Wascana officials warned about 'varied' views on development in 2012 report

A newly released report on the future of Wascana Centre in Regina includes a section advising officials about "a wide array of viewpoints" when it comes to commercial development in the park.

The report, prepared in 2012 and released in its entirety Friday, examines various elements of the large urban park and discusses topics like the amount of landscaped versus natural space and the issue of development.

"There will be a portion of the community that will be against any kind of development," the report advised, after noting that is was understandable that Wascana Centre officials were considering development in the park as a way to generate revenues.

The report was based on a variety of surveys and other methods of obtaining public input about the future direction of the park.

• EXTERNAL LINK: ourWascana report

Wascana Centre has been the recent focus of attention after the University of Regina, with support from the city, announced plans for a commercial development — an office building — on a section of the park associated with the College Avenue Campus.

The 2012 report noted that a "significant portion of the community" would be OK with development in the park, but suggested two "key factors" be considered:

• Scale: There is more appetite for smaller scale development (i.e. a place to get a coffee).
• Design and performance: The community expects that Wascana models leading behaviour in environmental sustainability.

The report cost $800,000, and was paid for by the government of Saskatchewan and the City of Regina. 

CBC News requested a copy, but only an edited version was supplied until Friday when the full document was forwarded on the same day it was published to the centre's website.

• Report on the future of Wascana Park being kept secret

"We have to go through our appropriate processes," Bernadette McIntyre, CEO of the Wascana Centre Authority, said Friday when asked about the timing of the release of the full report, some four years after it was submitted to the agency. "That took a fair amount of time."

According to McIntyre, redacted portions of the report had to be reviewed before they could be shared with the public.

One of those edited portions, under a section called "Key Issue Highlights", spoke about the importance of promoting understanding of the park.

"Ongoing work to expand the community's understanding of what Wascana Centre is in its entirety will [be of] benefit," the consultants advised.

Another section that was not released, until Friday, was held back from CBC News because it contained advice from officials. That section described Wascana Centre as "a beautiful place" and noted it is accessible and "a democratic space".

According to McIntyre, the board that oversees the centre met earlier in September and decided they had sufficiently reviewed the report and it could be published.

"Everyone was satisfied that they had completed their review," she said, adding that the board was planning to release the report as soon as that review was done.

McIntyre said the ourWascana report, and other reports that have been published, was part of a mix of information that provided the basis for the most recent master plan for Wascana Centre, which was released in the spring.

She added that no formal decision had been made, by the Wascana Centre board, regarding the College Avenue development, although permission has been granted for demolition work associated with the project.