Headline News

Occupancy imminent at New Tecumseth’s new admin centre

February 29, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

New Tecumseth Town Council has received the latest report on the progress of the new town administration centre.

As of Feb. 26, the report notes that the project is nearing completion, with building occupancy imminent.

The project is close to installing the final furnishings.

Since the previous update last December, the contractor has completed most of the interior construction, including drywall, painting, and trim. There have been repairs to some damaged interior glass. The installation of the final interior doors and hardware has also been completed.

The Council Chamber has been completed as well, including installation of AV and other electronic equipment.

All existing landscaping and hardscaping is complete, and many of the interior signs are now installed.

Mechanical commissioning was completed on Jan. 25, 2024, verifying all mechanical equipment – heating/cooling units, refrigerant, boilers, pumps, fan coils, storage tanks and building automation systems – were installed as specified and operating as per manufacturers’ specifications.

On Feb. 1, integrated testing of all fire and life safety systems was completed successfully. The required TSAA inspection related to the elevator has also been completed, however final certification is still required.

The architect and building department have completed their occupancy site walk/review, with several minor items outstanding. It is anticipated that occupancy will be issued later this month. The timing of occupancy depends on the submission of all outstanding documentation by the contractor.

It is noted that the project team has identified many items both within the building and elsewhere on site that will need to be reviewed in the spring.

The project has a total of 92 construction change orders approved, which equates to a total value of roughly $1.52 million. Overall, the project remains within budget, as recently amended by Council.

The furniture purchase will be funded by the HEC Reserve, in accordance with Council Motion 2023-440.

As reported previously, there continues to be disputed costs surrounding some change orders and a formal delay claim. Legal and consulting expenses related to an adjudication process have been added to the project at a cost of approximately $317,000, with a couple of invoices still to be received.

As these were unbudgeted costs, it is recommended that these expenses be funded by the HEC Reserve.

Updates on this outstanding dispute will be provided to Council under a future closed session report, which will include any resulting financial impact.

Readers Comments (0)