Saskatoon navigates shift from condo projects to apartment builds

Bob Behari is planning his dream project on a prime piece of land overlooking the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon’s Nutana neighbourhood.

But the cleaning product entrepreneur also sees the 26-storey condominium tower that would be one of the tallest buildings in the province as his future home. He intends to live there.

“I have a very clear vision,” Behari said in an interview this month at the sloped site between 12th Street and Saskatchewan Drive, west of Eastlake Avenue, where he wants to build his dream.

“This is not just a business for me. This is something [that] is a dream project for me.”

It’s the type of dream that Saskatoon has not seen come true for some time now despite the announcement and approval of a handful of big condominium projects on prime riverfront properties.

Behari might seem like an unusual businessman to get one of these projects off the ground since he is now in his 70s and has never attempted a similar venture.

Behari immigrated to Canada from India in 1977. He started a detergent manufacturing company in the basement of his Saskatoon home, and EnviroWay Manufacturing Inc. now employs 300 people.

Behari estimates the 260-unit tower with four levels of parking and 2,100 square metres of commercial space will cost about $100 million to build. It was downsized from a 30-storey plan that attracted criticism for its size — even from supporters of infill.

Behari said he intends to put up about one-quarter of the construction cost and seek financing for the rest. He purchased one of the two properties on the site, both of which were built in 1912, 15 years ago with the property's potential in mind.

Behari wants to make progress on the plan this year, including talking with the city about the trees and thick vegetation on the property, and hopes to start construction next year with a target for completion of 2030.

He got the go-ahead from city council in August of 2024 after rezoning was approved. But even his enthusiasm for the project is dimmed by the current economic volatility.

“It definitely has slowed down because of a lot of uncertainty in the market and the price and whatnot and with the tariffs and everything else,” Behari said. “So we don’t know where we will end up. So [that] due diligence, we need to do that.”

As with most condo projects, a lot will depend on presales. Behari said the least expensive unit in the building is expected to cost about half a million dollars.

Yet, while several high-profile condo projects remain stalled or uncertain, apartment buildings are rising, including the twin towers that comprise Saskatchewan’s largest residential project in City Park just north of downtown.