Building should be located downtown

As a former longtime Regina resident, I am sorely disappointed by the lack of proper consideration and the herd mentality of politicians and community leaders in supporting a large commercial building in Wascana Park.

Some might wonder why the opposition to the Conexus building, given its location along College Avenue. Here is why: Regina’s Community Plan directs new office development to the downtown to assist in revitalizing that key part of a healthy city. Wascana Centre Authority legislation prohibited commercial development in Wascana Park, recognizing the impact it would have. We no longer have that protection for the park because this founding legislation stood in the way of approving the Conexus building.

Short-term, we have a lost opportunity to generate some much-needed new energy downtown. And we have a large modern office building out of context alongside historic university buildings on College Avenue. The longterm consequence is much more worrisome. The door is now wide open for more commercial buildings in the park.

We plan the city and we enact legislation to guide development and to protect and enhance important city places. Yet in Regina it appears that the rules are abandoned the minute they conflict with private interests. The public interests are only respected and truly protected when the public gets involved in these important decisions. Harv Weidner, Vancouver