City Council approved an application to turn the old Capital Pointe site into a parking lot Wednesday night.
Council voted 8-3 in favour of the temporary lot, which will operate for one year. Council will then have to decide whether or not to extend the lot operation.
Mayor Michael Fougere says that while the parking lot isn’t a perfect solution, it’s better than an empty lot.
“What we have is a project that will come forward that will pay down the taxes owing, that’s $2.7 million which we not otherwise get,” said Fougere. “We have a proposal that will see, not just a flat piece of land, but a parking lot that will be developed. There’s some good things that are going to happen on this, it’s not the perfect solution, the perfect solution would have been to have had it developed many years ago.”
The councillors that voted against the proposal were hoping to wait and see the results of a parking study done downtown, before deciding on another parking lot.
Fougere says he’s cautiously optimistic about the decision because it has the backing of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District.
“Regina Downtown BID actually supported this, they said they would do it for one year, knowing that there should be no more parking lots downtown, because it’s a development,” said Fougere. “It’s investment, it’s job creation, it’s construction, and that opportunity in times of covid, or any time, is always what you want to see. You want to see the gateway to downtown developed, that’s really what’s so important.”
When asked if the development of the parking lot would be one step closer to the end of the Capital Pointe saga, Fougere said there’s a long way to go.
“We have a long progression to go here, we’ve seen this on this site where it’s not always a straight line from A to B, there’s some zig-zagging going on,” said Fougere. “We hope they can go forward, and that certainly is our expectation.”
The lot is expected to feature 87 surface parking stalls, and eight stalls for motorcycle parking and bicycle parking.
It would be gated and drivers would be able to access it by using the north alley. Drivers may also be allowed to access the lot on Albert Street, as long as the applicant installs a median on Albert Street.
