The Regent rises again: Five-storey, 40-unit residential building planned for downtown Summerside
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Regent will stay once more.
It seems the brand new constructing deliberate for Summerside’s downtown core block challenge on the nook of Water and Summer time streets will sport the identify of considered one of its storied predecessors – The Regent.
Town has lastly lifted the veil of this a lot talked about and sometimes delayed challenge, which might be a five-storey, energy-efficient constructing with 40 market-rate residential items, 10,000 sq. ft of street-level industrial house and in-ground parking.
Town is partnering with developer Paul Jenkins on this challenge, which is predicted to value $18 million. Development is ready to begin later this fall and has a completion window between 2024 and 2025.
Connecting waterfront
Mayor Dan Kutcher welcomed lastly with the ability to discuss brazenly concerning the challenge, which he mentioned represents one of many largest personal investments within the downtown’s historical past.
“We’re actually centered on remodeling our downtown with actual motion and connecting our waterfront higher to our Water Avenue and it is a nice push in our quest to do this,” mentioned Kutcher. “There’s been quite a lot of progress in our downtown and there’s nonetheless quite a lot of alternative. We’ve nonetheless obtained a methods to go, however we’ve obtained the momentum.”
One of many tenets of Summerside Downtown City Core Plan was to draw extra individuals to stay within the downtown, which ought to in flip stimulate financial progress.
This challenge is a stable step in that path, added Kutcher.
Fond recollections
The property in query, 281 Water St., is owned by town. The municipality purchased it in 2020 and demolished a number of dilapidated buildings there, which had failed for greater than a decade to draw a purchaser or investor. Most of these buildings had sentimental worth for the neighborhood, both as long-time household companies, like Crockett’s Jewellers or as a centre of what was once a bustling downtown nightlife, which is what many locals would bear in mind the previous Regent membership as being.
As town’s companion on this challenge, Jenkins mentioned he has many fond recollections of the property in its heyday, so when it got here to developing with a brand new identify for this challenge it was a straightforward resolution.
“After I was younger it was The Regent theatre, then it grew to become the place you went to bop slightly bit … so I assumed the identify was simply connected to the property,” mentioned Jenkins.
Rising curiosity
Jenkins already has a handful of enterprise pursuits in Summerside and is planning extra. He mentioned town, particularly its financial growth division, was eager on this challenge and satisfied him it was a very good enterprise alternative.
He is additionally comfortable to have the ability to proceed a household legacy of doing enterprise in Summerside. His household operated a cannery right here a few years in the past, simply down the street from the place the brand new Regent will rise.
“My … grandparents have been from Summerside. So, I’m type of proud to have the ability to contribute what expertise I’ve to Summerside.”
Town and Jenkins are nonetheless ironing out the ultimate agreements associated to the challenge, however the eventual end result ought to be that town would switch possession of the land to Jenkins for $1, which might conclude town’s monetary involvement with the challenge. Additional growth and building prices could be the duty of Jenkins and his firm.
Colin MacLean is a reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He might be reached by e mail at [email protected] and adopted on X @JournalPMacLean.
