Regina Construction II - Page 56

Stormer · #**1101** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 7:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kw5150

Can somone re-post the Library renderings? I jsut spent 10 minutes looking for them and no luck......

Nevermind, here it is.....

from the website:

Why does somone from Calgary have to post images for you guys?

It would appear that the architect in Vancouver jumped the gun in posting the renders on its site. They are now gone from the architect's site and also deleted from SSP! I guess someone is closing the (empty) barn door...

Scamp74 · #**1102** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 7:40 PM**

Hey Guys. First post here and relatively new to the site, although I've been reading it for a few months now. Great place to get the lastest news on developments in Regina and I appreciate all the efforts from everybody.

I'm not like the rest of you guys as I don't know all of the construction lingo and the regulations and all of that stuff, but I have a few concerns to bring up and maybe someone will have some answers for me. These may have been brought up in a previous thread at some point in time, but there would be a lot of reading on my part to find the answers.

First of all, does anybody know what's going to be done with the Traveller's Building downtown on the east side of Broad Street? That building has been an eyesore for too long now. Do they have plans to renovate it or knock it down? I believe it's a heritage site but I really don't see a lot of asthetic appeal to it. I believe I read where is has the only horse hair dance floor in all of Saskatchewan in it. Maybe they'll just keep the facade of the building and then have tower coming out of the middle of the base, maybe a condo high rise or the like. It'd be neat to keep that dance floor or uproot it and move it to a bar spot on Dewdney in order to get some use out of it.

And I've always hated the intersection at Albert St. and Saskatchewan Drive. Something needs to be done to improve the look of it. I don't know why they have planted trees or shrubs or flowers on the Northeast and west sides of that intersection. At least on the northeast side where there is a lot of room for plant growth. Is this because the railway owns that land or something? I never understood that.

And on the southeast side of that intersection you have that ugly parking lot with the purple painted stone wall and across the street on the southwest corner you have the Burger King/Robin's doughnuts, which adds little to the appeal of that intersection. That's a gateway into the downtown and yet you have such an ugly look to it. I'm sure there are plans to improve it but maybe one of you experts knows something about it.

Also, on Albert St. from Dewdney Ave. all the way north to 7th Ave. North should be greenified. Same goes with downtown Broad St. from Saskatchewan Drive to Victoria Ave. And throw in Victoria Ave. from Park St. to Arcola as well where more vegetation needs to flourish.

And anybody notice that long concrete median on Victoria Ave. from Park St. headed East to the Ring Road intersection needs more trees planted there. Every 30 feet or so there is a section of dirt and they have maybe 4 trees planted in a section and most of them look like they are dead. And don't plant everything in a linear fashion. Stagger the trees and put them into enclaves or groupings to have more of a forest effect to it. To me, it looks so phony when the city workers plant them in straight lines like that.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents on a few things. But it is an exciting time around Regina these days. I've lived there my entire life and I actually feel like it's becoming a city I'm proud to say I'm from. It hasn't always been like that.

BTW, what's going on with Capital Pointe? I've been outta town for 2 months and I've been outta the loop with what's going on with that project.

Thanks in advance.

djforsberg · #**1103** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 9:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scamp74

And I've always hated the intersection at Albert St. and Saskatchewan Drive. Something needs to be done to improve the look of it. I don't know why they have planted trees or shrubs or flowers on the Northeast and west sides of that intersection. At least on the northeast side where there is a lot of room for plant growth. Is this because the railway owns that land or something? I never understood that.

And on the southeast side of that intersection you have that ugly parking lot with the purple painted stone wall and across the street on the southwest corner you have the Burger King/Robin's doughnuts, which adds little to the appeal of that intersection. That's a gateway into the downtown and yet you have such an ugly look to it. I'm sure there are plans to improve it but maybe one of you experts knows something about it.

Welcome to the site! I can tell you from material available on the city website that they were supposed to do a functional design for the Sask Drive and Albert Street intersection last year. They seem to be a year or two behind at least on these projects so hopefully they get to it this or next year. I agree with you something has to be done with this intersection not only for aesthetic reasons but for safety too as it is still pretty dangerous.

CoR East · #**1104** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 9:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormer

It would appear that the architect in Vancouver jumped the gun in posting the renders on its site. They are now gone from the architect's site and also deleted from SSP! I guess someone is closing the (empty) barn door...

I had a feeling something like this was happening... A high profile project that we have heard nothing from for over a year, and then some images show up on the Architect's site with no accompanying press release or related hoopla, bet somebody is in trouble with their client... Last I checked, the images are still up on the prairie dog blog, along with a lively love it - hate it comments section.

kw5150 · #**1105** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 9:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake4441

These images were improperly provided to the media, who have now been asked to remove them from all websites. They were posted in error and are copyright. Please do not post any more images of the library. The report is not a public report as of yet. Please remove your post.
Thank you for your assistance.

all I was doing was properly quoting and posting the website where I found the image. Sorry, I will remove the image..........

jigglysquishy · #**1106** Posted: **Apr 25, 2011, 10:10 PM**

Man, we got some man rep in the Prairie Dog.

KevinFromTexas · #**1107** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 2:32 AM**

Read me:

It's come to our attention that some renderings of the Regina Public Library project were made public without the permission of a company involved with the project. Someone with that company is requesting that we not post those images until they are made public.

Please respect their request to not post those images.

youngregina · #**1108** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 4:07 AM**

Please tell me at least somebody downloaded the images of the library renderings. I completely forgot to and am now regretting it. It seems fishy that the renderings are so protected, yet were released. Albeit mistakenly I'm sure. Also, whats the harm in people seeing it before it is fully released?

my email is edanmsnelson@gmail.com so if any of you have downloaded the image, I would truly love to get a copy of it/all three of them. Just for personal use of course.

Nathan · #**1109** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 6:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scamp74

...
First of all, does anybody know what's going to be done with the Traveller's Building downtown on the east side of Broad Street? That building has been an eyesore for too long now. Do they have plans to renovate it or knock it down? I believe it's a heritage site but I really don't see a lot of asthetic appeal to it. I believe I read where is has the only horse hair dance floor in all of Saskatchewan in it. Maybe they'll just keep the facade of the building and then have tower coming out of the middle of the base, maybe a condo high rise or the like. It'd be neat to keep that dance floor or uproot it and move it to a bar spot on Dewdney in order to get some use out of it.
...

If I'm not mistaken, that would be the Danceland Dance Hall at Manitou Beach.

I wish something would be done there too though. Definitely would be nice to see some more improvements along Broad. The Bus Depot and other developements were a decent start at least.

BrannyMuffin · #**1110** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 6:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan

If I'm not mistaken, that would be the Danceland Dance Hall at Manitou Beach.

I wish something would be done there too though. Definitely would be nice to see some more improvements along Broad. The Bus Depot and other developements were a decent start at least.

The top floor of the Travellers Building has a horsehair dance floor as well (Arcadia Ballroom). I'd love to see it used as a place where people of all ages could enjoy it. They could have live bands or recorded music with dances every weekend, maybe with a theme once a month or on certain nights...Anything from a good old fashioned hoedowns to swing nights, to 50s nights, disco nights, jazz nights, formal nights, 80s nights, luaus, masquerade balls....you would never run out of themes that would bring different groups of people in. And then there are people like me who would probably enjoy them all! People could rent it for events (weddings, parties, etc.), it could be a good space for bands to play small shows. I really think if it were restored to what it was and what it could be that it would get a lot of use and it would attract all sorts of people.

There are some different ideas here about what could be done with the building. There are also some older pictures of it which are kind of neat. There aren't really any pictures of it in its original state, though, which is too bad.

Stormer · #**1111** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scamp74

Hey Guys. First post here and relatively new to the site, although I've been reading it for a few months now. Great place to get the lastest news on developments in Regina and I appreciate all the efforts from everybody.

I'm not like the rest of you guys as I don't know all of the construction lingo and the regulations and all of that stuff, but I have a few concerns to bring up and maybe someone will have some answers for me. These may have been brought up in a previous thread at some point in time, but there would be a lot of reading on my part to find the answers.

First of all, does anybody know what's going to be done with the Traveller's Building downtown on the east side of Broad Street? That building has been an eyesore for too long now. Do they have plans to renovate it or knock it down? I believe it's a heritage site but I really don't see a lot of asthetic appeal to it. I believe I read where is has the only horse hair dance floor in all of Saskatchewan in it. Maybe they'll just keep the facade of the building and then have tower coming out of the middle of the base, maybe a condo high rise or the like. It'd be neat to keep that dance floor or uproot it and move it to a bar spot on Dewdney in order to get some use out of it.

And I've always hated the intersection at Albert St. and Saskatchewan Drive. Something needs to be done to improve the look of it. I don't know why they have planted trees or shrubs or flowers on the Northeast and west sides of that intersection. At least on the northeast side where there is a lot of room for plant growth. Is this because the railway owns that land or something? I never understood that.

And on the southeast side of that intersection you have that ugly parking lot with the purple painted stone wall and across the street on the southwest corner you have the Burger King/Robin's doughnuts, which adds little to the appeal of that intersection. That's a gateway into the downtown and yet you have such an ugly look to it. I'm sure there are plans to improve it but maybe one of you experts knows something about it.

Also, on Albert St. from Dewdney Ave. all the way north to 7th Ave. North should be greenified. Same goes with downtown Broad St. from Saskatchewan Drive to Victoria Ave. And throw in Victoria Ave. from Park St. to Arcola as well where more vegetation needs to flourish.

And anybody notice that long concrete median on Victoria Ave. from Park St. headed East to the Ring Road intersection needs more trees planted there. Every 30 feet or so there is a section of dirt and they have maybe 4 trees planted in a section and most of them look like they are dead. And don't plant everything in a linear fashion. Stagger the trees and put them into enclaves or groupings to have more of a forest effect to it. To me, it looks so phony when the city workers plant them in straight lines like that.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents on a few things. But it is an exciting time around Regina these days. I've lived there my entire life and I actually feel like it's becoming a city I'm proud to say I'm from. It hasn't always been like that.

BTW, what's going on with Capital Pointe? I've been outta town for 2 months and I've been outta the loop with what's going on with that project.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome and thanks for contributing. I totally agree with your comments especially about the need for more tree planting. Trees in my mind are the best investment you can make. They are beautiful, functional and just keep growing year after year.

When they rebuilt the medians on Victoria east of Winnipeg the did plant some nice Manchurian ash in the "slots" they built into the concrete medians, but most of them have been taken out by snow plows. The City really needs to get on replacing trees, especially downtown where there are dozens of barren sidewalk planting locations.

I am a big fan of Harvard and what they have done for downtown, but this is one area where they have failed. If you look at every building they own or manage downtown, there are either no trees or just a few dead or dying ones. I believe this is a combination of over-salting in winter and indifference.

Scamp74 · #**1112** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 4:47 PM**

Thanks for the welcomes.

I agree with you about the city needing to grow some more trees downtown, especially in those empty dirt squares where trees used to grow, but it must be extremely difficult for a tree to grow in such a harsh environment. I do believe they are finding ways to grow trees under such circumstances where they can flourish under extreme conditions. I know they've done it in Sudbury, a place I just drove through the other day. That city and the surrounding area was a moonscape caused from all the local mining but they found a way to allow trees to grow in the harsh tundra and now the trees are flourishing there and the city looks great.

And yes, the city should get on the ball when it comes to replacing or planting more trees on that median between Park St. and the Ring Road on Victoria Ave. I don't know what takes them so long to get something like that done. Don't they have enough trees available to plant? That median is too barren and it needs more plant life.

djforsberg and BrannyMuffin, thanks for the links for those websites.

thefourthtower · #**1113** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 7:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCF

How about another downtown project:

Addition above RM of Sherwood/The Legion.

link: http://pingcreative.ca/?p=220

This one needs some work with respect to the facade (parking garage at grade is a no-no!)

Hope these last couple posts find everyone well! Certainly some amazing things going on in this city right now. I'm very encouraged by what I am seeing. Great time to be in the Queen City!

This is a nice looking tower

brithgob · #**1114** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 7:34 PM**

With trees, could there be a concern about roots destroying underground infrastructure?

CoR East · #**1115** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 8:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by brithgob

With trees, could there be a concern about roots destroying underground infrastructure?

Depends on who you ask, engineers will likely say yes, landscape architects and urban foresters will likely say not really. There are certainly examples of large trees heaving sidewalks, and getting into sewer lines. The heaving of sidewalks is usually because no one has cut the sidewalk away from large trees, they have remained in their original holes. As for roots in the sewers, I don't think this is much of an issue with current pipe technology, but does cause issues for old cast iron and clay pipes.

The issue in Regina as far a trees in the downtown goes is, in my experience, two-fold. One, the planting pits we have provided for trees in the sidewalk are too small to support healthy tree growth, and are too small to be excavated by machine. Therefore the pits for replacement trees are hacked out of the local clay by hand with a pick-axe and shovel. Not work that anybody relishes, especially folks who already have too many much easier places waiting for replacement trees. Secondly, the survival rate for street trees in the downtown is very low, due to the small size of tree that can be planted in our small pits, the clay pits, and a certain amount of abuse that is traditionally visited on the new trees by say late night revelers.

osmo · #**1116** Posted: **Apr 26, 2011, 11:13 PM**

Interesting stuff I do also remember reading that there are issues with irrigation downtown, specifically along Victoria Ave. The trees never had a chance because they could never get adequate water. 2 ideas I notice here in Toronto we could do; first example on Bloor Street here they redid they plantings and side walks and for the young trees used a type of planting bag which had all the nutrients and water needed for the young tree, it was the first time they used that technology here which was used frequently somewhere abroad. It looks funny when you first walk by them but it gives the little trees to get a solid footing and grow. Next Regina could really just create a lot more nice planters, not the tacky ones you see along Vic or Arcola. The ones present on the street I live are filled with needle leafed shrubs in winter, then in Spring/summer flowers and nice shrubs are planted. One time when I was coming home from studying late I noticed a City truck just whizzing by ripping out the old summer shrubs in the fall to prep for the winter plantings. I'll try and post a link of the bag technology when I get to a actual computer(on blackberry). I don't think its our climate that does in the trees, there resilient as can be. I think its more a water issue, we get enough sun, but aside from winter we do not get enough rain for the trees to manage solo without any help from any manmade irrigation systems

yorktonite · #**1117** Posted: **Apr 27, 2011, 10:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Read me:

It's come to our attention that some renderings of the Regina Public Library project were made public without the permission of a company involved with the project. Someone with that company is requesting that we not post those images until they are made public.

Please respect their request to not post those images.

http://www.newstalk980.com/story/20110424/50173

Stormer · #**1118** Posted: **Apr 27, 2011, 11:14 PM**

Work is accelerating on City Square Plaza. Today they were construction forms for the curbs on the section east of Scarth. The two way driving ares is extremely narrow (but we are told regulation width) as show in the first pic. This will take some adjusting for drivers. It will be important to have clear lane markings, although in winter I guess you just follow the tire tracks.

They have also begun laying the subsurface. They are spreading out black fabric and sand on top of that. I assume the paving stone will go on top of the sand.

thefourthtower · #**1119** Posted: **Apr 27, 2011, 11:37 PM**

Renderings of new downtown Regina library posted online by architectural firm By JOE COUTURE, Leader-Post April 27, 2011 6:16 PM •Story•Photos ( 3 )
More Images » Artist rendering of a potential design for a new downtown branch for the Regina Public Library. Prepared by Vancouver-based Nick Milkovich Architects.Photograph by: Nick Milkovich Architects, handoutREGINA — A Vancouver architectural firm recently showed images on its website of what a new downtown branch of the Regina Public Library could look like, but the library's chairwoman says the renderings were released prematurely.

Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/Renderings...#ixzz1KlmSAnis

Rodo Regina Lover · #**1120** Posted: **Apr 27, 2011, 11:54 PM**

I talked today to the head of the R.P.L. who was in our restaurant for lunch and he thought it would be 5 or 6 years before anything will be happening.He also said that they had only heard talk of the tower being residential not a hotel, but I guess none of the plans are etched in stone at this point in time!!