The first building to be demolished to make way for the International Trade Centre (ITC) got a big send-off as dignitaries and media watched a large backhoe take a sizeable chunk out of Barn 9 at Evraz Place on Thursday morning. Within minutes, the old barn was a pile of rubble
It marked the beginning of a four-phase project that will see the demolition of 14 obsolete buildings and construction of the $37-million, multi-purpose facility slated to open in 2017.
The ITC will add 150,000 square feet of indoor building space, including 90,000 square feet of exhibit and trade show space, to the existing one million square feet of indoor space at Evraz Place. The building will connect the Canada Centre on the western edge of the property with the AgEx Building, and will result in all remaining buildings on the 100-acre property (with the exception of the new Mosaic stadium) being interconnected.
Last fall, the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL), which operates Evraz Place on behalf of its owners, the City of Regina, announced that $37 million in funding had been secured for the construction of the ITC. The federal and provincial governments and the city each contributed $11 million, with the Regina Hotel Association contributing $3 million and Canadian Western Agribition $1 million.
Mark Allan, president and CEO of REAL, said the project will be phased in to enable two major agricultural events, Canada’s Farm Progress Show in June and Canadian Western Agribition in November, to carry on with the minimum of inconvenience and disruption to exhibitors and visitors alike.
“Some buildings will come down right away to make way for the initial construction of the ITC,” Allan told reporters. “A portion of the new trade centre will be used for Agribition in 2016 and we’ll still retain some of the older buildings. Exhibition Stadium and a portion of the old Winter Fair building will stay up so we’re assured of providing a suitable venue for Agribition for 2016.”
Martin Sarich with Silverado Demolitions armed with a large backhoe starts the demolition of old horse barns at Evraz Place in Regina on January 07, 2016.
Between January and March, Barns 1-4 and 8-10, which were built mainly in the 1960s and ’70s, will be demolished, along with the the Prairie building (1970s), Auditorium and annex (1950s) and south half of the Winter Fair building (early 1960s). The remaining buildings, the Harlton and Pasqua (mid-1950s), north half of the Winter Fair and Exhibition Stadium (1919) will be demolished in December 2016.
“In 2017, we’ll continue on with the demolition of the other buildings and complete construction of the new building and have it open for Agribition 2017,” Allan said.
Brian Barber, senior vice-president of Ledcor Construction, the general contractor, said demolition will take a few months before construction of the ITC begins sometime in late March or April. “The structures will come down fairly quickly, but there’s lots of infrastructure, underground lines,… that take a lot of planning and work (to remove).” Construction of the ITC should take about a year and half, Barber added.
Stewart Stone, president of the CWA, said some disruption is inevitable, with the ITC and stadium projects underway at the same time, but he’s pretty sure the 2016 show will come off without a hitch. “We’re really pleased with how things are going to look for the 2016 year. We’re in the process of working through the logistics of accommodating our stakeholders and we’re feeling confident about that.”
And Agribition veterans will be able to hoist another glass or two at The Swamp in Exhibition Stadium one last time, he added. “Next year (at Agribition 2016) will have ‘last call’ again and then we’ll move onto a new Swamp concept.”
Mayor Michael Fougere said the ITC project will allow Evraz to host even more shows and events and help with the revitalization of the downtown area. “The revitalization of the downtown, with the stadium and this building, is symbolic of the growth and expansion of the city.”
But Fougere, for one, won’t be shedding any tears at the loss of some old barns and dilapidated buildings. “These buildings should have been demolished years ago.”
bjohnstone@postmedia.com