King Township set to build municipal office after delay

YorkRegion.com
Aug. 11, 2017
Simon Martin

It looks like King Township is finally getting moving on the construction of a new municipal centre at 2585 King Rd. after King Township council approved the selection of the building contractor at a special meeting on Aug. 9.

“This is fantastic news,” Mayor Steve Pellegrini said. “We’re about to build a new municipal centre which will serve King residents for many years to come.”

Pellegrini noted that the increased space will allow staff to provide better customer service and add much needed public-use areas. These will include a larger council chamber and multi-use gymnasium/event space. A York regional police (YRP) substation will also be part of the new centre. “A great deal of time and effort went into getting the project to this point,” Pellegrini said. “We wanted to build a municipal centre the residents of King expect and deserve, while doing it in a financially responsible way. I’m very pleased the tender to construct it came in within budget.”

The cost of the project will be financed using infrastructure and development charge reserves and the proceeds of the sale of the current property at 2075 King Rd. YRP will also make a capital contribution and sign a lease for its space. The two-storey building will be more than 46,000 square feet, which includes 6,000 square feet for the gymnasium and 3,000 square feet for the police substation.

Many sustainability features are planned for the building and surrounding area. These include an electric vehicle charging station, a geothermal heating and cooling loop system, reforestation of some of the land and incorporating sustainable building materials and mechanical systems in the building. Construction is estimated to take roughly 12 months, pointing to a completion date of late summer/early fall of 2018.

When the township first announced the $11.3-million construction project at 2585 King Rd. last year, it expected the site to be ready for occupancy by December 2017. That timeline has was shelved as the township needed to amend its official plan after Cam Milani took the township to the Ontario Municipal Board earlier this year.