River Landing, Saskatoon (must see)

River Landing is an ongoing redevelopment district in Saskatoon that will create a commercial/cultural development along the bank of the South Saskatchewan River in downtown Saskatoon.

River Landing is divided into two phases. The first phase concentrates on the eastern region of river landing and includes redeveloping the waterfront, a hotel complex and a destination complex. The second phase concentrates on the western region including the cleanup of the old A. L Cole site, park land and the conversion of a pre-existing electrical service building into a year round home for the farmer’s market, business centre and residential development.

Plans for redevelopment of the riverbank have come and gone since the 1970s. One of the first steps towards redeveloping the area was the demolishing of the old Saskatoon Arena in the early 1980s; at one point there were plans to build a new hockey rink and convention centre on the site, but ultimately it was decided to build Saskatchewan Place (now Credit Union Centre) on the city's outskirts. In 1989, the Arena site became an outdoor entertainment venue in conjunction with that year's Canada Summer Games, and proved popular enough that there was talk of the site becoming a permanent outdoor venue. Around this time, the city unveiled plans for a market and hotel on the site as part of its South Downtown Redevelopment scheme which also involved redeveloping several adjacent blocks to the north.