The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns - International ...

Educational & Institutional
Development
The presence of post-secondary institutions within the
immediate downtown is minimal. The University of
Saskatchewan recently opened a small downtown
campus for its business school (KW Nasser Centre),
attracting about 35 (range: 30-75) students on an
average weekday. The University is also investigating
the possibility of establishing a new school of
architecture in a former warehouse offered by the City
for that purpose. However post-secondary institutions
have a significant impact on the downtown, as the
University of Saskatchewan is located directly across
the South Saskatchewan River and can easily be
accessed by foot or transit, helping vitalize the
downtown throughout the week.
Municipal Tax Base
Downtown property tax revenues have been
increasing for more than a decade, yet their share,
relative to the rest of the city, is declining. It is noted
that this trend could be linked to the taxation
reassessment undertaken 15 years ago. Prior to this,
the downtown was carrying, in one interviewee’s
opinion, ‘far too heavy a load’; but the ‘reassessment
has made the downtown viable again for business.’ It
will be important that the downtown is able to
maintain a strong and stable role in supporting the
City’s tax base and that negative trends are carefully
considered and understood by city builders. Future
trends appear promising with reports demonstrating a
rebound to about 6.5% since 2008, from a decline –
reaching a low of 5.5% in 2008.
jobs in the private sector are in professional services
(legal and financial services etc), followed by workers
in the hospitality and retailing industries.
Five percent of downtown jobs are also in creative
arts and media positions. The downtown also has a
large proportion of jobs in the public and not-for-profit
sectors that are not captured in, but are primarily
office-based positions.
$9,000,000.00
$8,000,000.00
$7,000,000.00
$6,000,000.00
Downtown has
~22,452
jobs
Downtowns’ tax revenue has
grown
47%
From 1998-2010
9.0%
8.0%
7.0%
6.0%
$5,000,000.00
5.0%
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Property Taxes Collected Downtown
Downtown Property Taxes as % of Total
Jobs
Downtown Saskatoon offers a wide range of job
opportunities. More specifically, over one third of total
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