CAPITAL POINTE
City closer to filling hole
The city is now free to move forward with its stated intention of filling the Capital Pointe hole, after a provincial appeal board rejected a developer’s attempt to delay a backfill order.
On April 3 the city informed Westgate Properties that its excavation pit at the corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue had become “unsafe.” It gave the company until the end of that month to backfill the hole dug for the longdelayed Capital Pointe hotel and condo tower, which the city said was endangering nearby buildings.
Westgate appealed the order to the Saskatchewan Building and Accessibility Standards Board. It also requested a stay, with an eye to suspending the city’s power to act until the appeal could be decided.
But on Friday the board issued a decision refusing to grant the stay — while also poking serious holes in the developer’s hope for a successful appeal.
“While the appeal does disclose issues to be tried, they do not appear, on first examination, to be strong points,” the board noted.
During arguments over the stay on May 16, Westgate’s lawyer held that the city could produce no convincing evidence that the hole is a public safety risk. But the board disagreed. It said the critical opinions of two engineering firms suggest “serious concerns with the excavation by those most familiar with it.”
It also sunk Westgate’s argument that denying a stay would cause “irreparable harm,” given the $14 million already put into the project. The board acknowledged that filling the hole will impose additional costs and delays if the tower ever moves forward. But it stressed that the public interest over safety is “paramount.” It also plans to deal with the matter before the city can do anything drastic.
“The Appeal Board believes the hearing of the appeal can be scheduled before the final stage of the contemplated work,” the decision said.
The city has strongly indicated that it hopes to move as quickly as possible.
“Delay in performance of the work increases the risk that an imminent danger will develop on site or that work could not be completed in the 2018 construction season, thereby leaving adjacent building foundations exposed to potential cross damage for another winter,” noted City of Regina law- yer Christine Clifford during arguments against the stay.
She said the city has the authority to do the work itself, and will likely have to avail itself of that power.
“The city has no expectation that Westgate will comply,” she said at the time.
Clifford outlined the process the city will need to follow: Get an engineer to design backfill plans; find a contractor through public tender; issue permits to the contractor, who will then need time to transport 53,000 cubic metres of fill material. Only then, roughly 17 weeks later, will crews be ready to compact the dirt and return the lot to its former state.
City officials declined to comment further on the case Friday, or on their plans for the work ahead. Fortress Real Developments, which owns a major stake in Westgate and leads the Capital Pointe project, did not respond to an email.
Coun. Andrew Stevens trod carefully in the wake of the decision. He noted that the dispute remains a live legal issue, with an appeal hearing now set for June 18. But he knows many are waiting for an end to the day-to-day irritations of the long-idle site, which blocks a major pedestrian route in his ward.
“This is a very delicate legal matter and it’s going to be dealt with appropriately,” he said. “As a city councillor who represents the downtown, I understand the frustrations of residents and I can appreciate why they’re impatient — but this needs to be done right.”
He said he doesn’t see “a win-win solution on the horizon” — whatever happens, there’s still no sign the “beautiful” project he was hoping for will ever take shape.
“The only genuinely good outcome here is if Good Time Charlie’s was back on the corner of Albert and Vic,” he said.
“But that ain’t going to happen, is it?”
While the appeal does disclose issues to be tried, they do not appear, on first examination, to be strong points.