Regina Construction II

[Chaps]

Originally Posted by brithgob

Fair enough. But if you give more than a passing thought to branding, then you know this is a bad way to go about it. These are brand new signs. They'll be up for at least a decade.

Furthermore, I'm of the belief that transit needs its own brand, distinct from the city's overall brand. They had that in the 1980s with the bus symbol... but then someone decided that transit shouldn't be advertised differently than any other city department, with the City of Regina umbrella logo.

Pretty sure when they developed the new logo, they said it would be used to promote the city but the skyline logo would still be used within the city...just not externally. The skyline logo is still being used on the welcome signs on the highway which has much more visibility than the 1 square inch one on the transit signs.

[Chaps]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I actually don't care if they have a city logo on them. birthgob is right in saying that it looks like bad coordination within the city, but I've worked in enough companies to know that waiting on other departments just means that nothing will ever get done.

My annoyance on this is the city doesn't need to redraw it's logos every five years. I'd rather they went back to the old shield instead of drawing one that is in style this decade and then looks dated (in a bad way) next decade. Redrawing them every decade means you will get inconsistency all over the place.

If you mean the old crown logo...yuck. It screams government, is dated, and was just plain bland.

I agree with you that we don't need to rebrand every few years, but the skyline logo was built with an expiry date. Skylines don't stay the same forever (unless you keep voting NDP).

The logos for cities are a much smaller part of city branding than they are for product branding. Name any city in the world, and 100 more things will pop into your mind before their logo...if the logo does at all. Do the the same thing with products...and the logo is immediate.

Aside from the cost of replacing the logo throughout all materials, I think it's good to keep the brand fresh, progressive, and trendy...for a city that is. The new logo does a much better job at representing what this city wants to be than either of the last 2 ever did.

[brithgob]

Getting back to the bus stop signs, though, we're not talking about branding to visitors and others from outside the city. We're talking about a city branding its services for its citizens. Instant recognition of a government service. For example, the federal government's use of a simple logo derived from the Canadian flag. It was created with a consistent identity program that's worked for about 30 years now. The provincial government also had that with the wheat sheaf and the identity program that went with it. Much more effective than the previous use of the shield of arms, and certainly more so than the current mishmash of the wheat sheaf and the coat of arms, and it's a shame the SaskParty government backed off its plans for a full rebrand of government services. I'm intrigued by what that might have looked like.

Note that these branding programs do not include Crown corporations. The CBC, Canada Post, SGI, SaskTel, FCC, etc. are all allowed to develop their own identities, and I think a service like Regina Transit belongs in the same camp.

The best identity program Regina ever had was the crown-in-circle logo with the word Regina in Helvetica. It was of its time, and fit right in with some of the most famous corporate logos then in use.

[boborider]

Rottie, I too am a big Lee Valley fan. I spoke to them a while back about coming to Regina and they work somewhat the same as IKEA only on a smaller scale. They need a pop of half a million to draw from and they feel a store in Regina wouldn't increase their sales volume in the province enough as a lot of their busiiness is mail order. I don't think we should hold our breath .

[Rottie]

Originally Posted by boborider

Rottie, I too am a big Lee Valley fan. I spoke to them a while back about coming to Regina and they work somewhat the same as IKEA only on a smaller scale. They need a pop of half a million to draw from and they feel a store in Regina wouldn't increase their sales volume in the province enough as a lot of their busiiness is mail order. I don't think we should hold our breath .

Saskatoon has a store so I was surprised Regina didn't have one yet. They do have a nice array of tools and hardware. It would be a nice addition to any city.

[Regina Boi]

Only in the Regina CONSTRUCTION thread, would there be endless ramblings about bus signs.

[brithgob]

Originally Posted by Regina Boi

Only in the Regina CONSTRUCTION thread, would there be endless ramblings about bus signs.

EDIT: My original comment was ungracious. Mods, move the branding discussion to Western Expresso if you wish. Regina Boi, the discussion grew out of a photograph, I feel it's relevant, but move past it if you're disinterested.

[socialisthorde]

The owner and founder of Lee Valley is originally from Saskatoon. I think he built the store here as more of a gift to the city than as part of the bussiness plan, which does dictate building only in larger cities. However, I here the store here has been very successful, so there is some possibility the bussiness model will evolve.

[Dan0myte]

Updated photos from the Leader Post of the new Education Auditorium that's been blocked off & under construction for the past few years. Looks like they're getting closer to completion. Anyone that has gone to the U of R and taken a class in that old, dirty Ed Auditorium knows how huge of a change this is!

[CCF]

Speaking about the U of R, I can't help but think they should be building more housing during this period of a rental crunch.

Does not have to be residence style dorms, and instead can create units that cater to mature students, grad students, families and the like.

I feel as if they are missing out an opportunity to gain some of the rental market.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by CCF

Speaking about the U of R, I can't help but think they should be building more housing during this period of a rental crunch.

Does not have to be residence style dorms, and instead can create units that cater to mature students, grad students, families and the like.

I feel as if they are missing out an opportunity to gain some of the rental market.

I would be surprised if they are not working on something. They have some advantages over private developers when it comes to new rental construction. They have "free" land available and they have the ability to obtain long term financing at very low rates that can be repaid from the rents, plus I do not believe they pay property taxes.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by Stormer

I would be surprised if they are not working on something. They have some advantages over private developers when it comes to new rental construction. They have "free" land available and they have the ability to obtain long term financing at very low rates that can be repaid from the rents, plus I do not believe they pay property taxes.

Yep, exactly. They have significant advantages over private developers. Heck, they might even be able to get some federal or provincial funding. You could be correct though, they have their new Master Plan, and maybe they were waiting on that before pursuing any other projects.

What about a joint venture between the City and the University with a student residence downtown? The city has some vacant parcels that they own within the downtown. They could donate said parcel to the university and in turn the university could build a new residence for students that conforms to the new Downtown Plan. A pilot projects of sorts.

[Sagetology]

Originally Posted by Dan0myte

Updated photos from the Leader Post of the new Education Auditorium that's been blocked off & under construction for the past few years. Looks like they're getting closer to completion. Anyone that has gone to the U of R and taken a class in that old, dirty Ed Auditorium knows how huge of a change this is!

Wow. Huge improvement.

I have a class in there this upcoming fall.

[brithgob]

Hey, I graduated from high school in that auditorium!

[prairieguy]

Originally Posted by CCF

Speaking about the U of R, I can't help but think they should be building more housing during this period of a rental crunch.

Does not have to be residence style dorms, and instead can create units that cater to mature students, grad students, families and the like.

I feel as if they are missing out an opportunity to gain some of the rental market.

Here is a link from the U of S that speaks to exactly what you are talking about. There are currently 2 new residence buildings under construction (that are quite nice in design). We will have to see if the whole 'College Quarter' concept ever really comes to fruition...dependent on market, I guess.

http://www.usask.ca/collegequarter/project/overview/index.php

[Dan0myte]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

$157 million being doled out for Sask. roads and water treatment plants

9th Ave N. is getting twinned from the Galaxy theatre out to Courtney St.? Fantastic!!

[ceedub1170]

Originally Posted by Dan0myte

Regina people aren't really big on tacos. This should have been seen when Taco Bell tried to merge with the KFC locations and failed miserably.

Open a donut shop, burger place or other fatty food establishment and they'll be set! Sad, but true.

A new Taco Time is about to open on Vic East, right beside the Timmy's on Prince of Wales.

[drumuser]

Originally Posted by djforsberg

I received a call from one of the guy's at the new apartments going up in Harbour Landing. One bedroom suites on the first floor start at $875 per month plus power and energy. For a brand new building, open concept suites with laundry and central air, and outdoor pool, these will surely give other rental suites around Regina a run for their money and will surely make the rates a bit more competitive. Especially when one-bedrooms at the apartments in east Regina where the heat was out in one of the buildings for a month is more than $900 per month plus power.

the 875 is only the first lower floor suites. the price climbs as you go up. also, if you want in-suite laundry then tack on another 50. so lower floor suites go for 925.

[Spongebob]

Anybody know what is being built at Dewdney Ave E/ Prince Of Wales? Not sure if they are Condos or apartments.

[youngregina]

However, with in house laundry, that is not a hefty price to pay. I know many who would be eager to move into these suites as soon as they open, myself included. The point is, they are fairly cheap for the amenities they offer. Which is something many Regina rentals can not live up to.