INVESTMENT RESOURCES
Regina’s Downtown has played a key part in defining Regina’s identity. Over the past 35 years, RDBID has helped to shape Downtown to suit the changing needs of Regina residents. During the course of our last three-year plan, RDBID enjoyed many advantages shared by many other aspects of life in Saskatchewan. The province’s booming economy made it relatively easy to pursue an aggressive agenda of expansion and innovation. New Development
New Development
Opened in May of 2016, Agriculture Place is an 11-storey, class “A” tower that boasts over 160,000 sq.ft. of modern office space and unique amenities, such as a 2,000 sq.ft. fitness centre, a tenant specific lecture theatre and roof-top patio, climate controlled pedestrian links to adjacent office buildings and three levels of underground parking running along Hamilton Street from Agriculture Place through to Mosaic Tower. The mixed-use development also features the “Shoppes on Hamilton”, a main-floor shopping destination that offers nearly 10,000 sq.ft. of retail space which will be home to various fashion and lifestyle retailers like the newly opened Green Spot Café and Swank Shoe Lounge. In terms of sustainability, Agriculture Place has also been designed to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council.
“Harvard Developments has called the City of Regina home since 1903. Our dedication to ensuring the success and vibrancy of our downtown is ongoing,” said Rosanne Hill Blaisdell, Managing Director of Harvard Buildings Inc. “We are very honoured to be able to fulfill the office needs of Farm Credit Canada, Stantec and CIBC in this new state-of-the-art, eco-friendly building. By choosing to maintain and grow their Head Offices and Branch Offices in Regina’s downtown, these important businesses are demonstrating a long term commitment. It’s a strong signal of the bright future that lies ahead for the City,” she concluded.
At the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (BID), we’re excited about what the future holds for our Downtown and for those who own and operate businesses within our neighbourhood.
Business Downtown
For anyone thinking of relocating or starting a business in Downtown Regina, there are plenty of reasons why locating Downtown is good for your business. They include:
- No business tax.
- Downtown businesses become members of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District and benefit from the services offered by the organization.
- More than 25,000 people currently work Downtown. With all of the new developments happening, that number will increase substantially over the next five years.
- Approximately 1,270 residents live Downtown and 11,000 people reside in the immediate surrounding area.
- Access to amenities such as transit, banks & daycare facilities.
- Every year, approximately 500,000 visitors stay at one of our 10 downtown hotels. Hotel guests are also patrons to downtown businesses.
- According to a 2007 survey conducted by Colliers International, Regina has the second lowest parking rates in Canada. Monthly parking rates average $125/month and daily rates average only $6.75/day.
- Free wireless Internet access for you and your customers.
Residential Downtown
This is the vision for Downtown – a vision shared by residents that are experiencing a renewed interest in their core. Now more than ever, Downtown Regina is seen as the hub for business, culture, shopping and tourism, at the centre of a thriving community. And now more than ever, residents are looking for an opportunity to not only work, shop, and play Downtown, but to live Downtown.
Over the next 15 years, Downtown Regina is expected to become a place where walking from your home to a restaurant with an outdoor patio is expected and not unheard of, a place where spectacular urban design emphasizes the luxury of Downtown living, a place where lush parks are defined by landmark built form, a place where arts and culture dominate, and a place where a rich architectural history is celebrated alongside new development that expresses Regina’s optimistic future.
The future of Downtown Regina is a place that will offer a clear alternative to the traditional suburban lifestyle: an urban lifestyle.
That lifestyle is something that just can’t be found in the suburbs. Downtown Regina will be about enjoying the multitude of shops and services already located in the core, walking and bicycling to work, enjoying an urban forest defined by a canopy of street trees, having convenient access to 21st century public transit, experiencing the beauty of new and historic built form alongside historic architecture and enjoying year-round festivals and markets.
It’s a lifestyle that is sought due in part to the changing demographics of Canadian cities. Postgraduates, young professionals, empty-nesters, baby-boomers and new retirees are all looking for an opportunity to live in a walkable, vibrant, and exciting Downtown neighbourhood.
This demand for an urban lifestyle is being supported by the City of Regina in an effort to populate the core. By providing a framework for redevelopment and reurbanization, the City is extending its hand to developers to be a part of this exciting time for Regina’s Downtown Core.
Resources
For more information about doing business in Downtown Regina, please consult with any of the following entities:
Regina Arts and Business Network
Regina Regional Opportunities Commission