Regina Construction III

[Stormer]

Another 130 unit apartment building in Harbour Landing, way west on Parliament, is up for approval at RPC this week. It is being developed by Northern Property REIT of Calgary. I do not believe they have done much in Regina so far, other than McCarthy Ridge on Little Pine.
At least they will be requiring some additional parking this time:

Apartment dwellings units in the R6 Zone require 1.5 parking stalls per dwelling unit, 201 stalls.
In this case, on street parking on Parliament Avenue will not be allowed adjacent to the site.
Given the restriction on on-street parking, the Administration required additional parking to be
added to the site plan. The proposal now provides 1.71 stalls per dwelling unit and exceeds the
minimum parking requirement by 28 parking stalls.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by North_Regina_Boy

In the Spirit of Spring and today's weather.

Must be a Toronto style Snowpocalypse based on the those deep footprints on that sidewalk. Call in the army!

[Treesplease]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Must be a Toronto style Snowpocalypse based on the those deep footprints on that sidewalk. Call in the army!

haha - my thoughts exactly. You beat me to it.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by Stormer

It will definitely happen first in Saskatoon as they are a bigger city plus growing faster. They also have a much bigger commuting problem caused by the river.

What about our river, Canadian National?

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by HomerSPC

What about our river, Canadian National?

Saskatoon has worse railway/traffic problems.

[North_Regina_Boy]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Saskatoon has worse railway/traffic problems.

100% agree. I would MUCH rather drive here than in Saskatoon. And that is coming from 3.5 years of commuting across the river. It is brutal at times. Some days 90 minutes. On average I'd day 25-30 minutes.

[Treesplease]

The economics of mass transit in Regina right now just doesn't make sense. The cost of parking downtown is relatively cheap compared to the price of a transit pass. Until parking rates or driving rates go up there is not much incentive for me to take mass transit.

When I lived in Calgary, you could save serious $ by taking the train each day - both on parking costs and cheaper insurance for your vehicle.

[thefourthtower]

Editorial: Private arena idea has plenty of merit


THE LEADER-POST MARCH 24, 2015
http://www.leaderpost.com/news/regina/Private+arena+idea+plenty+merit/10914526/story.html

So if a private-sector group might be willing to build a replacement, more power to it - providing it made few financial demands on the city, which has many calls on its money.

So if a private-sector group might be willing to build a replacement, more power to it - providing it made few financial demands on the city, which has many calls on its money.

An obvious location for a private-sector arena would be on the Canadian Pacific Railway lands north of downtown. The city has purchased most of that land with an eye to its development. An arena, perhaps with a hotel and retail space around it - would be a good tool for "jump-starting" this project.

As a venue for major events, trade shows and conferences, it would have the advantage of being between the downtown area (with Casino Regina, hotels, parking garages and transit links) and the Dewdney Avenue nightclub area. Obviously, a bridge over the CPR mainline would be desirable, but might not come cheap.

More traffic to and from arena events would draw more patrons to downtown businesses. And selling more of the CPR lands to private buyers who'd pay property taxes would only help the city's finances.

As a venue for major events, trade shows and conferences, it would have the advantage of being between the downtown area (with Casino Regina, hotels, parking garages and transit links) and the Dewdney Avenue nightclub area. Obviously, a bridge over the CPR mainline would be desirable, but might not come cheap.

More traffic to and from arena events would draw more patrons to downtown businesses. And selling more of the CPR lands to private buyers who'd pay property taxes would only help the city's finances.

[skphc08]

Originally Posted by Treesplease

The economics of mass transit in Regina right now just doesn't make sense. The cost of parking downtown is relatively cheap compared to the price of a transit pass. Until parking rates or driving rates go up there is not much incentive for me to take mass transit.

When I lived in Calgary, you could save serious $ by taking the train each day - both on parking costs and cheaper insurance for your vehicle.

The economics are worse than in a larger city, but they are not untenable. What remains untenable is owning and maintaining a vehicle for many residents of any city. Their ability to get around will only ever be as good as the mass transit provided.

The cost of parking is relatively inexpensive but that is not the only factor.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by thefourthtower

As a venue for major events, trade shows and conferences, it would have the advantage of being between the downtown area (with Casino Regina, hotels, parking garages and transit links) and the Dewdney Avenue nightclub area. Obviously, a bridge over the CPR mainline would be desirable, but might not come cheap.

But it's something they will need to do anyways. Pretty sure a bridge is in the RRI plans

[jigglysquishy]

You don't necessarily need a vehicle bridge. A pedestrian connection between the Casino and the railyards would do far more for connectivity in addition to being cheaper.

[HomerSPC]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

You don't necessarily need a vehicle bridge. A pedestrian connection between the Casino and the railyards would do far more for connectivity in addition to being cheaper.

I'm pretty sure the RRI plan has a pedestrian bridge planned.

[Treesplease]

Originally Posted by skphc08

The economics are worse than in a larger city, but they are not untenable. What remains untenable is owning and maintaining a vehicle for many residents of any city. Their ability to get around will only ever be as good as the mass transit provided.

The cost of parking is relatively inexpensive but that is not the only factor.

Lots of factors - lousy routes and transfers (between where I live and where I work - I'm sure the routes do work for some people) and at least 2x longer travel times on bus vs. car. Also, if you are under 25 it is very affordable to drive a car in Sk. In other provinces, the combination of crazy insurance rates if you are under 25 and workable public transit mean many people opt to not to own a car. It may be expensive to own a vehicle here but it is one of the cheapest places in the country to operate one.

It is a chicken and egg problem - with increased use of transit and decreased use of cars comes:
Businesses that support that system - Car rental agencies that specialize in cheap weekenders.
Restaurants, pubs, businesses that locate along transit routes.
Increased ridership reduces per passenger costs which allows greater investment in the transit experience - better ammenities, cheaper fares (relatively).

At the tipping point it is very awkward. Which is where Regina and Saskatoon are now - huge investments with few apparent gains.

[Drofmab]

Originally Posted by HomerSPC

I'm pretty sure the RRI plan has a pedestrian bridge planned.

Yep. It's in the plan.
http://www.ckom.com/node/56331

[Udon'tknow]

Here's a pic of the Agriculture Place pedway:



And a shot of the stadium cranes from the Royal bank building downtown:

[thefourthtower]

many thanks for the pictures do you have any ground level shots?

[one_brick_at_a_time]

PS. Forgot to post this video in the Travelodge Soaked Waterpark post, but this is pretty neat:

"We’re so excited to feature the very first Watermark digital water curtain to be installed in Canada. Normally just for show, the best part is you get to play in ours!

Check out this video of some of the cool things it can do."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81TKA2xfJP0

[HomeInMyShoes]

^That's pretty cool.

[one_brick_at_a_time]

I am really impressed with the owners of the Travelodge Regina South. It is wonderful to know that they have such pride in their property to put such investment into it. So awesome!!!!

[thefourthtower]

Vanstone: New arena would revitalize city's downtown core


BY ROB VANSTONE, THE LEADER-POST MARCH 26, 2015

Vanstone: New arena would revitalize city's downtown core

Turf and ice. Bricks and mortar. Speculation and debate. Regina's new stadium, while far from completion, already has a rival - at least in the minds of some who are musing about how sports facilities might contribute to the revitalization of the downtown core.
Photograph by: Don Healy , Regina Leader-Post
Turf and ice. Bricks and mortar. Speculation and debate. Regina's new stadium, while far from completion, already has a rival - at least in the minds of some who are musing about how sports facilities might contribute to the revitalization of the downtown core.

At the centre of the discussion is the suggestion of an arena - proposal is perhaps too strong a word - being floated by Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group, which owns the WHL's Regina Pats.

Over the weekend, Greg Harder of the Leader-Post broke the story that QCSEG has "quietly expressed interest" in building a new home for the team in downtown Regina.

The talks are in the preliminary stages, but the suggestion of a privately funded arena is far from a pipe dream, considering the resources and reputations of Pats governor Anthony Marquart and fellow owners Gavin and Shaun Semple, Todd Lumbard and Jason Drummond.

The Semples, for example, operate the phenomenally successful Brandt Group of Companies. Marquart, a realestate developer, is already a key player in terms of downtown properties.

The Pats' ownership group certainly has the wherewithal to build an arena and the business acumen to make it happen.

And if it comes to that, Regina will finally boast an indoor sporting facility that can enliven the downtown.
Only a handful of years ago, a new stadium was supposed to be the remedy. Remember?

The initial plans, unveiled amid considerable pomp and ceremony, touted a domed complex that would be located on the old Canadian Pacific rail yards.

That proposal eventually went off the rails.

A scaled-down blueprint called for an outdoor stadium that would be located on the exhibition grounds.

That project has come to fruition, as evidenced by the construction on the west side of Elphinstone Street.

Th e Saskat chewan Roughriders will be the primary tenant of Mosaic Stadium 2.0 when it opens in time for the 2017 CFL season - at a projected cost of $278 million.

Although the stadium plans changed, the argument in favour of a centrally located indoor athletic complex remains the same.

In fact, there may be a stronger case in favour of an arena as opposed to a stadium.

Given the modest size of Regina, would there be enough events to consistently fill 30,000-plus seats at an indoor stadium? Would there be enough traffic and enough dates to justify the elevated cost?

Perhaps an arena, seating in the range of 10,000 good citizens, is a better fit in terms of practicality and dimensions.

In the case of a stadium, there was not enough available land in the rail yards area, whereas an arena would not consume as much space.

Plus, a hockey team provides a base of more guaranteed events. The Roughriders have nine regular-season home games per season. The Pats have four times that number.

With the likelihood of a more consistent occupancy, other businesspeople could be attracted to the area. There could be more bars, more coffee emporiums, etc. The rejuvenative effect could be immense.
http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Vanston...e+city+downtown+core/10920581/story.html