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Most Regina drivers have passed by the ugly, gaping pit where the once-proposed condo tower Capital Pointe was to be built.
It’s an eyesore that’s hard to miss at the northeast corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue. The entire lot is flanked by big, heavy concrete barriers that come up to waist level and blue steel fencing sits atop the concrete and extends the barriers another five feet higher.
It’s a sight that Bregg Cleaners owner Terry Thorsteinson has to see every day. His 85-year-old, two-building shop sits in the next lot over from the mothballed site.
“Oh goodness, I’d say the last five years have been the worst. I think it’s been three years since there’s been any activity in there at all,” he said Tuesday.
In late May, the City of Regina announced it has a budget and a contract to complete the work of filling the giant hole.
Locally based CBS Contracting Inc., will do the work, with plans to have it finished by the end of October.
The announcement came after years of start-stop delays from the project’s owner, Westgate Properties.
Thorsteinson has been the owner of Bregg Cleaners since 1989.
Barricades on Albert Street in Regina have blocked off the northbound parking lane on the street, thanks to ongoing delays from the Capital Point hole project. (Evan Radford/980 CJME)
He said that since 2015, he has lost about 30 per cent of his business because of disruptions from the delayed project.
The concrete barriers cover the entire parking lane on northbound Albert Street, effectively removing three of five metered parking spots that Bregg customers and employees would use.
On the north side of the remaining two parking spots, there’s a designated bus lane where drivers can’t park.
Thorsteinson said he has since rented out parking spaces from Impark for his employees.
Still, he said he’s not upset with the city for allowing Westgate to propose and start the project in 2011.
“I think the city building department has learned a lot from this project; I think it’s gone through a lot of changes,” he said.
“When it’s all said and done, they’ve built a bypass in less time; they’ve built a Mosaic Stadium in less time. And I think the city has had probably one of their major headaches with this little project beside us.”
His one hope — and concern — with the fill-in work is that it doesn’t disrupt his business during the day.
“I think (the contractors) will probably have to enter by Albert Street, because that’s where the ramp is. As long as they do it at night when traffic is reduced, I don’t think it will be a factor on our customers,” he said.
He’s looking forward to October, when the former Plains Hotel site goes back to what it used to be — a paved-over, flat surface.
“The moral of the story is, I hope they get it filled and paved. Then maybe we’ll have a wiener roast, and I’ll have free beer for everybody,” Thorsteinson said.