Yorkton is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway #16 in east central Saskatchewan between Saskatoon and Winnipeg. It is 188 km northeast of Regina, 64 km west of the Manitoba border and 322 km southeast of Saskatoon. Other highways servicing the area include Highway #10 (between Yorkton and Regina) and Highway #9 from Hudson Bay to the US border.

Transportation facilities include two rail lines, STC and Greyhound Bus Lines, air services and over a dozen trucking firms. Yorkton is the distribution centre of east-central Saskatchewan. Communication services in the area include a radio station, two TV stations, two cable TV services, three bi-weekly newspaper services plus daily newspapers from Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

According to information provided by the City Economic Development Department, the current population is approximately 17,200 people with a trading area of 110,000+. This compares to a 1986 population estimated at 15,575 people. The population increase prior to 1986 was approximately 1% per annum since 1971. This indicates a very stable population base which is expected to continue.

The economic base for the city continues to be agriculture. The area has good rolling arable land for the most part, ideal for mixed farming. In addition, the area is known for its production of pork, beef, chickens and turkeys, with most production coming from mixed farms. A few producers specialize and produce on a larger scale. There are two large abattoirs in Yorkton.

The largest employers in the manufacturing industry in the city are Morris Industries Ltd. and Leon-Ram Enterprises Inc. Morris specializes in farm air seeding and tillage machinery manufacturing and Leon-Ram manufactures Leon agricultural equipment, RAM hydraulics, and RAMROD skid steer loaders. These types of industries are not large enough to offset major downturns in the agricultural sector, however, they are a very favourable influence on the city, helping to stabilize the economic base.

Construction activity decreased by $9.3-million in 2005 to $9.3 million. The decrease was primarily due to a $15 million expansion to the Parkland Agriplex Civic complex. In 2005 single and multi-family residential represented 49% of the total value of permits whereas commercial construction represented 8% and institutional was 43%. There has been no new industrial construction since prior to 2000. According to The City of Yorkton, there were 25 single family housing starts in 2005 and one multi-unit start.

According to the MLS service, an indicator of the real estate sales market, the 2005 gross sales volume of $25.1 million was up by 17% from 2004, and the average house price increased 19% to $81,142 in 2005. The average house price is the total sale price of all residential sales divided by the number of sales. This includes both urban and rural residential properties.

In late 2003 Phase I redevelopment of the former West Broadway site started. The redevelopment is to be staged with Phase I a gas bar convenience store which opened in 2005 and Phase II being a new Casino Hotel complex. This site is an Urban Reserve. If the Casino development proceeds, it will move the existing Casino from the downtown area to the west end of Broadway and re-anchor the west end of the Broadway retail strip but create a large vacancy in the downtown core.

The agricultural economy in the province has undergone a significant change over the last few years. Crops in the Yorkton area were considered to be average in yield in 2005, one of the few areas of the province to have a good crop.

2.0   Retail and Commercial Market  

No study was conducted as of January 2005 and all comparisons were done with the 2004 Study.

The overall vacancy in the city has dropped again from 4,2% to 3.6% between 2004 and 2006. Vacancy has declined in the East Broadway area, with marginal increases in the West Broadway strip and the enclosed mall categories. The decline in the overall vacancy between 2004 and 2006 was from 4.2% to 3.6%, just over ½ of 1%.

The small decline in overall vacancy indicates that the Yorkton retail market is stable. An emerging trend in Yorkton, like other small cities, that have a limited number of at-market, handicapped accessible, office buildings is that CRU space in strip malls that traditionally would be considered retail are being leased to office tenants.

3.0   Study Area and Inventory  

The study area is the retail space contained either in strip malls or the enclosed mall in the city. The strip retail area is concentrated on or within one block of Broadway Street, which runs the entire length of the city in an east/west direction. This highway commercial strip was anchored on the west end by the West Broadway Mall site, the mall was demolished in 2001 and this is the site of the proposed new casino complex. The east end of Broadway is anchored by the Parkland Mall, with the downtown core situated approximately halfway between these. Excluded from the survey were any free-standing buildings on pads and, in the strip category, strip retail developments, two units or under were also excluded from the survey. The total inventory in 2005 was just over 490,500 square feet.

4.0   Retail Mall Space Overview 

The Yorkton market has a relatively small strip and enclosed mall component, with slightly more than 490,500 sq.ft. As a result, the addition of any retail development, 10,000 sq.ft. or over, can have an impact on the vacancy over the short term. Establishing absorption figures over a period of time is one of the objectives of the study and will come into play in the future as historical information is available.

The information gathered and summarized on the following table is effective as of January 27, 2006. The West Broadway Mall was removed from the survey calculations in 2000 as it was closed and then demolished in 2001.

The overall vacancy is 3.6% with 5% in the strip mall category and 2.5% in the enclosed mall category. The vacancy in the strip mall category has decreased substantially from a high of 21.5% in the strip mall category and 6.2% in the enclosed mall in 2002.

5.0   Rental Rates  

Rental rates for the newer strip malls are in the $12.00/sq.ft.  to $18.00/sq.ft. range which appear to be well in line with retail developments in other cities in the province, except Regina and Saskatoon.  These rates, in comparison with similar quality retail in Saskatoon and Regina, would be at the low end of the range for new construction.  The rental rates in existing malls appear to be in the $6.00/sq.ft.  to $10.00/sq.ft.  net range.

Leasing inducements, which can include rent free periods and/or tenant improvements, appear to be minimal to non-existent in the Yorkton market. This is due primarily to the limited amount of strip retail available and the lack of new construction over the last decade.

6.0   Acknowledgments  

Our sincere appreciation is extended to Ron Skinner, Jr. of Royal LePage - Premier Realty, Yorkton, who co-authored this study.

Mr. Skinner has been a broker for over 16 years and is a Past President of both the Yorkton Real Estate Board and the Saskatchewan Real Estate Association.

7.0   Qualifications 

Readers of this Study are welcome to use the information as deemed appropriate, providing Brunsdon Junor Johnson Appraisals and Mr Skinner of Royal LePage - Premier Realty are quoted as the reference source. 

Brunsdon Junor Johnson Appraisals is a real estate appraisal firm providing a wide range of appraisal and consulting services, with the primary market being the north central half of Saskatchewan. 

Royal LePage Premier Realty is a leading full service real estate firm in Yorkton. For more information see their website at www.royallepageyorkton.com