On Wednesday, the Regina city council approved an incentive of $6.78 million for Costco to construct a second local store in the Westerra district of the city.
The resources will be sourced from the Regina Land Development Reserve. According to municipal projections, these funds are expected to be repaid via property taxes over a period of approximately seven years.
The choice came after a heated debate at the city council, where multiple councillors voiced their dissatisfaction about needing to offer financial encouragement to the private company.
Mayor Bachynski stated that during Wednesday’s meeting, city council was informed that following Costco’s agreement in principle to construct a secondary site within the city, the company decided to cancel this arrangement in favor of developing at the Global Transportation Hub located west of Regina.
Coun. David Froh stated that the rationale behind this modification was due to the fact that the transportation center—a facility overseen by a Crown organization—offered considerably more affordable land made possible through taxpayer subsidies. Consequently, this situation placed Regina at a disadvantage as it had to compete against entities supported financially by the provincial administration.
If a Costco is constructed outside of Regina, we stand to lose hundreds of millions in investments, along with additional millions from related residential and commercial developments,” Froh stated. “This situation teaches us that we must prevent various tiers of government from vying against each other for local investments.
“As for how we arrived at this point, it was somewhat unfortunate,” Mayor Bachynski stated during an interview with CBC.
Morning Edition
Thursday. “Ultimately, this outcome has a favorable impact on the city of Regina as a whole, with particular benefits for its western section.”
This initiative will foster development in that region. Other commercial establishments will likely emerge around this key occupant, contributing approximately half a million dollars annually in tax revenue from Costco.
The mayor made it evident that this funding should not set a precedent for additional corporate incentives provided by the city.
This is quite a distinctive scenario,” he stated. “In terms of land costs, it wasn’t a straightforward comparison.
Developers regularly compete with one another on a level playing field when it comes to urban land, and we remain uninvolved.
The city council predicts that the upcoming second Costco store will create approximately 300 new employment opportunities and will serve as a major catalyst for additional business and housing projects in the region.
