Construction timeline for Regina's Capital Pointe delayed again
Developer says building will reach ground level by November
The lot at Victoria Avenue and Albert Street in Regina, promised to be the home of Saskatchewan's tallest building, is still a large hole.
The space is slated to become the Capital Pointe hotel and condominium project — a 27-storey condominium building with 186 units, as well as a 12-storey hotel with 140 suites.
Excavation on that site began last fall after it sat vacant since 2011, when the Plains Hotel was demolished. Fortress Real Developments took over the project in mid-2014.
Last November, Fortress told CBC News that the building would reach ground level in July.
That timeline has now been pushed back. Fortress said in an email earlier this month the expected date to reach ground level is now November 2017.
The developer said occupancy scheduling will now happen in spring 2019, despite a previous projection that the building would be completed a full year prior.
Construction progress
Work was on hold at the site Friday while the crew waits for a steel shipment. But Kerry McCormick, the project's construction manager with ITC Construction, said he's confident construction is moving ahead.
"We're just down to the last lift in the excavation — so the last level of the parkade — and the final level of tiebacks," he said of the project's expected five-storey underground parkade.
McCormick said the company expects to start pouring cement for the parkade within the next couple of months.
He attributed the delays thus far to ground conditions at the site and debris from old buildings which needed to be removed.
"The actual clay material, which we're digging all the way through, is a very poor material. It's very susceptible to moisture, so when it gets wet you can't work in it. You have to let it dry out. It's a very difficult material to excavate through," McCormick said.
In an emailed statement, city spokesperson Jamie Lewis said the company still has another four and a half metres to dig.
She added the company has applied for a permit to construct the building's foundation.
"We are currently waiting for them to pick this up," Lewis said.
Fortress financing
The City of Winnipeg's downtown development agency is also working with Fortress for a commercial space and parkade development at the current site of the St. Regis Hotel.
The City of Winnipeg is asking for "more due diligence" on the financing side, which it already requires for another Fortress project in that city: the SkyCity Centre condo development.
"Right now, the position we are taking is that construction financing for the overall project would have to be in place before they can come in and dig a hole," said John Kiernan, property and planning director for the City of Winnipeg.
Fortress confirmed there is not yet secured construction financing for Capital Pointe in Regina.
"The developer is currently reviewing multiple offers and plans to choose the financing package for Capital Pointe," said Jenni Byrne, spokesperson for Fortress.
As for the delays that have happened with Regina's Capital Pointe project, they won't happen in Winnipeg, said Coun. John Orlikow, chair of Winnipeg's property, planning and development committee.
"We have the extra layers of protection here to make sure that doesn't happen," Orlikow said.
Area councillor frustrated
Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens wants to see some actual development and more clarity around construction timelines.
"The uncertainty is actually quite frustrating," Stevens said. "What other kind of development could have been taking place in that very important location downtown that's being blocked?"
He called the excavation zone a blight on the area and annoyance to pedestrians who have no sidewalk access because of the digging.
Stevens said that as a councillor, he's in the dark about the project's status.
"And as far as I know the city has the same amount of information, so there's no definite completion date," he said.
Stevens is confident the city's planning policies are solid and this project is an exception.
"It's just a general frustration from all angles."
Capital Pointe timeline
- September 2010: First look at the 26-floor tower model with an expected June 2015 completion date.
- December 2011: Demolition of The Plains Hotel.
- Early 2012: Developer's original building permit expires.
- November 2012: Empty lot remains untouched as multiple factors delay groundbreaking.
- May 2013: Official groundbreaking ceremony.
- June 2014: Fortress Real Developments takes over project.
- November 2014: Second building permit expires.
- September 2015: Work begins on site.
- November 2016: Developers announce ground level completion of July 2017 with a 2018 overall completion date.
- May 2017: Developer expects to reach ground level construction in November and overall completion in spring 2019.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from CBC’s Joanne Levasseur