Lots of Lots: Underutilized Spaces in Central Regina
This week, the REM is looking at the abundance of parking and vacant lots in and around Regina’s downtown. Almost 50% of Regina’s privately owned land downtown is used for parking - but it wasn’t always that way!
Albert Street
Albert Street is a major arterial route in Regina, linking the north and south ends of the city, as well as being a through route for Highway 6. Despite its central location and accessibility as a transit corridor Albert Street is home to 3 large vacant lots between 12th and 15th Avenue, adjacent to the city’s downtown and the vibrant Cathedral neighbourhood. These lots have all been empty for over 10 years. Two of them, the northeast corner of Albert Street and 14th Avenue, and the northwest corner of Albert and 15th Avenue, are former gas station properties.
These former gas station sites, or “brownfield” sites, may have contaminated soil, and can be costly to clean up. There has been little incentive for landowners to clean up and develop these sites, resulting in them staying empty for years.
The third vacant lot on central Albert is on the northeast corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue. Most people in Regina are quite familiar with this spot.
Regina’s iconic and beloved Plains Hotel resided on the corner of Albert and Vic for decades. It was demolished in 2011 to make way for an ambitious 27 story condo and hotel project, Capital Pointe. Excavation for the project began in 2015, but that’s as far as work on Capital Pointe ever got. The City had to fill the hole, infamously known as the “Capital Pointe Hole”, themselves in 2019. The space has been used as a temporary parking lot, but has remained mostly empty and unused since then.
Saskatchewan Drive
Saskatchewan Drive, formerly called South Railway Street, used to be home to storefronts, host parades, and even had a park. When the union station was still in operation at the current location of Casino Regina, South Railway Street would be the first street that people arriving to the city would access. There were stores like the Regina Trading Company, as well as barbershops, drug stores, and more.
Downtown Parking Lots
13th Avenue & Scarth Street
These two buildings were located on the north side of the intersection of 13th Avenue and Scarth Street. The image on the left shows Rosary Hall in 1962, located on the northwest corner of the intersection. Across the street on the northeast corner was the Brescia Hall Ursuline Sisters building. Both these lots now hold surface parking lots.
1795 Rose Street
1795 Rose Street is a surface parking lot with adjacent surface parking lots to the east and south. This block used to be home to the Dominion Trust Building, built in 1912 and designed by Saskatchewan architectural firm of Storey and Van Egmond.
Broad Street & 11th Avenue
The intersection of Broad Street currently has surface parking on the northeast, northwest, and southwest corners. Visitors to this intersection used to be able to choose between two theatres, the Broadway and the Met, or go shopping at the Army & Navy discount department store.
1837 Smith Street
A large portion of the west half of 1800 block Smith Street is now surface parking, but this block used to be home to a second hand store, built in 1913.
1880 Saskatchewan Drive
The Casino Regina parking lot used to be the location of Regina’s oldest park, Stanley Park, or the Canadian Pacific Railway Gardens. The history of this park has been covered in more depth in another blog post.
The examples given here are by no means exhaustive, but nonetheless invite readers to think about the way spaces are used or not used in central areas of Regina.
All images from Regina Archives