Pandemic inflation blamed as costs for Newmarket's Mulock Park project skyrocket

Taxpayers not on hook for ballooning costs of 'legacy park,' town says

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 17, 2023
Lisa Queen

Inflation resulting from the pandemic is sending the cost of the Mulock Park project skyrocketing.

The cost to build the park has ballooned to $48 million, up from $40 million.

Meanwhile, price tags for renovating the historic Mulock House and for parking on the hydro corridor north of the property, which the town had not previously costed out, are coming in an estimated 20 to 30 per cent more than if the project had been completed before the pandemic.

The budget for Mulock House is now set at $14.3 million, with parking set at $3.2 million.

About $4 million has been cut by changing things like lighting and surface finishes, with the town saying it won’t affect the quality of the project at the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Mulock Drive.

The overall budget for the project is now pegged at $65.5 million.

The additional costs won’t come from taxpayers.

Instead, they will be covered by reserve accounts, development charges, which are the fees on new construction, and from the developer of the large Shining Hill subdivision west of Yonge Street.

As part of a landmark deal signed with the town a year ago, Shining Hill agreed to give the town $16 million for the Mulock House heritage fund, an environmental fund, the town’s public art fund and multi-use paths and active transportation.

Construction of the park will begin this summer, with the project expected to open in 2025.

The higher costs are a result of construction costs jumping during the pandemic, project manager Bill White, said during a town budget meeting Feb. 13.

Non-residential construction costs have escalated by approximately 30 per cent since the Mulock Park budget was first put forward in April 2021, he said.

While the town has worked “very hard” to keep increasing costs under control, the reality is market impacts are “beyond the town’s control,” White said, adding the project will be a "legacy park" for generations to come.

Mayor John Taylor agreed.

“Certainly, from conversations at the region and with other municipalities, the highly unusual inflationary impact of the last two years is being dealt with across Canada,” he said.