Project management tab totals $1M for Georgina's MURC, Civic Centre and Link

Yorkregion.com
September 24, 2018
Heidi Riedner

Hiring project management firms for the MURC, new Civic Centre and next phases of The Link will cost the town $1 million after contracts were unanimously approved by council Sept. 12.

Half of that -- $543,653 excluding taxes -- will go to Mississauga-based Colliers Project Leaders Inc. to manage all aspects of pre-design and construction of the estimated $35-million Multi-Use Recreation Complex (MURC) facility during the next five years, as reported in The Advocate Sept. 20.

Toronto-based CBRE Limited will pocket $342,665.29 to manage the construction of a new administrative building on the current Civic Centre property.

That represents about 1.9 per cent of the project’s total estimated $25 million cost and leaves a little over $1.1 million in the $1.5 million allocated in the town’s 2018 budget for architectural and design costs.

Numerous factors, including the strength of CBRE’s project manager and design transition, as well as overall knowledge of new work environments made its bid “far superior” to other proponents, the town’s manager of capital initiatives, Terry Alyman, said in response to potential cost savings being raised from having Colliers -- who also bid on the contract -- manage both projects.

Examining private partnerships for the facility was not part of the scope of the contract, but acting CAO Dave Reddon said the new Civic Centre will be built with growth in mind so any “redundant” space that may be empty for a period of time could be utilized by groups such as the Region of York or MPAC for satellite offices.

While there is no construction schedule in place, the new Civic Centre is expected to take two years to build and be completed by 2021.

Recommendations regarding either the demolition or repurposing of the current building does not fall under the contract and will therefore come back to council in a future staff report.

Work on phases 2 and 3 of The Link in Sutton will move forward now that +VG Architects of Brantford was awarded a $152,000 contract to complete design specs for renovations, as well as oversee a construction management firm that will be hired to complete the work.

The fact that groups such as the region’s community health services branch, Community Living Georgina and Sutton Seniors club are already lined up for space in both phases speaks to the success of the community hub concept of the Link's first phase, Alyman said.

Phase 1 is home to The Georgina Food Pantry, GTTI’s food programming, Routes, Hospice Georgina, Georgina Chamber of Commerce, Jericho Youth Services (fall 2018) and the Farmers Market.

Bringing the vision of a community hub that delivers programs and services focused on health and wellness, arts and culture, youth engagement, recreation and job training to fruition “is something that both this council and previous council should be very proud of” Mayor Margaret Quirk said.

It was not, however, without significant growing pains, she acknowledged.

The Link has “cost a lot of money” and has been “a bumpy ride at times”.

That included numerous budget overruns, change orders, unexpected renovations and $933,000 in yanked federal funding as a result of missed deadlines.