The new Toronto courthouse project is moving forward with the selection of AECOM Canada Ltd. as the planning, design and compliance (PDC) team, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) has announced.
“As the PDC team, AECOM Canada Ltd. will prepare project documents, including output specifications that will form the guidelines and performance requirements the successful building team must meet when preparing the project’s design. The PDC team will also monitor construction progress and provide co-ordination and oversight during the project’s construction, commissioning and completion, as well as during the transition to the new courthouse.”
Urbantoronto.ca reports that the new courthouse will be constructed on the site of a former surface parking lot northwest of Toronto City Hall. A rezoning application submitted to the city in the fall of 2015 suggests the building “would reach a maximum height of 135 m./483 ft. on the west side and 95 m./311 ft. on the east side of a site which includes the addresses 11 through 33 Centre Ave., and 80 through 94 Chestnut St.”
“In comparison, across the street, the 20-storey west tower of Toronto City Hall is 80 m. tall, and Toronto’s City Planning Department will want to make sure that this tower will not be seen rising behind City Hall from most points in Nathan Phillips Square to maintain the purity of existing views. An archaeological dig has been under way at the courthouse site for several months now,” the website has reported.
IO says that the courthouse, located steps from St. Patrick subway station, directly north of the Superior Court of Justice, will bring together in a single location several courts operating across the city. Amalgamation of justice programs and services is expected to reduce operational and facilities costs, make court administration more efficient, and providing better service to the community.
Once the planning, design and compliance aspects are completed, the Ministry of the Attorney General and IO will issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) this spring for a team to design, build, finance and maintain the project using IO’s alternative financing and procurement (AFP) delivery method. Under the AFP model, risks associated with the design, construction, financing and maintenance of complex projects are transferred to the private sector
