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By Curtis Galbraith
City Hall

City committee recommends council approve another $1.2 million for the Coordinated Care Campus project

Jul 19, 2023 | 6:00 AM

A city hall committee is recommending council approve another $1.2 million dollars into the Coordinated Care Campus, the permanent supportive housing facility going into the former Stonebridge Hotel.

The money would come from a reserve fund.

Council will discuss this at Monday’s meeting.

Public & Protective Services Committee chair Dylan Bressey says if this idea is approved by council, it will mean two things.

“Number one, we’ve got a fully functioning commercial kitchen that could be used not just by the (Coordinated) Care Campus, but also by other community groups that are feeding people throughout Grande Prairie and the region, and number two, that that building is looking spic and span and looking the way a city facility on a major roadway should look.”

The commercial kitchen work would take up $250,000 of the $1.2 million. Courtyard fencing and outdoor stucco and paint on metal cladding would cost just under $104,500.

The biggest chunk of money would be just under $690,000 for construction change orders. There is also $155,000 for IT and security cameras.

A second option considered was for $1,060,656.00. It would have seen the amount for the commercial kitchen reduced by just over $50,000 plus the elimination of the painting and stucco repairs.

If approved, this would bring the total cost of the project to $23,449,405.50. That would be an $8 million increase from the projected cost two years ago.

Bressey says two things have contributed to the increase.

“Number one is we’re just seeing escalating costs across our economy and that impacts the price of everything. and number two it’s like any other renovation. When you open the walls, you always find surprises in renovations and this time, we got a few extra surprises.”

The committee heard at its meeting Tuesday that the first two phases of the project, which includes 63 living units, are complete.

Bressey says now, they want to see people living in those places.

“That will be the work over the next couple months is getting those units completely full so that we can start having people in our community who are on the journey of recovery and getting healthy start getting the help that they need.”

Bressey says phase 3, which will see 43 more units on the top floor plus finishing municipal offices on the other two and finishing the work included in this new money, should be done later this year.

by Curtis Galbraith