Ground broken on major rental and commercial project in downtown Summerside

Municipal politicians and private developers were on hand Friday for a ceremonial groundbreaking on a Summerside, P.E.I., development that will bring 40 homes and new commercial space to the city's downtown.

The Regent, a five-storey building on the corner of Water and Summer streets, will cost an estimated $18 million and include 10,000 square feet of commercial space.

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"We'll be focused on more big projects like this," said Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher."Our goal is really simple: to build a more walkable, connected, welcoming, inclusive and diverse downtown neighbourhood, with more places to go, things to do, and places to live."

This kind of development, which allows people to live and work in the same place, is central to Summerside's development plans, said Kutcher.

The city owns the land upon which the building will sit, but a city official told CBC News it intends to sell the parcel to the developer for $1 "as part of our incentive package for this specific property, although we have not closed the final land transfers and details yet."

The city's contribution to the development includes tearing down the dilapidated buildings that were on the site.

Construction is due to start this fall, with completion expectedby 2025. The apartments will be rented out at market rates, with none currently designated as affordable units.

Developer Paul Jenkins, who has situated most of his past projects in Charlottetown, said persistent city staff and a co-operative council encouraged his decision to invest in Summerside's downtown.

"Council made it easy for me to develop in Summerside versus some other places that we've been," he said.

Fitting in with history

It took some time to come up with a design for the building, given the location in the historic downtown.

"We kind of settled on one that was big enough to get the density you need to make the project worthwhile from a development point of view, but also ties into the historic nature of the streetscape," said Jenkins.

The name of the new building will be familiar to many Islanders.

The building at 12 Summer St. was best known in its several incarnations as The Regent, first opening as a cinema in 1947.

"When I was young, it was the Regent Theatre, and then it became where you went to dance a little bit, then it became the Regent Bar, so I thought the name was attached to the property," said Jenkins.

With family roots in the area, he said it feels good to be expanding his involvement in the community.