Long-awaited addition to York Region headquarters is complete

Originally proposed in 2005, the Annex in Newmarket is finally complete

Newmarkettoday.ca
Feb. 11, 2021
After more than 15 years of work and planning, York Region's massive addition to its headquarters in Newmarket is finally finished.

"The York Region facility at the corner of Yonge and Eagle streets in the Town of Newmarket is complete and will soon provide residents with better access to community, health and court services from one central location," the region announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Work on the York Region Administrative Centre Annex began in 2005 when the idea for the new office building first appeared as a recommendation in the Accommodation Master Plan as a way to satisfy the region's need for more office space as its operations continued to grow.

When the project was ready to begin construction, regional council approved a budget of $212 million, but it expects to recoup $26 million over the next 30 years by eliminating the need for satellite offices around Newmarket.

Contractor EllisDon was awarded the contract to construct the building in 2016, and they broke ground at the site in February 2017.

The project was originally expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2020 and was on schedule at the end of 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The completed 422,000-square-foot facility will allow York Region to bring several different services in one place:

Provincial Offences Courts
Public Health Clinics
Social Services
Children's Services
Ontario Works
Housing Services
York Small Business Enterprise Centre
Access York Contact Centre

Due to the pandemic, only select services are available at this facility, including the reception desk of the Access York Contact Centre and front counter services for Court Operations and Prosecutions, which moved from its previous location at the Tannery Mall.

Also open to the public by appointment only are some public health clinics. For information on when additional regional programs and in-person services will resume, visit york.ca/COVID19

Designed by WZMH Architects, the new annex is attached to York Region's existing headquarters via an enclosed, climate-controlled pedestrian bridge. It is also fully accessible and built to be energy efficient to achieve a Leadership in Energy Efficient Design silver designation and has other environmentally conscious elements such as green roofs and a living wall.

Last November, regional council also decided to install electric vehicle charging stations at the administrative annex, as part of a project to install them at many of its buildings. These chargers will be available for the public to use.