Commercial development in Wascana Park too big, NDP says

The Saskatchewan NDP is expressing concern about the new Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) building set to go up in Regina's Wascana Park, because it will be four times larger than the current building and have twice the surface area.

The planned new building will sit on park landsouth of College and west of Broad Street and will include110 parking stalls 60 of which will be underground.

ReginaElphinstone-CentreMLA WarrenMcCallsaid there is uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of the developments to the environment.

"[There are] no answers in terms of what's going to be turned over for green space to asphalt,"McCallsaid after question period on Thursday.

The current CNIB building, which was built in the1950s, is too old and has outlived its usefulness, according to Saskatchewan's Minister of Central Services KenCheveldayoff.

"The way I look at it, where better to have CNIB clients than in a park setting?" Cheveldayoff said on Thursday, noting there are other buildings in the park such as the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and the CBC's Saskatchewan bureau.

'What's next?': NDP

The CNIB building is one of two commercial projects which the province and city hope to have constructed in Wascana Park. The other is a new office building for Conexus Credit Union, who agreed to donate more than $8 million for upgrades to the University of Regina's College Avenue campus as part of the deal.

The 70,000 square foot facility for the CNIB will be owned and operated by Brandt Industries.

The Provincial Capital Commission approved the project and it's within the regulations set out in the 1913 Wascana Master Plan, Cheveldayoff said.

He added that the questions lobbed at the provincial government from the Opposition caught him off guard.

McCall said the big question for the NDP is, "What's next?"

"Once the momentum gets going, it is a fair question to ask," McCall said.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougerehas said in the past there's no plans to further develop WascanaPark beyond whathasalready been made public.