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“The demand isn’t keeping up,” she said.

“We can’t control the market,” Bzdel added. “It really does come down to the private market to determine what is attractive for those consumers and then build it.”

Gord Archibald, CEO of the Association of Regina Realtors, suspects many homebuyers simply prefer new neighbourhoods. They want bigger houses, expansive lawns, suburban schools and the chance to “put their stamp” on a brand-new home.

He said the target always seemed “challenging.”

“I think it’s aggressive to anticipate that 30 per cent of buyers would want to look at infill,” he said.

Bzdel said the city is working on turning things around. She expects to see a study on underused land come out this year. It should lay out strategies for how to promote development on surface parking lots, old institutional buildings and other underused areas. She’s also looking forward to upcoming zoning bylaw changes.

“These projects aren’t an instantaneous fix,” she said. “But we have to understand what the problem is before we know how to fix it.

“We are going to continue to strive to meet that goal.”

That wasn’t the only development target the city missed. Regina’s Official Community Plan also calls for 10,000 more residents in the city centre. In 2017, only 84 additional residences went up in the city centre.

The annual report anticipates better results once the rail yard and the old Taylor Field site are developed.

New neighbourhoods are also sorely lacking in trees, the report suggests. The city is falling further behind on a target meant to preserve Regina’s forest canopy.

The goal is one tree for every person. In 2016, there were 0.81 trees for each Regina resident. This year, there were 0.76. It’s still too early to track progress on a final goal promoting density in new neighbourhoods, according to the report.

awhite-crummey@postmedia.com