Perth County council watched a presentation on the new, pricey design of the 5 Huron renovation.
Consultant Mayhew provided an updated budget that was more than double the previously approved budget.
The renovation and connecting link project proposes an addition to the Perth County courthouse, connecting it with what is now Stratford’s Service Ontario.
Robert Ritz of Ritz Architecture presented the design, noting a few key design decisions. The courthouse and 5 Huron are very different buildings, so instead of creating a link that is similar to the courthouse or similar to 5 Huron, they are creating a glass connection in what Ritz called the TD tower concept.
Inside will boast more workstations, offices, and washrooms.
County council had previously approved a budget of $2.1 million. The new budget presented by Mayhew, a Richmond Hill, Ont. based company, was $4.8 million.
There are a number of reasons for the increase. A report provided to council notes that the project has expanded to include drainage, access/egress, parking lot/walkways, security, and use of existing utilities.
Additionally, the square footage increase (from 10,000 to 11,062 square feet), additional site work identified, new HVAC, and the reworking of parking are factors in the increase.
Time, inflation, the increase of construction costs, and the 25 per cent contingency imposed are market factors.
Paul Bradshaw, vice-president of Mayhew, acknowledged that the new budget is not what council wanted to see.
“The numbers, they’re not pretty,” Bradshaw said. “But they are real numbers. They’re reality and we can justify those numbers as to where we are right now.”
He later clarified that they can provide the county with a line-by-line breakdown of costs.
Golnar Raissi of Mayhew also added that there are chances to lower the cost as the project gets underway.
After some discussion over the higher cost, county council approved the design and voted to move forward with the project. Staff were directed to prepare permit drawings and tender the project.
As Warden Jim Aitcheson said, there are still many steps until the project is completed.
“This has a 25 per cent contingency built into it. That is $1.2 million in my math. That 4.8 could become 3.6 (million) and that’s all depending on what happens in the next six months … we really honestly don’t make a final decision until the tender prices come back … I think we just have to get it out to tender, get some numbers back and then you have an actual figure to deal with.”
