Cogswell District construction to come in under budget, on time

The Cogswell District redevelopment in downtown Halifax is on schedule to finish next year and will actually come in under budget despite millions in unexpected costs.

On Tuesday, Halifax councillors received an update on the project, which will create a new 6.5-hectare neighbourhood connecting the downtown with the city's north end and waterfront.

Project manager Donna Davis said crews are about two-thirds of the way through construction, and all of the ramps and the major retaining wall in front of Casino Nova Scotia have now come down.

Councillors approved Davis's request for about $15 million in new money to cross the finish line, which is needed due to unexpected costs like disposing of unsuitable soils and breaking trench rock.

But Davis said funds coming from utilities like Halifax Water as part of cost-share agreements for the project will cover that — and actually lower the budget.

"I'm coming with the left hand saying 'got more costs,' coming with the right hand saying 'but we've got some money to offset that,'" Davis told councillors.

Those offsets, including work done for third parties like the Department of National Defence and Bell Aliant, will add up to about $25 million.

That will bring down the net project budget by about $10 million, leaving Halifax with a final cost of about $113 million compared to the original price tag of $122.6 million.

"To see that, in fact, the net cost of this project has dropped by a substantial amount, the amount of debt we'll have to take on while we're waiting to sell the lots has dropped — that is a really good news story for this city," area Coun. Waye Mason, who is running for mayor, said Tuesday.

The cost of a new interactive fountain for the future Granville Park near Upper Water Street has also gone up slightly from $1.4 million to $2 million. Its underground services have been installed and staff will soon begin constructing the fountain itself.

Renderings show the fountain will take the shape of three breaching whales, spouting mists.

"This is going to provide a very important cooling station for residents and visitors, which will become even more important as we experience much higher temperatures in the summertime," Davis said.

About $625,000 of the new money will also go toward temporary public washrooms to serve the park and Granville Mall until permanent ones are built in later phases of the development.

"This is exceptional," said Coun. Pam Lovelace, who is also running for mayor. "We want this to be a family, community space, and that includes public washrooms."

Most of the contaminated soil was dumped and compacted at a municipally owned plot of land in Ragged Lake Business Park, which staff said has actually "enhanced" the lot's layout and market value. The staff report said that saved about $8 million in soil mitigation.

But Coun. Patty Cuttell said she was concerned about any contaminated soil being used close to the Ragged Lake watershed.

Davis said while they did find background minerals or metals like manganese, lead and arsenic, the levels would be very low in the industrial-grade soil that was trucked to Ragged Lake.

"We have to track every load, what its condition is and where it's going," Davis said, adding that the province's Environment Department signed off on the quality of soil on the site.

The section of Barrington Street between Duke Street and the new roundabout near Nora Bernard Street is on track to reopen in December, with a new Scotia Square transit hub in place.

The project is on track to hit its expected finish date of December 2025, while final landscaping will likely take place in the spring of 2026, after which construction of buildings can begin. The neighbourhood will have new streets, multiple parks and enough living space for around 5,000 people.