design, build, finance and maintain 18 pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 schools on nine joint-use sites in Saskatchewan. Bird has the majority interest in and is the managing partner of the con- struction joint venture designing and building the schools. It will also take a minority equity interest in the conces- sion responsible for the project's fi- nancing and maintenance through Bird Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary. The schools are in Regina, Saska- toon, Martensville and Warman. The project includes the construction on each site of one public and Catholic school as well as centrally shared space, including a multi-purpose room, community resource centre and a child care centre, to form a single co- hesive joint-use educational facility. The consortium plans to reach fi- nancial close in Aug. 2015 and will enter into an early works agreement with the province in advance of con- tract finalization. “As a company that was founded in 1920 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, more than 95 years ago, we are excited about the announcement of our selec- tion for this significant project in the province that provided the foundation for our success,” said Ian Boyd, Bird's president and CEO. “Together with our partners in the consortium, particularly our construction partner, Wright Con- struction, a long standing builder in the province, we look forward to the op- portunity to work closely with local in- dustry, the Province of Saskatchewan and the various stakeholders to deliver these community focused schools.” Roughriders' Mosaic stadium nearly half complete Regina's new football stadium was about 44 per cent complete on the project's first year groundbreaking an- niversary. “This is a tremendous source of pride for our community and we are very pleased with the progress the PCL construction team has made over the last year,” said Regina's mayor Michael Fougere. “There is a lot of ac- tivity in each area of the site and it has been incredible to witness how the stadium has taken shape.” good building for the budget we have in front of us.” Dakota CC plans a $17.9-million, 50,000-sq. ft. addition with the equiv- alent of six volleyball or three basket- ball courts and additional features including a mezzanine-level running track, locker and change rooms, and showers. “We are right where we wanted to be a year out from the ground break- ing,” said Sean Hamelin, representing the contractor PCL. “We continue to receive great feedback from all our sidewalk superintendents and appreci- ate their enthusiasm for the project.” The city said in the news release that construction on the stadium's west side will continue through the summer and will soon mirror what has already been done on the east side. Meanwhile, work has begun on the ad- ministration area for the stadium, on the site's north end. As well, later in 2015, the structural steel work for the spectator roof will start to be installed on the southeast corner. St. Vital coun. Brian Mayes said council approved the cost increase in mid-2014. Now, the newspaper quotes him as saying city hall is now being asked to approve the business plan and loan guarantee, along with a con- struction loan guarantee to Dakota for the project. “The grant and loan guarantee was contingent on a satisfactory business plan from the community centre and now we have that,” Mayes was quoted as saying. MANITOBA ONTARIO Extra funds approved for $6.7 million Dakota Field House Eglington Crosstown LRT: Canadian contractors join forces to win nation's largest PPP project The Winnipeg public service is rec- ommending the city increase its con- tribution for the construction of a community sporting complex in south St. Vital by almost $2 million, the Win- nipeg Free press reports. The additional funds will increase the allocation for the Dakota Field House to $6.7 million from $4.8 mil- lion. Tom Thiessen, president of the non- profit Dakota Community Centre Inc., said the money is required because of increases that have crept into the proj- ect during the last two years, the Free Press reports. “We're really looking forward to this,” Thiessen is quoted as saying. “We're confident we can build a really A consortium including some of Canada's largest contractors has won the Eglington Crosstown LRT project, described as the largest public-private partnership (PPP) project in Canada's history. The Crosstown represents a $5.3 billion (2010) transit improvement in- vestment – the largest in the history of the region, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) said in a news release. The project's scale has been contro- versial in Ontario's design and con- struction community industry, as association and business leaders ex- pressed concern about “bundling” and the possibility only large, multi-national The Canadian Design and Construction Report — July-August 2015 – 11