Edmonton city council heard Wednesday that construction work being done on the Stanley A. Milner Library downtown has uncovered some unexpected problems.
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Crews found issues with the foundation, mechanical systems, rebar and fire suppression systems.
“We found more deterioration in… our roof floor slabs where there was some exposed rebar,” deputy city manager Adam Laughlin said. “We did an assessment on the long-term life of [the mechanical and electrical] systems and, for the extended life of the facility, we identified that we should be upgrading those. We also identified significant deterioration on the roof.”
Currently, there is no cost estimate for the added problems; it is being negotiated with the contractor.
The bottom line is that the library renovation will cost more than the $69 million that was budgeted.
“I’ve renovated a couple of kitchens in old houses in my day and this is exactly what happens when you open up a 50-year-old wall,” Mayor Don Iveson said. “You find stuff in there that does not make sense.
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“We had a contingency on this project for some smaller things to emerge because you’d expect that but some very, very significant things have emerged.”
Councillors were told the project was still on time and scheduled to open in 2020.
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Renderings of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library are released before construction begins on the facility in Jan. 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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Renderings of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library are released before construction begins on the facility in Jan. 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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Renderings of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library are released before construction begins on the facility in Jan. 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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Renderings of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library are released before construction begins on the facility in Jan. 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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Renderings of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library are released before construction begins on the facility in Jan. 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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A rendering of Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library which goes under construction in January 2017.
Edmonton Public Library, Credit
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Proposed drawing of Stanley A. Milner Library revitalization
Edmonton Public Library
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Proposed drawing of Stanley A. Milner Library revitalization
Edmonton Public Library
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Proposed drawing of Stanley A. Milner Library revitalization
Edmonton Public Library
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Designs of the Stanley A. Milner Library revitilization, May 8, 2014
Courtesy: Teeple Architects and Architecture Arndt Tkalcic Bengert
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Designs of the Stanley A. Milner Library revitilization, May 8, 2014
Courtesy: Teeple Architects and Architecture Arndt Tkalcic Bengert
City administration said it should be able to find the extra money needed from existing budgets. The library also said it will find some money to help with the added work needed, however no dollar amount was provided.
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“We’ve known it’s been a tight budget all along so we’ve done some strategic things to mitigate the funding challenges,” Edmonton Public Library CEO Pilar Martinez said.
“What we would have done with those funds would have been more enhanced features that now have to go to capital that’s just part of the regular building.”
City council approved $62.5 million for the revitalization of the downtown library in 2014, with $52.5 million coming from the city and $10 million coming from community support and fundraising.
“We’re still going to get a signature downtown library for a fraction of the cost of what Calgary’s spending to build a new one,” the mayor said.
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The library first opened in 1967 and was renamed to Stanley A. Milner in 1996.
“We are going to be building this iconic building right on Churchill Square,” Councillor Michael Oshry said. “We’ve got to make sure we do this right. It’s going to be a feature for our city.”