Rent reduced for Riders, early budget items approved by Regina Council
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Council retroactively slashed $1.33 million in rent owed by the Roughriders.
If you’re travelling in downtown Regina, you’ll soon have another parking option.
On Wednesday, Regina city council approved an application to create a temporary parking lot at 1971 Albert St., the site of the infamous Capital Pointe development.
The temporary lot, which is slated to have 87 parking spots and eight stalls for motorcycles, has only been approved to last a year.
Council voted 8-3 in favour of the parking lot at the corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue.
It was a lengthy debate for members of council as to whether or not to approve the application as well as what the future might hold for the site.
Chris Nichilo with Magnetic Capital Group Inc., the buyer of the site, and David Brundige, a lawyer with Willows Wellsch Orr & Brundige LLP, spoke in favour of the temporary parking lot.
They made the case that due to COVID-19, there is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the development timelines. The temporary parking lot, they said, will allow them to make some income from the investment during that time.
The buyers said they are purchasing the lot for about $2 million and then will owe the city back taxes for the site — a sum of around $2.7 million.
The buyers said if the temporary parking lot wasn’t approved, there was a chance they would have to pull their offer for the site, meaning it would head back to the courts. The site is set to change ownership on Nov. 15.
The city’s planning commission recommended the decision be tabled until a parking study was brought back in January, but that suggestion wasn’t followed.
Coun. Andrew Stevens was one of the three who voted against the parking lot, noting about 25 per cent of downtown is already a parking lot with many spots remaining empty.
It has been a site with a lot of history and sore spots for city council. The lot was either undeveloped or just a pit for around eight years. The city had the hole filled after ordering the then-developer, Westgate Properties, to fill it.
While members of city council asked the buyer for more information about what could go there in the future, the developer didn’t specify what it might be but said it would be good for the city.
Nichilo also admitted there is a chance the company could ask for an extension for the temporary parking lot.
City council also voted in favour of tabling the supplemental and main report on residential homestays, which includes Airbnbs, until its Oct. 28 meeting.