City searching for ways to make up $11.5M shortfall for projects at Piers 5-7
Dan Taekema | CBC News | Posted: September 9, 2019 10:15 PM | Last Updated: September 10, 2019
Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins called the shortfall a 'huge concern'
Construction on the "crown jewel" of Hamilton's West Harbour redevelopment hasn't even begun, but it's already facing a $11.5 million shortfall.
Phase 1 construction at Piers 5,6 and 7 is meant to build a boardwalk, new shoreline and fish habitat, but the city's West Harbour Development Sub-Committee heard Monday that the actual cost of turning the site into a public space will be millions more than expected.
"The design and engineering required to build the boardwalk is much more significant than was originally anticipated," explained Gavin Norman, manager of the Waterfront Development Office.
Piers 5-7 make up a narrow strip between Pier 4 Park and the residential and public space projects planned for Pier 8. The idea is to offer public access to parts of the waterfront that were only open to private groups such as members of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in the past.
Norman said soft soil on the shoreline means the planned boardwalk will have to support itself in the water, noting the project is "very intricate" and involves 900 metres of shoreline that zigzag around a small area with public parks placed around it.
"We don't do this work often," Norman explained, adding the city is good at estimating costs for things like roads or sewers that are replaced regularly, but parks —especially near the water— often require different materials and are more complicated.
As for the public priorities brought up during community consultations or the expectations created by glossy mockups of Pier 8 showing what Hamilton's waterfront of the future could look like, Norman said the difference in cost could present some tough choices.
"If you want it to look like this … and I think everyone likes the plan as we see it — it's going to cost more than we thought in 2010," he said.
"We could reevaluate what we expect to see there. But I think what we heard from council today was that the plan has been presented and approved to date [so] we should figure out a way to deliver it and I think that's what we're going to do."
Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins described the $11.5 million shortfall as a "huge concern."
The plan itself is a decade old, he pointed out, meaning it's not unreasonable to see some cost escalation, but a number that size is worrying.
Collins said given the size of the overall budget for the project, it's unlikely it will be expanded. That means the city will have to take another look at its plans for ways to cut costs.
Among the cuts they could consider, he said, would be a proposed underground parking garage at Bayview Park, which Norman noted is too small for the 500-600 spaces the city will need anyway.
One thing Collins says he's unwilling to see scaled down is public space.
"This is the area most people agree on is the people place on the waterfront for years to come. I'm not certain shortchanging this component of the plan is best," he explained.
But pulling that off might mean tempering expectations elsewhere.
"I think there's room for sober second though for parts of the plan," said Collins, adding proposed upgrades to Pier 4 Park and Bayfront Park, for example, could wait.
"I think there's room for us to come up with some savings that don't sacrifice some of the best parts of the plan."
To date the capital budget for West Harbour Initiatives totals about $96 million for 32 projects, according to a report received by the sub-committee. Another $70 million is required to finish the plan in the years 2020-2024 — more than half of which the report says will be used to build a new parking garage and a new police station at Macassa Bay.
Meanwhile, work on Pier 8 continues, though the report notes capital works there are expected to cost approximately five per cent more than original estimates.
The report pointed to several "unanticipated events" in 2018 that strained resources and caused months of delays, including the floating breakwall that was damaged by a storm and "record high water levels in 2019."
As for the future of Piers 5,6 and 7, the sub-committee directed staff to look at design changes, deferring projects and any other ways to make up for the shortfall and report back to them at their next meeting.