Council will get an update tonight on 395 ongoing and upcoming capital projects approved since 2019.
The original price tag for all but two of the projects was $331 million, but the list has since gotten longer and more expensive.
The budget for those projects rose to $335 million this year, due in part to two new projects added this spring coupled with an estimated 1.2 per cent cost increase driven by inflationary pressures.
New to the list is a $150,000 placemaking study and pilot project that involves a committee agreeing on a concept to support "the development and transformation of the city's core areas" and installing whatever that concept is in a public space.
The city has also taken on ownership and is renovating the Kin Canada building on Rogers Drive in Riverside Park with a budget of $66,700. The space will be used as an event facility once the work inside is completed.
Among the projects nearing completion is the conversion of 4,177 existing non-standard and decorative post top lights to LED lights.
Decorative lighting along King Street in Preston is expected to be completed by mid-summer while the rest is expected to be completed by the fall.
Also planned this year are two playground replacements, Red Wildfong Park and Otto Klotz Park, both of which could go ahead as early as this fall if a vendor gets approved this summer. The new playground in Angewood Park should be open by the end of the month.
Repairs to the stone masonry and additional repairs of the timber seating at the Mill Race Park amphitheatre should be completed by the fall.
Two small features to address operational concerns at the Riverside Park Skatepark are nearing completion.
Also set to add to the summer fun, with opening day scheduled for late July, is the refurbished Ed Newland Pool. The work combined the two pools into one with beach entry, pool liner replacement and improved water quality.
Three elevator refurbishment projects have either been completed or are underway to improve accessibility. The Allan Reuter Centre elevator project is complete while new elevators at the David Durward Centre and the Cambridge Centre for the Arts should be completed by December.
Fire Station 1, the Allan Reuter Centre, the Preston Scout House, New Hope Cemetery, and the Ferguson Homestead are all getting new roofs this year.
Big spend sports facilities on track to open this fall include the $12 million Fountain Street Soccer Complex, with full completion expected late fall of 2023, and the Cambridge Sports Park expansion, which aims to have sticks on the ice in newly renovated four-pad facility in September.
That project hasn't been without its challenges, however. Buckingham Sports provided an update to staff recently that the prefab building was delayed and there have been some other minor construction challenges on site. A contingency plan is in place to keep user groups playing if there are any unexpected delays before the hockey season begins.
Construction is underway on five city streets, but one project that was expected to begin this year continues to experience delays.
The $10.8 million plan to reconstruct the Beverly Street underpass with a pedestrian tunnel is still in CP Rail's court awaiting a commitment on a construction agreement.
Meantime, work to replace a 50-year-old watermain on Hespeler Road, north of Sheldon Drive, is underway.
All current projects and the construction schedule can be viewed on the city's Current Projects website.
City involvement in regional road projects includes Phase 2 of the Dundas Street reconstruction, between Beverly Street and Hespeler Road, and replacement of the Water Street watermain, from Ainslie Street to Simcoe Street, to support the redevelopment of the Cambridge Mill.
Delayed last year, that project is expected move forward in late summer 2023.
Within City Hall, a $254,500 project to overhaul the 15 year old living green wall will go ahead next week after being delayed for a year. Work, expected to wrap up by Aug. 31, will include replacing all of the plants and the structure, which is obsolete and can’t be repaired.
Aside from being a key feature of City Hall, the green wall forms part of the building’s HVAC system and provides humidity and additional air filtration to the building, according to the maintenance contractor hired to take care of it.
Work is complete on the Service Cambridge counter extension. Staff will move in over the coming weeks.
Staff also successfully procured a new external freezer for the Humane Society Moisture Improvement project and are awaiting delivery. A contractor has been confirmed for the removal of old freezer and remedial work of the area once the new freezer is installed next month
The biggest projects have yet to start.
Preston Auditorium expansion and design
Last July, council approved a plan to expand the Preston Auditorium, directing staff to complete the detailed design at a total project budget of about $29 million. Detailed design and detailed cost estimates are underway, including coordination with key facility user groups.
A tender for the work is taking bids now with demolition and construction expected to start late summer or early fall.
New recreation complex, joint campus school, Idea Exchange
In May, council approved the conceptual design and budget for the $108 million facility in the city's southeast end. It will feature a 10-lane, 25-metre swimming pool, warm leisure pool, seating for 150 spectators, a gymnasium with courts built to International Basketball Federation standards, a three-lane 180 metre running track and an Idea Exchange library.
The city says the project team is working on schematic design and resuming consultation with stakeholders as it works toward breaking ground sometime next summer.
In the meantime, the city is hoping it can deliver a net-zero building and has applied to Infrastructure Canada's Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) grant to fund the necessary upgrades.
The project team is also in talks with the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) and Idea Exchange to coordinate the design of the Joint-Use Campus, including terms of reference for joint use agreements between the project partners.
Soper Park amenity
The design of a $1.76 million play area to replace the Kinsmen Pool, including a splash pad, playground and pickleball courts is proceeding after council direction was provided in February. It will incorporate features and create space for the possibility the city will rebuild an outdoor pool there as early as 2025.
Dickson Stadium
The $1.5 million renovation of the heritage grandstand has a building permit and work will go ahead once a tender is accepted. Fall Fair organizers are already planning a contingency and will set up temporary bleachers in front of the stadium in advance of their September event.
