Lawyer recommends 'continued monitoring' instead of filling Capital Pointe hole

The lawyer for the company which owns and is responsible for the gaping hole at theCapital Pointe site in downtown Regina is recommending "continued monitoring" of the crater rather than back filling it, as uncertainty over the project looms.

The fate of the site, located at the intersection ofAlbert Street and Victoria Avenue, is the subject of an appeal being heard by theSaskatchewan Building and Accessibility Standards Appeal Board. The hearing is scheduled to run for three days at the Ramada Hotel.

NeilAbbott, co-counselforWestgateProperties, said he plans to prove the hole is safe and should not be back-filled. Christine Clifford, the city of Regina's lawyer, says the site cannot remain in its current state.

During the appeal, an expert witness testified the site is currently "safe and stable."

Kai-Sing Hui is an engineer for EXP Engineering who specializes in geotechnicalengineering the study of soil to determine if a site is safe to construct a building on.

EXP Engineering did an analysis on the Capital Pointesite in June.

Hui conducted a series of safety tests on the site and concluded it is"acceptable for a permanent structure."

A previous analysis on the site's excavation, not done by EXP Engineering, indicated concerns aboutthe northeast and southwestcorners.

According to Hui,the northeastand southeast corners of the site moved 40 millimetres and 37 millimetres, respectively, between June 2017 and 2018.

But, remediation was done on the site in the winter of 2017.

Hui conducted anotheranalysis after remediation, fromJune 5 to June 29. He said the ground did not shift in that time period.

Hui alsosaid the site does not posea riskfor surrounding structures.

He recommended another excavation analysis to bedonein the winter if construction hasn't moved forward.

The lot at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Albert Street was to be home to Regina's tallest building. The project was originally to be done by June 2015. But since the Plains Hotel was demolished in 2011, the site has progressed at a glacial pace.

The appeal comes after the City of Regina ordered the company that owns the property WestgateProperties and its affiliate, Fortress Real Developments to fill the hole.

Westgate argues filling the hole would further delay the project and increase costs.