Roof leaks put new Edmonton police campus year behind schedule
Natasha Riebe | CBC News | Posted: July 19, 2019 9:31 PM | Last Updated: July 19, 2019
City investigating cause of roof problems on $107M EPS Northwest Campus
Edmonton's new police station and operations facility won't open as scheduled this year, after engineers discovered leaks in the roof, city officials said Friday.
Construction on the $107-million Edmonton Police Service Northwest Campus started in 2016 is complete but "issues" with the roof were discovered toward the end of construction, the city said in a news release.
The building is on 127th Street north of Anthony Henday Drive. It is being built by PCL Construction Management.
It had been slated to go into service early this year but is now forecast to be open in the first half of 2020, pending results of an investigation that is underway.
Jesse Banford, the city's director of facility infrastructure delivery, said the roof is being tested in a systematic approach to figure out what's causing the leaks.
"It's more than 10 spots, and so we're looking to pinpoint exactly where they are," Banford told reporters Friday.
The metal roof measures nearly three acres in size.
Banford said crews are looking at the design and methods of construction, both in the mechanical and structural parts of the building.
Leaks started in December
Banford said the city started to notice leaks during the freeze-thaw period, starting last December.
The project is on budget and the city is holding back payment until the building is finished.
Police were supposed to start moving into the building the first part of this year.
Chad Tawfik, acting deputy EPS chief, said the delay will affect training as well as operations at the divisional station and the investigation management and approval centre.
"It does have some impacts but we have to be adjustable and flexible to make it work," Tawfik said.
He said police will continue to do business as usual at other stations but the delay means the northwest division still doesn't have a front counter for the public. There is not a front counter at the station currently used.
"It'd be much better once that facility is open for us."
Teeple Architects, the company that designed the Stanley A. Milner library, designed the campus building.
It has five parts, serving as the new Northwest Division Station, an arrest-processing facility, information management and approval centre, a recruit centre and vehicle maintenance area.
The building, approved in 2012, is designed to meet LEED Silver requirements. The city has managed its design and construction.
It is in Ward 3, represented by Coun. Jon Dziadyk.
Dziadyk declined comment Friday, saying he didn't have anything extra to add.
Friday's announcement marked the second time this week the city has revealed a delay in a major project because of construction problems.
Thursday, the city said the pool and fountain in front of city hall, scheduled to open by the end of the summer, is now projected to open in October.