New twin-pad arena report added to council agenda

The City of North Bay is making every effort to have this version of a scaled-back twin-pad arena project succeed after a dozen years of stops and starts.

CAO John Severino's report to North Bay City Council was a late addition to tonight's regular meeting agenda and outlines the progress the municipal project team and contractor have made since the last public decisions were made in May.

It was then a $2.6-million contract was awarded to Mississauga-based EllisDon Corporation for project development services for the progressive design-build of the new North Bay Community and Recreation Centre, to be located adjacent to the Steve Omischl Sports Complex on Lakeshore Drive. EllisDon will also manage the construction phase if the project proceeds as planned.

See related: City ready to go to market on new arena with $60M target

The project team will: update the council on the design development progress; share preliminary designs; confirm the schedule, functional program, target budget alignment; and, key accomplishments to date. An update on the "approximate timing for approval for the City to execute a change order for commencement of final design and construction work," per the report.

The recommendation from the CAO is to refer his report to the council's Infrastructure and Operations committee. This way a special committee meeting can be scheduled which allows for sufficient time for the project team to update the council on its progress.

Severino's report notes the completion of several preliminary project milestones:

• detailed review of project background documents
• detailed geotechnical investigations
• established building siting for the project

The team has also developed building concepts including but not limited to:

• siting
• foundation type
• superstructure
• carbon requirements
• electrical requirements

"The Project Team has identified a preferred siting, developed the preliminary project footprint and the building’s elevations, and developed the preliminary civil site concept (i.e. building, entrances, parking)." Conceptual renderings have been created.

No figures yet but a Class D Opinion of Probable Costs for the project has been completed, according to Severino. The target project budget is listed as $59.5 million. As the project progresses, North Bay City Council will be briefed at key milestones, such as at 30 per cent and 60 per cent design completion "to ensure the project’s target budget, schedule, and functional program meet the objectives set out by Council." A change order to begin final design and construction will also require council approval.

The City of North Bay's financial department prepared a financing plan (see breakdown below) that "includes the $25.778 million in GICB funding from the Government of Canada, one-time dividends and funding from the Canada Community Building Fund, OLG revenues, PAYGO, Municipal Accommodation Tax, potential surplus from open and cancelled projects and Special Debt to finance the Project and inform the Target Budget to be included in the Project’s RFP for construction of the community and recreation centre."

Financial Plan

• 25,778,016 - GICB Program Funding
• 14,733,945 - Special Debt
• 9,420,792 - Canadian Community Building Fund (former Federal Gas Tax)
• 3,050,000 - Reserve - Completed Projects
• 2,942,351 - Capital Levy/Paygo Funding
• 2,074,896 - Reserve - Special Dividends
• 1,000,000 - Municipal Accommodation Tax
• 1,000,000 - Reserve - Casino Funding
• 60,000,000 - Total Funding

In December 2023, council members learned a rebooted project would, according to consultants from Colliers Project Leaders, come with an estimated cost of at least $60 million. The plan is for the target budget to cover the design and construction of a new community and recreation centre.

After reviewing the information received from the Colliers report, the design and budgets of similar community centre projects and "current cost guides and construction indices," such as Statistics Canada Building construction price indexes, municipal staff advised "it is necessary to include a budget target of $60 million to attract serious and broad market interest and participation in the RFP that will lead to the selection of a qualified proponent to undertake a Progressive Design Build of the project that meets the current expected functional program, Zero Carbon Building technical requirements and target schedule within the Target Budget."

And: Council moves new arena to next step — costs estimated at $60M+

A trident-shaped community and recreation centre project was shelved in August 2023 as bids to build ballooned to more than $70 million and the overall cost neared $80 million.