City releases proposed plan for railyard renewal neighbourhood

The City of Regina has released its proposed plan for the neighbourhood in the downtown railyard site along Dewdney Avenue.

The plan will provide direction with respect to use of the land, building height, servicing, transportation, networks and other items in what will be known as the Yards Neighbourhood.

“The plan really guides the redevelopment of that area into a unique and vibrant urban neighbourhood that will support a mixed-use of residential, shopping and entertainment opportunities,” said Barry Lacey, Director of Financial Strategy and Sustainability.

The public was given the opportunity to provide feedback during an open house at City Hall on Wednesday.

Curtis Collins lives and works in Warehouse District. He said it’s nice to see a plan for development on the barren land across the street from his condo, in hopes of improving the value of his property.

“My issue right now with the Warehouse District is it can be a little bit of an unwalkable neighbourhood, so it’s nice to see some greenery added to the land,” said Collins.

Collins suggested the planning stages are starting to feel dragged out and said the information presented at this latest open house seemed vague.

“I’ve been going to these meetings for three or four years now and nothing’s changed. I look for a little bit more forward thinking or a little bit more action as opposed to planning,” said Collins.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere and Government Relations Minister Warren Kaeding announce joint funding to revitalize the former Regina railyards Nov. 23, 2018. (Andrew Shepherd/980 CJME)

He supports the overall revitalization plan but admits he has concerns about the City pulling it off. Collins called it a lofty goal, pointing to other, much smaller failed projects downtown.

“My concern is where the public infrastructure is going to come from. We all know the Capital Pointe flop and how that didn’t go over well. So to plan for 10-, 20-storey buildings seems a bit far-fetched … outrageous,” said Collins.

Last year, the railyard renewal project received $33.6M in funding with redevelopment of the land to take place over 15 to 20 years.

John Weckend was at the open house and called the plan exciting. He said it provides a lot of potential with respect to shopping, residential and additional downtown park areas.

Like Collins, he’s trying to remain patient until the day it all comes to fruition.

“I’m hoping I’ll live long enough to see it,” Weckend joked.

Speaking to the challenge of filling the 17.5 acres of land, Lacey said market conditions will dictate how the site fills out.

“There will be public investment in that site over the next five years. We are hopeful that we would see further development, private sector partnerships and private real-estate investment over the next five or ten years,” said Lacey.

There could one day be a hockey arena in the downtown core. The proposed plan mentions the consideration of a “major recreational, sports and entertainment facility or major convention centre.”

Although the City said there have been no specific talks to build a new arena for the Regina Pats, the proposed plan for the Yards Neighbourhood allows for the possibility of an arena similar to the Brandt Centre.

While there have been questions of what’s in store for the future of the Pats, Weckend said he’d rather keep the WHL team where it is, surrounded by all the other facilities and Mosaic Stadium at Evraz Place.

“I think (an arena) would take up quite a bit of a spacial area of the present railyards now and might negate other projects that might go up there,” he said.

The next step of the proposed Yards Neighbourhood plan is to send it to the Regina Planning Commission and eventually to council for approval.