The new Chatham-Kent Community Hub in downtown Chatham is a go.
At its Oct. 20 meeting, municipal council voted 14-4 to accept a tender from Fortis Construction Group Inc. – despite a last-ditch effort from Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey to delay the decision.
Storey’s lengthy motion, which failed 14-4, sought to gather more numbers about future lifecycle costs of the hub. She cited the fact that costs could negatively harm rural services such as C-K rural libraries.
“Right now, I still feel like we don’t have the full picture,” Storey said in her remarks.
However, those worries were laid to rest by administration following repeated questions from members of council.
Approval of the tender caps two years of preparatory work, paving the way for construction to begin this December. The new hub will repurpose the old Sears building to combine the Chatham library, the Chatham Museum and the C-K Civic Centre under one roof.
Completion of the project is slated for 2028.
The Fortis bid of $39.2 million (including HST) came in under budget from the original estimated of just under $43 million. Overall, the budget for the project is $52.8 million, including $7 million in contingency funds, with some funds built in for tariff-related expenses.
We’ll have all the details in the Oct. 30 Chatham Voice.
