Waterloo police building reno gets go-ahead
At its February 17 meeting, Waterloo Regional Council accepted a bid of $44.5 million from Melloul-Blamey Construction for the renovation of the former provincial courthouse building at 200 Frederick Street in Kitchener. The work will transform the building into a new facility for Waterloo Regional Police Service.
The project has been on the region’s books since 2018, and is needed to relieve over-capacity issues at the current central division building at 134 Frederick Street.
Councillors said at the meeting that the region’s ability to forge ahead with a capital project of this magnitude, given budget constraints created by the COVID-19 pandemic, was the result of good planning.
"Many other municipalities have not been able to continue with their capital budgets because of some of the negative impacts of COVID-19," said Coun. Sean Strickland. "This is a strong vote of confidence in the community and a reflection of good fiscal management."
At the meeting, council revealed that it received four bids for the project. The three lowest were within $200,000 of each other—less than a quarter percent of the total project budget.
The renovation work includes public spaces, office, meeting rooms, parking facilities and detention facilities, and is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification.
The project is expected to be funded through property taxes and development charges over a 20-year period. Construction is expected to start at the end of this month and conclude by July 2022.