Regina 'eyesore' apartment building gets heritage designation - Action News
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Saskatchewan

Regina 'eyesore' apartment building gets heritage designation

Anarchitectural report said Prince Charles Place represents Regina's construction and population boom of the 1960s.

Buildings that receive a heritage designation are eligible for tax exemptions and for repair grants

The 13-storey Prince Charles Apartments has received a heritage designation by the City of Regina. (Kirk Fraser/CBC )

Regina city council spent more than an hour Wednesday debating whether it should award heritage designation to an apartment building that council members and even the owner'srepresentatives concedeis an "eyesore".

"I certainly don't blame whoever made the eyesore comment," saidRoss Keith, owner of the Nicor Group, a company representing the owners of the Prince Charles Place.

The 13-storey tower is located south ofRegina's downtown on 15th Avenue and overlooksCentral Park.

Heritage designation is meant to ensure the features of designated buildings are preserved.

Orange brick exterior, projecting balconies and a flat roofare among the building's architectural features, while anarchitectural report said the apartment complexrepresents the construction and population boom of the 1960s.

After the Second World War,advances in "construction materials and techniques allowed developers to construct high-rises taller and less expensively than before," the report by city staff reads.

Keith said that since the building was purchased a few years ago they've done considerable work to stabilize and upgrade the interior.

That includes the installation of two new elevators, two boilers and fixing structural problems in the parkade and parking ramp.

"We haven't done anything that shows yet, but believe me, we've done a great deal of work in the building," Keith said.

The Prince Charles Apartments has been described as an eyesore by members of Regina city council. Even a representative of the property owners agreed with the assessment at Wednesday's meeting of council. (Kirk Fraser/CBC )

He added that they plan to bring a coffee shop and interpretive features as they continue to upgrade and improve the building.

Council would ultimately approve the heritage designation for thebuilding in a vote of 8to 3 with Coun. Dan LeBlanc, Coun. Landon Mohl, and Coun. Terina Nelson (formerly TerinaShaw,now using her maiden name).

While the building's heritage statuswas itself controversial,a good chunkof the debateWednesday focused on the taxpayers' money that could potentially be spent onsuch projects a topic that wasn't actually part of the decision in front of council.

Buildings that receive a heritage designation are eligible for a maximum $50,000 grant and 10-year tax exemption, according to the planning commission.

But under thecity's new heritage policy there is no cap on the amount tax exemptions which made some councillors uncomfortable with signing off on the heritage designations in front of them.

Coun. Lori Bresciani expressed concern that if there were no cap, developers would take advantage of the policy and take away a significant chunk of tax revenue.

The NicorGroup currently pays $97,000 in annual property taxes on Prince Charles Place.

City administration stressed to council that the process of receiving a heritage designation and applying for any potential benefits are done separately.

Even if a property developer does receive a heritage designation for their property it does not mean they will receive all of or even any of what they applied for.

Council will also have the final vote on whether the property owners receive the benefits.

It still took council multiple hours of debate to approve the heritage designation for thePrince Charles Placeand eight other buildings spread throughout Regina.

Mayor Sandra Masters offered her thoughts on a possible cap on benefits in a post-council scrum Wednesday.

"I think there's just some follow up in terms of trying to be ensuring we're fully fiscally responsible on it and not necessarily all of them are going to apply for grants or for property tax exemption," she said.

She stressed that the heritage designation policy remains a work in progress.

With files from Colleen Silverthorn