Downtown grocery store eyed for former Saskatoon newspaper building

Since 2004 Saskatoon has added three new bridges, a new art gallery, a new police station and the province's tallest building. But 22 years have passed since the city last had a full grocery store downtown. This Extra Foods on 3rd Avenue closed in October 2004. Now a real estate firm is actively seeking a grocery chain to locate in the former Star Phoenix newspaper building, specifically in the area where the paper's printing press was located. You know, we've had a decent amount of interest in the site. I mean, the site makes sense for a grocer because this is kind of a rare opportunity downtown where you could have a decent block of space. Like, it doesn't have to be a 40,000 square foot grocer. This could be a 15,000, 18,000 square foot pocket. So you've got that space on kind of the route, you know, right on the road home to the east side. But the grocery industry is challenging with thin margins and a focus on volume. So these ones are... The little Karza has been operating a small grocery with fresh produce for eight months on 2nd Avenue downtown. His grocery is attached to the Syrian restaurant he operates. Karza thinks downtown is ready for a larger food store. Well, that's great news, actually. Downtown really needs more stores, more grocery stores. And why not? We're happy for the competition. and every store has something else to provide. One man who's lived downtown for 10 years also thinks the market is ripe for more food options. I think that's a great idea. Yeah, I think that's a great idea. They should have a grocery store downtown. There's a lot of elderly people that live down here and stuff like that, so it's not easy for them to get around and stuff. So it would be a great thing to have a grocery store downtown. I think that'd be good. The grocery store is supposed to be the first step in one of the largest developments in Saskatchewan history. Residential towers are planned for the parking lots on either side of the Star Phoenix building. Those towers would add 600 homes and the new tallest building in the province. Phil Tank, CBC News, Saskatoon.