That location will be the site of the Railyard Renewal Project, which will redevelop the 17.5-acre site in the centre of the city. The project is now in its fourth stage of planning, which involves preparing a redevelopment scenario on the strongest elements of each preliminary scenario. 

“We will show some more site-specific ideas,” Mayor Michael Fougere said. “We suspect that we will have more to say about that in the coming months. We have had very strong public input and interest. The feedback has been significant.”

One of the concepts for the Railyard Renewal Project, which would feature a concert hall, library and hotel. -

In May, residents were invited to an open house that displayed three proposed redevelopment concepts for the railyard site. Residents provided their input on each design. The three designs included a mix of residential housing, retail destinations and cultural amenities. 

With Phase 4 now underway, technical studies will also be conducted to support the plans. These studies and plans will then guide the future development of the railyard site. Fougere feels residents will like what they see.

“I certainly hope they (residents) like it. It will reflect what we are hearing through the community,” Fougere said. “Our plan is based on long-term detailed consultation. I think people will see what they inputed into it.”

Fougere stated there would likely be some more open houses, as there was in the past during the preliminary development stage. 

“We are not finished discussing but we want to show what we have learned and what we learned from residents to see what they think,” Fougere said. 

Several weeks ago during a Q&A with the Leader-Post, Fougere said he hoped to see some construction starting by the end of council’s term.

The land is owned by the City of Regina, but development will be done in the private sector. 

“The actual business opportunity for a company to build something, that would be done by the private sector,” Fougere said. 

There will be certain things city council will do depending on the plan chosen, based on input from residents. 

“Before we see any investment by the private sector, they need to know the priorities of residents in the city,” Fougere said. “We believe there should be residential development in there. If it is high-density residential, we would zone it in that capacity.”

In the end, Fougere wants proper planning to ensure residents get exactly what they want out of the site.