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Civic Centre facelift expected to go a million dollars above tender

Oh, and they need six more months to finish the building's most impressive feature – the atrium surrounding the front entrance
Provenzano office flood
With window seals leaking and exterior panels ready to fall off the building, the Civic Centre definitely needed work. In this photo, taken on Aug. 27 of last year, Mayor Provenanzo shows a photo taken by his assistant Lisa Bell, depicting some of the water she found in his office after a partial ceiling collapse. David Helwig/SooToday

Already 18 months overdue and nowhere near completion, the recladding/reglazing project at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre is now expected to cost $8.2 million, according to the latest estimate from Don Elliott, the city's director of engineering.

That's $1.3 million more than the winning bid of $6.9 million submitted in April 2018 by Cy Rheault Construction Ltd.

And it's $1.6 million more than the original estimate from engineering consultant Morrison Hershfield, the estimate on which City Council agreed to initially proceed with the project.

Cy Rheault Construction is still on the job at the Civic Centre.

But a bonding company is now calling the shots.

And, City Council will learn tonight that the project is now expected to take another six months to complete.

Rheault, a general contractor based in Timmins, seemed like a good thing at the time it was awarded the contract.

It had successfully completed other big jobs in the city, including Algoma University's biosciences building and the PUC headquarters on Second Line.

We can thank our lucky stars the second-lowest bid wasn't accepted.

Bondfield Construction, which had built GFL Memorial Gardens, the Algoma Public Health headquarters at Sault College, and Superior Heights Collegiate and Vocational School, asked for $2.7 million more than Rheault to fix our leaky and dangerous Civic Centre.

But by April of last year, Bondfield was insolvent and had filed for protection from its creditors.

Mayor Christian Provenzano bristles when the terse language of headline-writers describes the recladding project as a 'facelift.'

Indeed, work underway on the 46-year-old waterfront landmark that serves as Sault Ste. Marie's City Hall is far more than cosmetic.

"The Civic Centre cladding project was required to properly protect the building from long-term degradation due to water penetration," Don Elliott says in a staff report to be presented at tonight's City Council meeting.

"Also, metal cladding supports had deteriorated to the extent that there was a danger of them falling off the building. Window seals had failed. Full replacement of the windows and cladding was recommended by Morrison Hershfield Engineering as part of the building conditions survey completed in 2014 under the city’s asset management efforts."

But from the beginning, the much-needed work on the Civic Centre moved slow as a Philip Glass opera.

"City and Morrison Hershfield staff have been dissatisfied with progress since the early stages of the project," Elliott says.

As SooToday reported on Aug. 1, 2019, Rheault fired its subcontractor responsible for the new windows and new cladding.

"This caused a major delay to the schedule as a new subcontractor had to be engaged and all field measurements and shop drawings must necessarily be re-produced by a new subcontractor," Elliott reports.

"Cy Rheault secured the services of two subcontractors, one for the new curtain wall and glazing, and the other for the white aluminum composite cladding."

"It was decided to meet with the bonding company and its representatives to decide how to move the project forward."

"A meeting was held in Sault Ste. Marie on January 27, 2020 with Cy Rheault, and all stakeholders. It was determined that the project would now be under fund control by the bonding company. Construction of the curtain wall and the installation of glazing and cladding has been proceeding since that time."

Elliott says the exterior work and the corresponding interior office fit-ups will be finished this year.

The building's majestic atrium, designed to visually link the halls of municipal government to the city's waterfront skyline, is quite another story.

Even details of the atrium's design still haven't been resolved.

"The atrium wall framing and glazing design and construction has not been resolved to date and will require an additional six months to complete," Elliott says.

"There are legitimate additional costs associated with this item due to the unforeseen nature of the existing curtain wall structure. The consultant is recommending replacement of the frame itself. It is staff’s position that the delays associated with this unforeseen item are the responsibility of the contractor."

While Elliott is dissatisfied with the pace of the project, no one's complaining about the quality of the work.

"City and Morrison Hershfield staff are pleased with quality of materials and workmanship in the project. There is no reason to believe the building will not be well served by the new exterior for many years," he says.

Elliott acknowledges that some of the cost overruns on the Civic Centre project are outside Rheault's responsibility.

"There are legitimate additional costs payable by the city unrelated to the noted delays and failures," he says.

Elliot says council approved an original budget of $7.7 million for the project, including $604,000 worth of changes from Rheault's tender bid.

"There were several change orders required for unforeseen additional work. That is common in a retrofit of this nature. There was no contingency sum in the contract; however, finance staff had included a five percent ($356,000) contingency sum."

Tonight, Elliott will be asking for an additional $356,000 to complete the construction work, plus up to $122,000 for extra engineering fees 

"The original completion date was May 29, 2019. The excessive schedule overrun has resulted in a substantial increase in engineering inspection and contract administration services fees. It is staff’s position that much of this should be recoverable under the bond," he says.

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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