An amendment to the Willows golf community concept plan in Saskatoon was passed by city council this week, which will bring increased housing in the area.
Brad Zurevinski with Dream Development Saskatoon said he was happy to see the approval from the city for further development in the Willows.
“We’re really happy that we were able to find a plan for the Willows that works for everybody,” Zurevinski said.
Concerns back in 2021 stopped development in its tracks. Complaints included the location of commercial services, the previous location of the Nordic Spa and overall traffic through the community.
Zurevinski said the Nordic Spa location has changed, and more road access is being brought in to alleviate traffic concerns.
He said they’ve worked very closely with the residents in the area, noting some of the changes come directly from their suggestions.
Zurevinski said the main focus of their concept plan is bringing a “premium residential development” to Saskatoon.
The golf course will be rebuilt and reshaped to accommodate the new housing development.
“We will transition from a 27-hole course to an 18-hole course.”
One resident of the Willows spoke out about the development, however, noting he, his wife and his neighbours disagree with the plan.
“We feel betrayed,” Murray Osborn said. “We did not mobilize as much as we should have.”
He said most people in the community bought into the idea of a one-of-a-kind golf course community that had bigger than normal lots with reduced density.
Osborn said he understands that things change, especially from a plan back in 2003, but still has concerns about the population density rising in the area, as well as the traffic increasing.
Osborn said the communication from Dream Development Saskatoon wasn’t enough.
“The fact that they had open houses doesn’t mean that our objections went away.”
He said he still doesn’t think a hotel and spa should be going in the area, regardless of the new location.
“It’s very disappointing.”
Ward 7 Coun. Marin Loewen said the Phase 2 development portion of the Willows was always going to happen, though the concept plan has changed since it was originally brought forward.
Loewen recognized that not everyone is happy about more development in the area.
“Dream was able to work with residents to reduce the concerns about traffic. The location of the hotel/spa was a major concern in 2021, by moving that it reduced the concern in the neighbourhood.”
She said they didn’t really get much opposition during Wednesday night’s meeting, which was “a pretty dramatic shift in the residents’ reception towards this proposal.”
She said she sees this as a workable solution, noting it’s not much different from other areas in the city.