Province, city celebrate Dewdney Avenue revitalization with groundbreaking ceremony

“Today marks a significant milestone,” said Mayor Sandra Masters.

Published Apr 25, 2024 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 3 minute read

(L-R) Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris, Leasa Gibbons of the Warehouse District board of advisors, and City of Regina Mayor Sandra Masters are shown during a groundbreaking announcement at the Yards on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

Years in the making, city and provincial officials took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Dewdney Avenue Revitalization Project that’s slated to begin next week.

“Today marks a significant milestone,” Mayor Sandra Masters said during the ceremony Thursday morning. “This project will create a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly, urban environment with public space where people can come together, explore and enjoy the surrounding amenities, restaurants and businesses in Regina’s historic Warehouse District.”

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The project will be done in phases over the next two years, with water and sewage mains to be updated this summer and superficial additions of boulevards and greenery to be completed during the 2025 construction season.

Business owners along the thoroughfare have said the pain of navigating the ongoing construction will be worth the gain, as the promise of marked crosswalks, trees and a multi-use pathway awaits.

Three levels of government invested about $11 million each into the project, for a total of $33.6 million. Cost of the project is expected to ring in at $32 million.

“When you have all three levels of government funding a project, it makes it much more affordable for all,” Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris said Thursday. “The community will benefit from the needed revitalization of this crucial corridor.”

Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris speaks at the Yards during a groundbreaking announcement for the Dewdney Avenue Revitalization Project on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Regina. The project includes $33.6M in government funding. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

Regina’s Warehouse Business Improvement District executive director Leasa Gibbons expressed gratitude and excitement for the long-awaited development of the area.

“We’re going to transform this traffic corridor into a Main Street, and that’s going to have a generational impact to our city that most other cities are dying for,” she said during the ceremony. “We’re very thankful for it.”

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Gibbons said all businesses along the construction route will remain open to customers and encouraged Regina residents to support them during what might be an “interesting” two years for the tight-knit community.

“They’re more than just individual businesses,” she said. “They really do come together as a community and it really relies on the rest of the community to support those businesses to make sure they do make it through construction.”

This summer, 100-year-old-plus cast iron water and sewage mains will be replaced with PVC pipes sized to accommodate future growth, said deputy city manager of city operation Kurtis Doney.

“We’re making sure that the underground infrastructure is sized to accommodate the Yards in the future and any development in the Warehouse District,” he added. “It’s really important when we’re doing a project that we look into the future.”

Construction crews get ready for the Dewdney Avenue Revitalization Project on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

While further development in the Yards is yet to be determined, Masters said the now-vacant railyard site is intended to be a “mixed-use neighbourhood” with residential, commercial, and potential “institutional” additions, along with green space and the possibility for a recreation facility.

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Conversations on the Dewdney project began in 2014, with conceptual designs and open houses held by the city. Masters said funding was secured “five or six years ago.”

Regina residents can expect lane restrictions and speed reductions to begin the week of April 28. The city says it will provide parking on the Yards site throughout construction. There will be crosswalks to the temporary parking spot at Scarth Street and Hamilton Street. Transit routes along Dewdney Avenue will be temporarily redirected to 8th Avenue until construction is complete.

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