskatchewan began the process of constructing a 14-storey multi-use building at 906 Broadway Ave in Nutana, the site of the former Extra Foods.

To make the project possible, the company applied for a $1.6 million 5-year tax abatement through the Vacant Lot and Adaptive Reuse Incentive Program. This was approved by the Committee on Planning, Development, and Community Services at the September 3rd meeting.

Melissa Austin, Saskatoon’s neighborhood planning manager, says the building will feature 124 residential units divided into one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments. It will also provide three levels of above-ground parking, and a ground-floor commercial space, which will not function as a replacement grocery store. However, the thought was there.

“It’s our understanding that through the planning phase of the project, the developer ownership group did reach out to a number of grocery retailers, and there was no interest in the site itself, ” she explains.

If City Council approves the tax-abatement on Wednesday, construction is expected to be complete by 2027.