It has been an interesting year in terms of development in our city.
In terms of construction the dramatic storm of July 1, 2010, slowed things notably in Yorkton last year, as the focus for many was simply repairing damage caused by the heavy rains.
We even see that work continuing this summer as the Dairy Queen remains under construction to replace the restaurant destroyed in the flood, and the Yorkton Public Library remains in a temporary location in the Parkland Mall pending the Broadway Street location being repaired and re-opened.
This summer though we are starting to see the city re-emerge from the year of the flood with a number of major construction projects at least being openly planned. Developments such as a new Honda dealership, and location for Royal Ford in Yorkton has come before Yorkton Council, as has a new hotel and multiple building commercial development adjacent to the Parkland Mall.
A hotel is also marked with signage by the Painted Hand Casino.
In terms of city needs there is certainly a pent up demand for additional hotel/motel rooms. Major events, and even weddings are increasingly finding access to rooms a limiting factor.
While there is obvious commercial growth, as well as new multiple housing starts taking place, there remains a feeling Yorkton may be on the verge of a larger boom. That is saying something given the regional boost the recent construction and opening of two canola crushing plants had in the city.
As significant as the canola plants have been, their impact may prove secondary to what will occur in this city if a potash mine opens south of the city.
The demand for food for a growing world population makes growth in potash demand seemingly inevitable, and has talk of potash mine development popping up all over the world, from a Canadian firm looking at a development in Ethiopia, to expansion in New Brunswick and Utah, to a number of sites here in Saskatchewan.
Over the years most of the developments may move forward, but when a new mine comes with a billion dollar-plus price-tag, and more than a decade from serious exploration to full production, it will be slower development than most might expect, or hope for.
That said it appears a mine south of Yorkton could be among the earlier developments to come on stream.
There are two reasons to be optimistic. The first is the fact BHP Billiton, a mining giant in a variety of commodities around the world wants into the potash business, and are behind the current exploration near our city.
The second positive is the results of that exploration. Survey results from the Melville site were the "most encouraging" out of three separate two-dimensional seismic scans conducted in the Yorkton/Melville area last June, said Chris Ryder, BHP's vice president of external affairs in a Yorkton This Week story last week. The company followed up the initial survey southeast of Melville with 3D seismic scans between October and March, and began core drilling operations in mid-July.
"We've sort of been doing the sniffing with seismic, and now this is the tasting," said Ryder. "This is where we find out whether what we think we're seeing on the seismic is actually down there."
While they're doing more work to be sure, since investing in a mine is so costly and a company needs to be very sure, it seems likely given the sophistication of exploration these days that early findings will be confirmed. With the history of quality potash in nearby mines, a development south of Yorkton is likely more a case of when than if.
Of course the when is what we are all waiting for because once an announcement is made our city will see unprecedented economic growth.
