A report revolving around potential large-scale recreation and culture facilities will be submitted to the City of Regina’s executive committee Wednesday, and a technical briefing highlighted some of the major points, one of them being inflation.
“The costs of everything in our lives are becoming greater, and that applies to catalyst projects as well,” said Tim Reid, president and CEO of the Regina Exhibition Association.
Reid and city councillor Bob Hawkins, who is also the co-chair of the catalyst committee that created the report, noted that the cost escalation of these projects means that the city should jump on them quickly.
“One of the most significant outcomes I would say from our work is the cost of inflation,” Reid said.
Reid said time needs to be taken into consideration, adding that one year is needed to go from planning to approval, a minimum of one year is needed for design and engineering, and then construction can begin.
“Any of these projects that have been proposed, and the data sets that you’ve seen on the cost of construction have a significant impact going forward.”
Reid said it should be anticipated that the average cost of these projects will have an escalation somewhere between 32-38 per cent.
That’s only if the construction happens between 2024 and 2026, with that cost escalation rising every year after that, and the technical briefing showing a compounded escalation of 62 per cent by 2030.
The committee highlighted some of the key findings in the public consultation, noting that the aquatic centre was the number one priority from the survey, followed by the central library project, the multi-purpose event centre, outdoor baseball facility and the outdoor synthetic soccer field.
The central library project had an estimated cost of $120 million back in 2020, with the report of an increase of $46 million by 2026, and an increase of just under $79 million by 2030.
An estimated cost for the multi-purpose event centre was set at $120 million in 2021, noting the same cost escalation as the library.
The aquatics centre was estimated at $142 million in 2022, with an increase of $54 million by 2026, and $73.5 million by 2030.
An estimated cost for the baseball field was estimated at $14 million in 2022 with a $5 million increase in 2026, and a $9 million increase by 2030.
Lastly, the soccer pitch/fieldhouse project was estimated at $10 million in 2022, with a $3.8 million cost escalation anticipated for 2026 and a $6.5 million escalation by 2030.
“If you can find a way to do it, do it now, because in 10 years it’s going to be 60 per cent more expensive, if not more so,” Hawkins said.
He said he hopes this report spurs private investment into these projects.
Reid noted that money isn’t cheap to borrow right now, saying that wasn’t the case a couple of years ago.
He said all of these projects are contingent on receiving federal funding.
Jason Childs, associate professor of economics with the University of Regina, suggested these projects won’t radically alter the course of the city’s development, but added that poor infrastructure will negatively affect it.
“It’s like anywhere else, you’ve got some really nice facilities and you’ve got some that are nearing the end of their lifespan. And some really hard decisions are going to have to be made about those facilities that are nearing the end of their lifespan whether or not they’re renewed or let go, or we do something completely different,” Childs said.
“Cities across the country have been chasing this idea of ‘we’re going to make ourselves grow’, and often with very poor track records.”
He said that the real test of Regina’s city government is maintaining these buildings.
“Building stuff is relatively easy, maintaining it is really, really hard.”
Childs said the city runs the risk of these facilities deteriorating quickly if the proper upkeep and management aren’t put in place.
While he said being shovel-ready for these projects is a real advantage to make sure these projects get funding, Childs contested the notion that these projects should be done right away due to interest charges and inflation.
“If inflation is driving up the cost of building, it’s also going to drive up the cost of running it and maintaining it.”
He said those effects will be seen in current civic buildings as contracts start to be re-negotiated.
Childs added if the city were to try and miss the effects of inflation for these projects, they would have needed to start on them five years ago.