Preston Crossing's development coincided with the construction of an overpass over Circle Drive linking Attridge Drive to a realigned Preston Avenue North. of land, owned by the University of Saskatchewan, was marked for commercial development. The university paid for the initial water, sewer and roadway construction; in exchange, it leases the land to retail tenants and the revenue goes into its Land Endowment Fund. Preston Avenue bisects the property and is its major access road; a secondary access utilizing the original north/south Preston roadway alignment, allows access from eastbound Circle Drive. Calgary-based Rencor Developments formed a joint venture called Preston Crossing Properties Inc. with two Saskatchewan companies, Harvard Developments and TGS Properties. It completed all development, leasing and financing for the project; the architecture mirrored the gothic elements of the University campus buildings. In the fall of 2005, Harvard gained sole acquisition of the shopping center. Construction began in the spring of 2002 and the first stores opened in the fall of the same year. Development has continued in phases, although full build-out has not yet been reached. As of 2010, three building phases have been completed; a fourth phase was announced in June 2010. The shopping area had already lost one of its originating tenants, with the Shoppers Drug Mart location going out of business in 2012, after 10 years of operation. By 2013, a booming economy and low retail vacancy rate prompted plans for Preston Crossing to expand further. The property developer asked for restrictions on the size and types of businesses to be lifted. The restrictions had been implemented over unrealized concerns that the big box complex would take business away from other commercial districts like 8th Street, Broadway Avenue and downtown. In 2014, a deal was signed to build the fifth and final phase of Preston Crossing, utilizing the last of the available land. The new buildings are expected to be completed by the spring of 2017.
