Guelph's police headquarters delayed, cost to finish project unknown
City of Guelph cut ties with company in charge of renovating police service headquarters
The City of Guelph is cutting ties with the company tasked with renovating the Guelph Police Service's headquarters — a project that was supposed to be completed more than one year ago.
The city told the general contractor it was ending its involvement late last month after shortcomings with the project, according to Kealy Dedman, the city's deputy chief administrative officer of infrastructure, development and enterprise.
"The deficiencies were mostly related to additions that weren't built to contracted standards, and they haven't been corrected at this point in time," said Dedman.
Jasper Construction had been managing the $34.1-million renovation project.
In a report to city council at the end of May, city staff said the company spent its budget by the end of February and "with the remaining five months of construction, the project will exceed the budget due to the extent of unexpected conditions that are part of renovating an aged building."
Cost to taxpayers unclear
Dedman says shortcomings have been documented throughout the construction process, which began in 2016.
Council voted in 2014 to renovate the current headquarters, which was built in 1960 and retrofitted in 1989.
The cost to complete work isn't known at this point, nor is an updated timeline on when the project will be finished, according to Dedman. Taxpayer dollars are funding more than 50 per cent of the project's cost.
"We've followed all of our contractual obligations throughout the process to negotiate with the general contractor to address the concerns we have around the delays and deficiencies," said Dedman.
The City is now working with a bonding agent to bring in new project management to complete the remaining work. The scope of the renovation includes gutting and rebuilding the inside of the existing building and building two new wings.
According to a project update from March, 97 per cent of the construction work is completed and 96 per cent of the total approved budget has been spent.
Jasper Construction has not responded to CBC's request for comment.
Track record of delays, money problems
The Guelph Police Headquarters isn't the first project the company has had issues with when it comes to delays and money.
East Lions Community Centre in London, Ont. is another project the company has been working on. Like the Guelph Police Headquarters, it was originally slated for completion in spring of 2019, but the work hasn't been finished yet.
Earlier this year, CBC News reported the company has been hit with four liens by sub-contractors on the community centre, alleging partial non-payment for materials and services.
"I have seen and read the coverage regarding other large scale municipal and educational construction projects in both London and Sarnia and I too am quite concerned," said Cam Guthrie, the mayor of Guelph, in a statement to CBC News.