Where’s there are mounds of dirt, there’s often something being built. Guelph Police headquarters is clearly under construction.
It took years of planning, years of proposing, and much debate in Guelph City Hall, but the piles of dirt are now accumulated at the 15 Wyndham St. S. building that became outdated and undersized, unable to meet the needs of the contemporary service.
The work on the east and west wings of what amounts to a complete overhaul and expansion of the structure is now underway, with heavy equipment tearing up the ground in those areas.
Jasper Construction Corp. is making the ground ready for a multi-storey addition to the west side, and a new entrance on the east side, Guelph Police spokesperson Const. Mike Gatto said on Friday.
“It's business as usual in between that,” he said in an email. “Those two sides are supposed to be done around September, 2017, at which time the middle renovations will start.”
The $34.1 million project is scheduled to be complete by spring, 2019. The work is happening in two phases – the east and west wings, followed by the tear-down and rebuild of the interior. The current work began in April.
“The middle part for public access remains unchanged,” Gatto added when asked if the building is fully accessible to the public. “Police parking is now across the road, as well as certain on road spots around the building.”
He said conditions can get noisy for those working inside the middle section. “But we are working it out,” he said.
Several units have been moved to the Clair Road Emergency Services Centre in the city's south end, and to a building in the west end, he added.
