Preliminary costs to redevelop police station come in $14 million over budget

Article content

After preliminary costs for a redeveloped police station came in $14 million higher than the approved budget for the project, investigation is underway to find alternatives.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Preliminary costs to redevelop police station come in $14 million over budget Back to video

Last November, city council, which owns the police headquarters on Elgin Street, approved, at a cost of $39 million, an expansion of the building that would add about 2,300 square metres in space. But a recent pre-design consultant report set the cost estimate for the plan at $53.6 million.

For comparison, the consultant also provided an alternative strategy in which the existing police station would be demolished and rebuilt. That would cost about $52.3 million.

Because of the significant discrepancy between the cost estimates and the approved budget, city staff directed the consultants to explore more options.

They include:

• A reduced-scope renovation/expansion that includes a new 2,800-square-metre, two-storey block, a new 900-square -metre one-storey garage block; and a new indoor firing range. Cost: $41.4 million, or $36.1 million without the firing range.
• A new building on another available site. Cost: $52.3 million, or $42.8 million without a firing range.
• Decentralization, with split operations and no firing range. Keeps all police functions and operations at Elgin Street and develops a future second location for patrol, community service and local investigation services. Cost: $22-30 million, with no firing range.

At a meeting this week, city council’s planning committee unanimously directed city staff to prepare a report with a comprehensive analysis of the three alternatives.

A fourth option, which would involve the construction of a new police building at the downtown Market Street Parkade at a cost of $41 million to $46 million, was eliminated because it would mean tearing down half of the parking garage and result in substantial repair work to the remaining structure and a loss of parking for residents.

A police station task force that includes police board chair Mark Littell and councillors Dan McCreary, Greg Martin and Jan Vanderstelt, is also exploring additional locations for the police headquaters, including some downtown.

“The committee is determined to produce a building which the community can very proud of, which the community can afford, and which will satisfy the needs of our tenant, the Brantford Police,” said McCreary.

He said the task force will consider the city’s growth and recent changes in police practices for a headquarters that can serve Brantford for the next 25 to 30 years.

The current building, which was constructed in 1991 and expanded in 2006, is “undersized, and most functions are operating in cramped and unsuitable conditions, and many components and systems are reaching the end of their service life,” said a report from Inderjit Hans, Brantford’s general manager of public works.

Hans said the intent of exploring alternatives for the building expansion are to “bring the cost back down into what was budgeted for.”

“We want to make sure all the options are being very thoroughly canvassed, including if it’s possible to do something in the downtown,” said Mayor Kevin Davis. “But I hope the process isn’t dragged out too long.”

Coun.  John Sless said he has concerns “the longer this is dragged out, more zeros are going to be added to the price tag.”

With cost overruns on building the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre from 2011 to 2013 in mind, McCreary said the task force will “move forward in a judicious fashion, not a fast fashion.” Originally estimated at $39 million, the Gretzky centre project ended up costing about $64 million.

“If I recall what ‘quickly’ got us at the Gretzky centre, it was building while designing and that was very expensive,” said McCreary.

Martin said he feels the option that will eventually get the go-ahead will be expanding the police headquarters at the existing site on land purchased from its neighbour – Enbridge Gas, ensuring there is room for further expansion in the future. In addition, beat patrol officers, special constables and Laurier Brantford’s security could all work together from the university’s existing security office.