This building near the airport could be the new home of Saskatoon Farmers' Market Co-op
The co-op's 100 members will vote this Saturday on a potential move
"Bringing your out-of-province grandma a jar of homemade Saskatoon berry jam just got easier": that could prove a ready-made slogan for the Saskatoon Farmers Market Co-operative depending on the outcome of a key vote this weekend.
On Saturday, the co-op's 100 or so vendors will vote on whether to move to a new location in the city's airport industrial district.
Alternately, members may vote "no" and instead choose to go back to the co-op's previous setup: Saturday indoor pop-ups during the winter and Saturday-Sunday outdoor pop-ups during the summer.
Either way, the co-op will be moving next month out of its longtime 19th Street home at Saskatoon's River Landing site, owing to a protracted impasse with the city over further animating the space.
The co-op's last day at River Landing will be Dec. 22.
Pros and cons
Moving to 2612 Koyl Avenue — located just two minutes by car from the Saskatoon airport — does not come without some differences for vendors.
At River Landing, the co-op leased the space from the city for a pittance — $10 a year — but also paid about $100,000 a year in property taxes, utilities and payments into a building maintenance reserve.
The space measured 13,561 square feet.
At Koyl Avenue, the cost of utilities and taxes will be broadly similar, but vendors will also have to pay a more expensive base rent, co-op president and board chair Adithya Ramachandran said on Monday.
That space will measure about 13,000 square feet. But the co-op would have autonomy over its new space, Ramachandran added.
New River Landing RFP is out
On Friday, the City of Saskatoon posted a request for proposals for a new operator to take over the River Landing site.
"The City of Saskatoon is looking to lease the farmers' market building within River Landing, seeking a proponent to develop and manage a six-day a week (at minimum) animated public facility, with dedicated farmers' market days," the description on SaskTenders reads.
Proposals are being accepted until Dec. 31. The co-op's lease expires at the end of the year and the group signalled months ago it won't put in a bid to extend its life at River Landing.
The city initially opened the building to competitive proposals in 2018 but ultimately cancelled that process because repairs are needed on the market building's roof. Those are planned for early 2020.
Dale MacKay, the first Top Chef Canada winner and the co-owner of the Grassroots Restaurant Group, which runs Ayden Kitchen and Sticks and Stones, confirmed he put in a proposal during the first RFP process.
"It's a great location," MacKay previously told CBC News.
Asked more recently if his company would again come put in a proposal, MacKay declined to comment.
But another farmers market group in the city, the Community Farmers Market of Saskatoon (CFM), has told CBC News it's interested in operating the outdoor Market Square at River Landing while also partnering with MacKay "in making the space a vibrant success for all local businesses."
According to the city's RFP, "Proponents may be corporations, cooperatives, joint ventures, partnerships, associations, sole proprietorships, or any other legal entity eligible to conduct business in the Province of Saskatchewan."
The RFP clarifies that Market Square is not part of the lease and would not be the exclusive domain of the RFP winner. Still, "innovative ideas on using the space can be included with their submissions."
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