Riversdale businesses concerned by Saskatoon's plan for warming centre

Daryl Brown wants his son to take over the alternator repair business he has run in Riversdale for 33 years.

But he says he’s worried that may not happen due to the rise in social service agencies in the area and the issues they create.

Brown plans to appear before city council Wednesday to air his concerns as council is set to vote on spending $805,000 to buy a former restaurant at 325 Avenue C South to convert it to a warming centre for homeless people.

“I just want to try to bring to light the fact that the Riversdale area is drowning in well-meaning social programs,” Brown said in a Tuesday interview. “Like, we’re suffering already and adding more is causing us to bleed to death.”

Brown, who owns Phoenix Starter Alternator Repair, said he was surprised when someone told him about the plan because he had not heard the city was looking to buy property in the area.

As the longtime operator of a business in Riversdale, Brown said he has noticed the changes in the area over the last couple of years, including tents on sidewalks and broken windows. 

The Avenue C building boasts an eye-catching, multi-coloured facade with a sign that says Ambarsari Kitchen Indian Cuisine. The 5,490-square-foot property is located on a 7,000-sq.-ft. lot directly north of the Salvation Army Crossroads shelter and less than a block from 20th Street, the main stretch in the Riversdale business district.

The purchase would be made with money from the federal government, the same source that is expected to pay for about $200,000 in renovations needed to adapt the property so it can be used as a warming centre, according to a report from the city administration.

The report says renovations will likely push the warming centre's opening date to late November.

The province would contract an agency to run the warming centre if the sale is approved.

The city report acknowledges that locating the warming centre next to an existing shelter could create “potential challenges.” A security and safety plan will be developed by the province, the agency running the warming centre, the Salvation Army and “city resources,” the report says.

Nearby businesses the CBC talked with on Tuesday had received no direct communication about the plan. The city report says the purchase requires council approval on Wednesday to move the plan forward.

Paul Lee, co-owner of the Mandarin Restaurant, just north of the proposed warming centre on 20th Street, said he thinks it’s “terrific” to help vulnerable people in need of shelter, but he’s concerned that an overall strategy to address the problem of homelessness may be lacking.

A poorly-run warming centre may just draw people to the area and create problems, he said.