Cornwall Centre has opened a new Regina Police Service workspace on its main level near the Saskatchewan Drive East entrance, a move aimed at keeping officers in the core during their shifts and reducing time lost to travel for routine paperwork. The non-public space, launched on November 13, serves as a base for the Downtown Safety Team and Alternative Response Officers.
“Cornwall Centre is happy to make this space available to the Regina Police Service in support of the Downtown Safety Team,” said Katie Dockham, General Manager, Cornwall Centre. “We are dedicated to building a stronger, more vibrant downtown for everyone, and this new office is intended to serve the greater good of the community.”
Mall management positioned the room at a busy entrance with direct street access and dedicated stalls for police vehicles. The workspace is steps from the centre’s security office, allowing officers to coordinate quickly with on-site personnel. The objective is straightforward: officers can file notes and reports without leaving the district, which helps sustain a visible presence in the highest-footfall parts of the core.
Focus on presence and response in the core
The Cornwall Centre police office supports the city’s post-pandemic approach to downtown safety. Dockham said the Downtown Safety Team is now dedicated to the core for the entirety of a shift, addressing a historic coverage gap that emerged when teams were routinely pulled to calls in other parts of Regina.
“For years we were seeing a large gap in police coverage downtown,” Dockham said. “The Downtown Safety Team is now dedicated to the downtown when they are on shift. They are no longer being pulled to other calls outside of the core.” She added that the Alternative Response Officers program, modeled on a Saskatoon initiative, has expanded after a successful pilot. “They work in conjunction with the Downtown Safety Team, usually in groups of twos or fours,” she said. “The program has been a great success.”
The centre’s scale underpins the choice of location. Cornwall is a large, high-traffic property with a steady cadence of calls for service in cold-weather months. “We have a roughly 600,000 square foot public space,” Dockham said. “We were seeing a real need over the past couple of years, which uncovered the opportunity for the partnership to build a police office inside the centre.”
Turning a former guest services desk into a working room
The new workspace occupies the centre’s former guest services unit. The site offered several advantages: direct exposure to Saskatchewan Drive East, ease of arrival for patrol vehicles, and adjacency to the mall’s security base. “That space was quickly identified,” Dockham said. “It is very close to our security office, which they naturally spend quite a bit of time with, so it became an ideal site.”
Cornwall Centre emphasized that the room is not a public precinct. It is a small, functional workspace designed for report writing, coordination, and brief resets between calls. Officers remain on regular patrols in and around the mall and throughout the core. The arrangement is intended to maintain coverage and reduce the friction that comes from leaving the district for routine documentation.
Addressing perception and reality for shoppers and retailers
Management framed the move as part of a broader effort to stabilize and grow downtown retail. Dockham pointed to the distinction between discomfort and genuine risk, and to the role of visible service teams in shaping how customers feel about spending time in the core.
“We battle downtown safety perception challenges,” she said. “There is a big difference between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe. The new police office changes perception because people naturally feel safer when there is a visible service presence.”
She said the partnership also acts as a deterrent. “The presence of Alternative Response Officers and the partnership with our security team and the Downtown Safety Team acts as a deterrent for those who do not want to follow the properties code of conduct.”
Cornwall Centre framed the initiative as city-building rather than a mall-only solution. “This is meant for the greater good of the downtown,” Dockham said. “It is to keep officers in the downtown area. We had great buy-in from our neighbours and the Downtown Business Improvement District.”
Leasing momentum feeds the retail narrative
The centre tied the safety initiative to its recent and upcoming leasing activity. JD Sports opened and has “done nothing but boost productivity,” Dockham said, while Reitmans returned to the core after consolidating elsewhere in the city. For 2026, Cornwall confirmed Hot Topic, Unique Bunny, and MINISO.
“Progress is also emerging in large-format space. Urban Planet occupies the entire second level of the former Sears box, with Ardene on the lower level. Dockham said there is strong interest in about 30,000 square feet that remain. The former Hudson’s Bay department store, which closed earlier in 2025, also represents a major redevelopment opportunity in the core. Cornwall Centre confirmed there has been significant interest in the site from potential tenants and developers, though details have not yet been announced.”
Streetscape investments align with retail goals
The opening of the police workspace comes as the City of Regina advances multi-year streetscape and infrastructure work in the core, including upgrades along 11th Avenue and Dewdney Avenue. The combined effect supports both the journey and the destination: new sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, and transit shelters, paired with a stronger officer presence where people shop and work.
“It is part of a greater revitalization,” Dockham said. “One thing leads to another. You start to clean things up in one area and it can really change the perception of a potential visitor. We truly believe the future of downtown Regina is very bright. I see it returning to a place where people want to come, where we can get back to later night shopping hours.”
Operational details and expected outcomes
Cornwall Centre said expectations have been set for officers to use the workspace several times a day while maintaining a visible presence across the core. Because the room is not public-facing, shoppers will see minor changes in layout or signage at the entrance. The difference will be measured in efficiency: reports entered on site, coordination handled next to security, and shorter travel times between calls.
That efficiency translates to retail. For tenants, a calmer trading environment reduces disruptions and allows store teams to focus on customers. For shoppers, a steady, predictable presence eases decision-making about when and where to visit. The approach also gives the Regina Police Service clear metrics to track, including response times and incident categories, that can be assessed against pre-opening baselines.
Ownership support and national context
Cornwall Centre is owned by IMCO and managed by Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services. The firms supported the conversion of the former guest services unit and the operational framework with RPS. The partnership places Regina alongside other Canadian malls that have used in-centre workspaces to support patrol teams serving dense areas, though Cornwall said it is the first major shopping centre in Saskatchewan to adopt the model in this form.
The mall underscored that the Cornwall Centre police office is not a substitute for broader investment. Rather, it is one of several coordinated steps that together can shift shopper sentiment and retailer confidence. “We get to be a bigger voice for the little guys who do not necessarily get heard,” Dockham said. “The police office helps propel the other positive things, because people need to feel safe and protected in order to battle perceptions and want to come back downtown again.”
Launch timing and next steps
The ribbon-cutting took place the morning of November 13, 2025, with senior RPS leadership and members of the Downtown Safety Team and Alternative Response Officers in attendance. Cornwall’s management said the two-stage media approach, which began with hoarding and renderings and culminated in the opening, allowed stakeholders to see the project’s progression and intent.
While the workspace is operational, Cornwall plans to continue coordinating with the police service and downtown partners through the winter trading period, when foot traffic spikes and cold weather raises the stakes for quick, local responses. The centre said it will continue to emphasize clarity of roles between security, Alternative Response Officers, and sworn officers, and will keep reinforcing expectations around conduct for all visitors.
