Original RRI housing plans could be moved for recreation centre projects

A site that was supposed to be used for affordable and market-rate housing through the Regina Revitalization Initiative (RRI) may now be a potential location for a new recreation facility.

The former site of Taylor Field and the CP railyards are the two main proposed locations for a new outdoor baseball and soccer facility. The city’s catalyst committee is holding public consultations about the proposed facility.

In the original RRI, Phase 3 included the building of affordable and market-rate housing where Taylor Field once stood. The original idea for the site called for the construction of 700 housing units and attracting commercial development to the area.

Now, the City of Regina RRI Long-Term Redevelopment of Taylor Field Neighbourhood plan does not refer to building any affordable housing. Instead, it’s referred to as “an exciting opportunity to rejuvenate one of Regina’s historic neighbourhoods with approximately 20 acres available for future development.”

Bob Hawkins, a city councillor and co-chair of the catalyst committee, said the housing units could still be built.

(Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

“There may be room for these things there, or there may be room nearby for these things,” said Hawkins. “That’s part of the planning process that we are going through now.”

Plans called for Taylor Field to be used as overflow parking for Saskatchewan Roughriders games at new Mosaic Stadium while nothing stood at the site of the old stadium. In 2019, former mayor Michael Fougere was not sure how long it would take for construction to start on the housing units.

“It’s hard to say. It’s private sector-driven so we hope it will be the next few years,” Fougere said at the time. “But until that happens, what can we do to animate the property?”

The original plan to develop housing units also hoped to attract commercial development that included a grocery store and a bank, things people who live in the North Central neighbourhood need to travel some distance to access.

Hawkins said the catalyst committee has acknowledged the concerns for affordable housing.

“We recognize that these things are important but also that the community wants a balance,” he said. “It wants good recreational facilities for the health of our young people (and) for the health of our community, but we also want to deal with things like affordable housing.”

There has been backlash against the five recreation projects undergoing public consultation, with advocates for the homeless saying they would like the money used to get people off the streets.

Hawkins insists the new recreation projects can bring in commercial opportunities once they have been developed.

“We have to start somewhere and we have an opportunity here to focus on an area to activate it and I think that will bring people and the commercial and food store opportunities that go with it,” said Hawkins.

Deputy Mayor Lori Bresciani said a large part of why Phase 3 has not progressed is because there weren’t any developers to advance the plans.

“I had heard that there were whispers that the Taylor Field was going to be designated for some affordable housing. But there has been nothing that has moved that forward,” she said.

Bresciani explained city council has heard concerns about social issues existing in the city, but hopes people understand there is the need for new recreational sites as well.

“As many people would say, we have homelessness in our city, we absolutely do, but we also have to plan for the future,” she said. “And that future is our recreation needs are dire.”

The tight deadline to apply for federal funding for the recreation centres is also pushing these projects.

“Homelessness, absolutely we have to address (it), but when we have funding coming from other levels of government, we are ready to put those in place,” said Bresciani.