The City of Regina has agreed to purchase and maintain the park after hearing concerns from the surrounding neighbourhood about a shortage of green space.
Article content
The Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD) has finalized a plan with the city to “preserve” Holy Rosary Park for the Cathedral neighbourhood in the wake of the adjoining community school’s closure five months ago.
The school division shared Thursday that the City of Regina has agreed to purchase the land beside the now-closed Holy Rosary elementary school and maintain it as a public park space.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“This partnership ensures that Holy Rosary Park will remain a welcoming space where residents can come together and enjoy the outdoors,” said Mayor Sandra Masters in a joint news release issued Thursday.
“We are pleased to work alongside Regina Catholic Schools to maintain a place that holds so much meaning for the Cathedral community.”
RCSD board chair Shauna Weninger said there was a “clear” desire from the neighbourhood to see the park kept open, which prompted the division to approach the city.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the City of Regina in support of that vision,” she stated in the release.
Masters hinted at the deal during a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Cathedral Village Community Association on Sunday, noting that she’d also heard “concern” about the future of the park.
“I helped advocate to make sure that it can stay as park space, because we know that you don’t have a lot of green space within your community,” she told the crowd.
The city will purchase the land parcel for $1 plus closing costs and add Holy Rosary to its park inventory.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
The park includes green space on the southwest corner of the block but not the playground in front of the former school that faces 14th Avenue.
RCSD struck a deal earlier this year to sell Holy Rosary School to the Archdiocese of Regina for $1.95 million. The property housing the school, division offices, parking lot and adjacent right-of-way is included in the sale.
The agreement also stipulates that the school division will demolish Holy Rosary and the Catholic Education Centre (CEC) before transferring ownership. This was to occur in late summer, but has been delayed. A spokesperson for Regina Catholic confirmed Thursday that no new date for demolition has been set.
RCSD announced plans to close the 110-year-old elementary school last year after an engineering review found significant decay in the building’s foundation and structure.
Holy Rosary was the longest-operating Catholic school in Regina, having opened in 1914. An addition was built on the north side in 1928, followed by later add-ons that became the division office.
The school officially closed at the end of June. Students transferred to either Sacred Heart Community School or St. Theresa School. Division staff moved into a new CEC over the summer, located at 2550 Sandra Schmirler Way.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Recommended from Editorial
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Article content
