PCL Constructors Canada Inc. is nearing the home stretch on construction of the 173,000-square-foot Quinte Consolidated Courthouse in Belleville, Ont. Designed with an eye towards the future, the civic building also is expected to help revitalize the city’s downtown core.
Being delivered on a design-build-finance-maintain basis by a consortium headed by Brookfield Partnerships Quinte, the new facility will consolidate the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice, currently operating in three locations in Belleville and one in Trenton.
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) is working with the Ministry of the Attorney General to develop the $247 million project. Ground was officially broken in July 2011 on the facility, designed by WZMH Architects to achieve LEED Silver. Substantial completion is scheduled for this spring.
PCL project manager Jordan Latimer said the project delivery method has been essential in minimizing potential roadblocks in construction “by pushing through the design development phase while working in conjunction with IO and the attorney general’s ministry to ensure that the requirements of the original output specification have been met.”
Participants from across the justice system were instrumental in helping the project architects anticipate the future needs of courthouse users, providing input into the design.
“As with virtually all construction projects, there are construction-related issues that arise,” Latimer said.
“However, thanks to the strong project team that has been assembled, from the consulting team headed by WZMH Architects to the subcontractors, these issues have been addressed expediently and efficiently.”
Brookfield Partnerships Quinte signed a fixed-price contract with the province in June 2011. The consortium represents a joint venture between Brookfield Financial Corp. and Morguard Corp. PCL is providing construction services.
With the building envelope substantially complete, Latimer said the focus now is on completion of interior finishes including, but not limited to, courtroom millwork, terrazzo flooring, carpet, vinyl wall coverings and stone wall tile.
“Coinciding with these activities is completion of mechanical and electrical fixtures/finishes and commissioning of the building systems.”
A large portion of the landscaping work was completed in the fall. The remaining exterior works are scheduled to resume in the next couple of weeks.
“Obviously on a project of this magnitude, the key to success is having all subcontractors working together towards the common goal of completing the work with quality and schedule in mind to provide the client with the best building possible,” Latimer said.
As part of the process, a number of subcontractors have assumed the responsibility of design-build partners for major scopes of work.
The list includes mechanical contractor Modern Niagara, electrical contractor Plan Group, millwork contractor Provincial Store Fixtures Ltd, audio-visual contractor Sight N’ Sound Design and detention systems contractor Steelgate Security Products Ltd.
In a joint release, IO and the attorney general’s ministry said one of the important design features of the new courthouse is its ability to adapt to future needs and a changing justice landscape, impacted by population growth, new legislation and new technologies.
Areas of the courthouse can be modified to accommodate changing caseload volumes and the latest court technology.
Features include courtrooms with moveable and removable public rails and seating, moveable and modular prisoner boxes and portable interpretation booths, all of which allow for a range of alternate courtroom setups.
The facility has been designed in such a way that extra courtrooms can be built in existing administrative space, to accommodate future growth.
Barrier-free courtrooms will accommodate users with physical disabilities. Nine of the 11 courtrooms will have a barrier-free dais. All jury boxes will have one barrier-free seating position to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
A number of green features have been incorporated in the project as well.
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