FOOD TO GO
Farmers market set to vote on move
The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market membership is set to vote in a week on moving to an industrial area near the airport.
The president of the farmers’ market co-operative board of directors, Adi Ramachandran, confirmed the location and the vote on Friday in response to an inquiry from The Starphoenix.
The market’s membership, estimated at about 100 vendors, will vote Nov. 16 on whether they support signing a 10-year lease of part of the Cavendish Building on Koyl Avenue in the Airport Business Area.
The market has been located at River Landing, in a former power plant garage, since 2007, but the pending closure of the building for repairs and an impasse with the city have sparked the potential move.
“The way we are looking at it from the farmers’ market co-operative perspective is trying to make lemonade out of lemons,” Ramachandran said in an interview.
The farmers’ market now operates three days a week at its current location in the city-owned building. City council wants a tenant that will animate the building six days a week.
Ramachandran said the co-operative has not completely closed the door on its current location and could even operate a satellite market at the River Landing space.
The co-operative is trying to focus on the positive with the move, notably the greater autonomy, he said. The location is within a 15-minute drive for most residents and it’s close to Circle Drive, he noted.
“The reason we picked this location is because it has plenty of parking,” Ramachandran said. “It’s easy and accessible if you have a vehicle.”
Ramachandran declined to reveal the value of the lease. However, he pointed out that in addition to the $10 a year in rent the co-operative paid to the city, the vendors also paid about $100,000 for maintenance, taxes, services like snow removal and money for a reserve fund for repairs.
That reserve fund will pay for the repairs to the roof, he noted. Roof repairs on the River Landing location are expected to begin early next year.
The Cavendish Building boasts 47,390 square feet, according to an online lease listing by Fortress Properties. The red-brick building offers 250 parking spots.
The part of the building the co-operative is considering renting is 13,266 sq. ft and rents for $17,964.38 a month, including utilities, the Fortress listing says.
Ramachandran said the membership will decide if the move and the cost are feasible for the market’s needs.
“The reason we are bringing it to the membership is that we’re confident we can make it work,” he said.