Infrastructure Development

In November 2017, the City’s bid to purchase the Saskatchewan Transit Company (STC) bus depot/head office and parking lots for $16.25 million was accepted. The City took possession of the building on February 15, 2018.

The STC building is a relatively new facility and is an ideal location (across the street from the current RPS Headquarters) to be part of a new and complete Regina Police Service Headquarters Campus to better support the police service and community. The City will invest about $44 million to complete the new RPS campus. That’s one-third of the estimated $140 million it would cost to build a new police headquarters.

The RPS Campus Development involves renovations to the existing RPS Headquarters and the former STC building as well as construction of a new building that will link the two existing facilities. The link building will include a new main public entrance as well as multi-purpose and community spaces. 

Timeline

• February 2018 - City acquires possession of former STC building
• March 2018 - July 2020 - Initial planning and conceptual design development, including construction phasing
• August 2020 - Public consultation on community spaces within RPS campus and MJB
• September 2020 - Request proposals for general contractor to construct the project
• Fall 2020 - Negotiate and award construction contract
• March 2021 - Begin construction
• 2024 - Construction complete

Timing may change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances.

RPS Campus Project Funding

The estimated cost of the project is about $44 million and is funded from the City’s Asset Revitalization Reserve, General Fund Reserve and Current Contributions to Capital.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will the RPS campus project cost?
The cost of the project is $44 million, which includes the purchase of the former STC Headquarters and related properties and site development.

Who is paying for the campus redevelopment?
Funding for this project was included as part of the 2018 and 2019 City of Regina Budgets as well as the 2021-2024 Capital Plan. The project is funded from the City’s Asset Revitalization Reserve ($18,600,000), General Fund Reserve ($18,400,000) and Current Contributions to Capital ($7,000,000).

What’s wrong with the current police headquarters?
As Regina’s population continues to grow, so does the need for more RPS employees. As a result, RPS headquarters has exceeded capacity in terms of ability to accommodate all employees, maintain functionality and efficiently deliver service.

What are the benefits of getting a new facility for RPS? For residents?
RPS requires functional and well-designed facilities infrastructure so that it can efficiently deliver services to the community and respond to growth. In buying the STC building and 1.6 acres of land, the City has been able to find a financially responsible solution to provide a new police headquarters, which is the City’s number one facility priority. This will significantly and positively impact police services long-term.

If a link building is constructed and Osler Street is closed how will RPS services be accessed?
The public entrance for the new RPS Headquarters will be located along Saskatchewan Drive and includes parking for visitors. A temporary entrance to the existing headquarters facility will be provided during construction. Access to the temporary entrance will be from 11^th avenue and Osler Street with signage to help navigate the construction area. All current services will continue to operate out of the existing facility until 2023.

What will happen with the parking spots along Osler Street?
The parking spots along Osler Street will become part of the RPS campus. Visitor parking will be relocated to the new public entrance along Saskatchewan Drive.

What is the timeline for construction activities at RPS?
Construction is anticipated to begin in March of 2021 with construction completion in 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will happen to the Municipal Justice Building?
The City plans to redevelop the Municipal Justice Building into a neighbourhood community centre and police training and fitness facility. This project includes preserving the heritage of the facility, creating designated police fitness space, creating specific community space for gatherings and recreation and creating a multi-purpose gymnasium that will be shared by the community and police.

When will redevelopment of the Municipal Justice Building begin and be complete?
Planning and design work is underway. Preliminary construction activities will begin later this year with construction ramping up earlier in 2021. Construction is anticipated to be complete in spring of 2022.

Is the cost to redevelop the Municipal Justice Building including in the total cost of the RPS campus?
Funding for the redevelopment of the Municipal Justice Building in the amount of $7.5 million will be provided through the provincial Municipal Economic Enhancement Program. This funding is separate from the campus development.

What is the purpose of the MJB concept design survey?
The MJB concept design survey allows the City to provide an overview of the initial floor plan to the public and get feedback. It will also provide more direction on the types of programming that the community would like to happen in the space, which will be used to make any revisions to the finalized design.

How will the City use the feedback from the survey?
Feedback on how the space will be used will inform future programming at the centre as well as help to finalize the design.

Why is the City focusing on a costly redevelopment project during a pandemic?
The Municipal Economic Enhancement Program was announced by the Provincial Government during the pandemic to assist in stimulating the economy during a difficult period.

How many people will the multi-purpose gym be able to accommodate for large gatherings?
The multi-purpose space will be able to accommodate 300 people.

Will smudging be permitted in the building?
Yes, it has been identified that the building needs to accommodate traditional ceremonies which includes smudging.

Why does Council need to approve the land use (as a community centre)?
The property is zoned as I-Institutional, in which a Community Centre is a discretionary use requiring City Council’s approval before a development permit may be issued. The process requires community notification to property owners in the vicinity.

What factors are considered in the Discretionary Use approval?
The discretionary use considers technical land use planning factors, such as setbacks, parking, landscaping, and building massing to ensure the building and site conforms to all bylaws. The process also requires notification to property owners in the vicinity, so any comments will be summarized in the report. Heritage designation and heritage alteration of the building will be managed through separate processes. Architectural detail is outside of the scope of a discretionary use application.

Is the MJB a designated heritage building?
The original 1930 MJB is currently on the Heritage Inventory list. The later additions to the MJB are not part of this inventory nor part of the heritage significant characters of the building. The City will be putting forward a recommendation to Council that the original 1930 building be officially designated as a municipal heritage building as part of the process of proceeding with redevelopment. The additions to the original building will be demolished to allow for the development of new spaces such as the multi-purpose room/gymnasium.

What are the requirements that must be incorporated into the concept design related to heritage?
Any proposed design must demonstrate alignment with the standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places in Canada

The City is excited to partner with the federal and provincial governments and share the cost of building a new Transit Fleet Maintenance Facility. The estimated cost of the project is about $31 million. Sod-turning of the new facility took place on August 14, 2018 with Mayor Michael Fougere, federal minister Ralph Goodale and provincial minister Warren Kaeding.

The current Transit Fleet Maintenance Facility is nearly 70 years old, was originally built to repair street cars and not all types and lengths of City’s buses can be repaired inside the facility. It will be repurposed for Roadways vehicle and equipment storage.

The project involves constructing a new facility that will be attached to the existing Transit Operations Centre at 333 Winnipeg Street. The facility will include both 40 foot and 60 foot full-service and repair bays complete with hoists for the maintenance of the City’s bus fleet.

This repair shop will meet the growing needs of public transit and Regina residents. The new facility will enable the City to meet the service level needs of the community into the future and support the development of complete communities through the delivery of transit to existing and new neighbourhoods. The new facility will improve operational efficiencies, safety for employees who maintain the bus fleet and the City’s ability to maintain a safe fleet for use year-round.

Project Funding

The estimated cost of the project is about $31 million and is roughly split three ways between the City of Regina, Province of Saskatchewan and Government of Canada.

Timeline

• Award construction tender – July 2018
• Construction begins – August 2018
• Facility occupancy – early 2020

Timing may change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s wrong with the current facility?
The existing facility is nearly 70 years old and is no longer able to support the functional requirements needed to provide an appropriate level of service to the transit fleet, both in terms of number of buses and types of bus fleet that can be housed and repaired.

Where will the new facility be located?
The new facility will be attached to the existing Transit Operations Centre at 333 Winnipeg Street.

What will happen to the current facility?
The existing Transit Maintenance Facility will be repurposed for Roadways vehicle and equipment storage.

How much does the facility cost and where did the money come from?
The total cost of the Transit Fleet Maintenance Facility project is about $31 million with each level of government paying roughly one-third.

What are the benefits of getting a new facility?
This new facility will enable the City to deliver expanded transit services to existing and new neighbourhoods. The new facility will be designed and constructed to contemporary energy, environmental and sustainability standards to improve the working environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The estimated cost of the project is about $35 million and is funded from the Solid Waste Reserve. Much progress has been made since the initiation of this multi-year project in 2016. Site servicing began in September 2018 and is now complete. Facility construction expected to begin March 2019.

Existing facilities that currently hold the Solid Waste department equipment and staff are inadequate. The department is decentralized, working from multiple facilities in the Public Works Yard, at the Landfill and at 500 Arcola Street. As the city continues to grow, the number of Solid Waste collection vehicles and staff has grown and is expected to continue to grow.

The new facility will centralize Solid Waste’s operations and associated programs at the Landfill in a facility that will meet current and future program needs. The facility will provide a model of efficiency between the Solid Waste branches by sharing crew spaces, office support areas and vehicle and equipment storage. Corporate Fleet Training space needs will be accommodated in the facility as well as accommodating fleet maintenance for the waste equipment on site.

The new facility will be designed and constructed to accommodate between 10 and 25 years of growth. This will allow for other Transportation & Utilities Division functions to potentially be located on this site in the future.

The completion of this project will provide much needed flexibility within the Public Works Yard. The freed up space there will allow the Transportation & Utilities Division to consolidate vehicle and equipment storage on one site, increasing operational efficiencies.

Project Funding

The estimated cost of the project is about $35 million and is funded from the Solid Waste Reserve. 

Timeline

• Award Site Development Contract – August 2018
• Issue Request for Pre-Qualification for Facility Construction – July 2018
• Site development began – September 2018
• Award Facility Construction – January 2019
• Facility construction begins – March 2019
• Facility occupancy – Fall 2020

Timing may change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this centre being built?
There are many reasons. Existing facilities that currently hold the solid waste equipment and staff are inadequate. As the City continues to grow, the number of Solid Waste collection vehicles has grown and is expected to continue to grow. This will continue to place increased pressure on the existing facilities, already at or beyond capacity. Solid Waste Department staff are currently located in four separate facilities causing inefficiencies and limiting the potential for improved teamwork.

How much does the facility cost and where did the money come from?
This planned infrastructure project is 100 per cent funded from the Solid Waste Reserve. We have budgeted $11.6 million in 2019. The total estimated cost of this project is $35 million and will be completed late 2020.

Is the City taking on new debt to fund this project?
No, this planned project is 100 per cent funded from the Solid Waste Reserve.

Where will this centre be located and why?
It will be located directly adjacent and to the east of the Fleet Street Landfill. This land is situated ideally to satisfy the needs of the landfill, the new Waste Management Centre, as well as provide future operational opportunities for other services.

What is going to be in the Centre?
The new Waste Management Centre will include office, shop, lab space and storage for the following programs and services:

• Solid Waste Department
  • Waste Diversion
  • Landfill Operations
  • Solid Waste Collection
  • Environmental Services
  • Business Support
• Fleet Services Department
  • Fleet Maintenance
  • Fleet Operations (Fleet Training)
  • Supply Services (Parts and Fuel)
• The Waste Management Centre will also have an education space to provide residents with opportunities to learn about waste diversion in order to extend the life of the Landfill.

In 2008 the Parks and Facilities Yard Master Plan was finalized and construction of the Parks and Facilities Administration Building began.

In 2011 the Vehicle and Equipment Storage Building was renovated to accommodate vehicle storage.

In 2016 the last phase of the plan proceeded, addressing the long-term needs of the Parks & Open Space, Facilities Maintenance, Facilities Operations, Roadways Landscape Trades and Fleet Equipment Coordination departments.

This final phase consisted of the following construction improvements in the Parks and Facilities Yard:

• A new above ground fuel island
• A 23,000ft² Parks and Facilities Yard Operations Centre (PFYOC)
• A 22,000ft² Equipment Storage Building
• Various yard improvements

The previous facilities were energy inefficient and did not support staff to operate effectively. The upgrades have greatly improved staff working conditions, generated efficiencies from a shared facility and made it easier to maintain services at parks space and civic facilities throughout the community. The cost of the project was about $21 million and was funded from contributions to capital in the annual General Fund operating budget.