City wants feedback on redevelopment of former police headquarters

The City of Regina is looking for the public’s opinion on the planned redevelopment of a heritage building.

The city has been planning to make over the Municipal Justice Building for years. In a media release Thursday, the city asked residents, particularly those in the areas around the building, to provide feedback on its plan to convert a portion of the building into a community centre. That input will help the city refine its plan during the next phase of redevelopment.

Located at 1770 Halifax St., the building was constructed in 1930 as the Regina Police Service’s first stand-alone headquarters. In 2015 the city declared it would demolish a later addition to the building and sell the original structure, which was on the heritage holding list. The city notes that preserving the building’s heritage characteristics is a priority of the project.

The current plan is to construct a multi-purpose room and gymnasium that would be available to the public. A survey of Regina residents conducted in August shows most of the 500 respondents would like to see space for classes and programs, sport and recreation, community gatherings and kitchen facilities.

The redevelopment would also continue to preserve the presence of the RPS in the facility, as one of the objectives is to provide a dedicated space for officer training and fitness facilities on the third floor. As well, while the gymnasium/multi-purpose room would be operated independently by the community, the city’s release states that members of the public want to ensure there will be interaction with the RPS when holding joint programming.

The city notes that the provincial government’s Municipal Economic Enhancement Program is providing $7.5 million in funding for the project.

Residents can head to the city’s website before Dec. 23 to view the conceptual design and complete the survey.