And then there was this rendering…

https://i.ibb.co/qrHtfjR/BF1-F6845-2...-D32-BAEC7.jpg

I think it's safe to assume that they have a new plan that we will see at some point. Likely 1-2 condo structures with retail on the ground level (I hope). I'm guessing only 5-6 floors, though, not 10-12.

Anything will be welcome and better than that falling apart corner right now.

Would be excellent for them to go for the 10-12 though, we need more condo units. Plus, it'll help balance out the skyline to a degree as right now Roberts Plaza sticks out like a sore thumb in the area.

Why do we need more condo units?

Because it's really density or die.

And for the huge surplus of condos in the Greens or Harbour Landing, there is a very limited supply of new quality ones in the inner city.

On MLS there are zero new condos downtown over $300,000. 6 in Transition. Zero in Cathedral. Zero in General Hospital area. One in the Wascana Lake area.

So if you have money and want modern in inner city Regina your options are pretty limited.

It's not typical that a developer would under-build/not maximize the allowable density. If the current zoning of the site allows multiple buildings at 10-12 stories, they'll pursue that. They may wait on that phase (as the article alludes to) until market conditions support that density and focus on the development (retail) where they can start generating revenue. In situations where the developer doesn't feel the market commands that level of density/development, they'll offload the site to someone else who does - and the price of the land will reflect the maximium amount of the buildable density and the new purchaser would again, need to maximize that development to recoup the costs of the land sale.

TL;DR: Developers aren't going to under-build from what's allowed.

Completely agree. That’s a valuable piece of land. I don’t see Harvard missing out on the opportunity to maximize their profits especially when you consider what those views would be worth to buyers. A 10th floor condo with a view of the lake or downtown is worth a lot more than a 3rd floor condo with a view of the tree tops.

It makes me wonder if they'll try to go big and get over 15 floors.

I know that there was apparently outrage from local residents when Roberts Plaza was built (and the other 2-3 planned towers were scrapped), but I don't understand why. I lived a few blocks from there in Hillsdale in the late 2000s and honestly the tower looks fine. They keep it in good shape, the bar lights up the sides look nice, and it's not super imposing. :shrug:

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/limited-su...tion-1.5849369

Limited supply caused Regina housing prices to rise in March: realtors association
Good news Hopefully for the proposed condo

It seems like every city in Canada has a housing crunch. Although Regina needs to massively step up its game in terms of increasing supply instantly.

https://imgur.com/VcR65Ah.png

Here's Saskatoon for comparison

https://imgur.com/UCw3KTk.png

I understand that Saskatoon is growing faster and has about 70k more people in its CMA, but Saskatoon should not be building triple what Regina currently is. Especially when Regina only has 40k less people then Saskatoon within municipal boundaries and had a modest population growth from 2016-21. The housing starts between both municipalities is even more startling.

However, the real problem is that 40% of houses being constructed are single-family detached house which I can only assume is being built at the edge of the city exacerbating the sprawl problem. Saskatoon in comparison has that share down to 24% (still not good enough imo).

I really hope y'all can figure out your NIMBY problem because it would be great if Regina can get a construction boom like the rest of Canada (with much less single-family construction please). Especially since its near the half way mark of Calgary and Winnipeg who are also experiencing construction boom hopefully that can be some sort of catalyst for increased activity in the city.

:shrug:She is more concerned with Regina's net zero 2050 plan and whatever the cost is to get there... the entire city council is so indulged with there own ideas as compared to actual city issues like housing and retail.

Thanks for that. I hadn't considered that the city lacks newer condos in the more established areas.

If they want to fix downtown, they have to deal with the homeless and clean up the crime/drugs/etc.

Yep, I agree that it's requires the province to get involved and that's tough with a govt focused more on economy than people.

We didn't do our downtown any favours when we switched all the one way streets to two ways; that moves traffic through the downtown faster, but doesn't encourage anyone to stay downtown. There have been lots of studies that show that. Our downtown is full of parking lots because Regina is car-centric first and everything else is secondary.

I'd kill for a council that decides to remove street parking down all of Albert Street and create a dedicated rapid bus lane. Or just dedicated bus lanes in general.

In Regina that is a restaurant/retail killer.

Unfortunately, we have large parking requirements already. I can maybe name off a handful of businesses on the entire stretch of Albert St that doesn't have a parking lot within a hop skip and a jump from their front door.

People have choices and the often choose to street park or go elsewhere. The areas with abundant street parking have more successful small businesses downtown, namely Hamilton Street and the 19 Block of Scarth. Saskatoon is the same.

I think that people will go to a restaurant regardless of on-street parking directly in front of it, if the restaurant is good. Are people going to walk a block for Applebees or Olive Garden? No. Will they do it for Caraway Grill? Yes.