A new era in health care in Sault Ste. Marie begins next spring.
In mid-October, the largest public construction project in the city’s history hit a major milestone as the new $408-million Sault Area Hospital project reached the “substantial completion” stage.
Harry Koskenoja, director of the hospital project, said there remains only cleaning and a few minor deficiencies to complete as hospital administrators formally took possession.
“There’s no construction activity to speak of. We’re only installing a few signs in the building.”
The hospital becomes fully operational on March 6, 2011.
All the building systems and major built-in equipment, such as diagnostic imaging, have been installed and commissioned. In October, only about 40 to 50 contractors remained on site.
The hospital is on the north end of the city on Great Northern Road, next to the F. J. Davey seniors' home. It amalgamates two existing hospitals, the Plummer and General, into combined space that is 20 per cent larger with the same number of beds at 289 beds.
More than 60 subcontracting firms worked on the project, with more than 80 per cent of the manpower coming from the Sault area. It’s been a boon for local firms such as S & T Electrical, McLeod Brothers plumbing, earthmovers Avery Construction and George Stone & Sons, who handled the foundation work.
Like all new Ontario hospitals, the Sault project was financed under the public-private financing model under a 30-year build, finance and maintain contract.
The project consortium of Hospital Infrastructure Partners consisted of Carillion, EllisDon, LPF Infrastructure and CIT Financial.
Kostenoja said it’s been a challenging project with the amount of detail and the complexity of the construction and the building systems, starting with the design process, the multi-million-dollar equipment budget and the operational planning component.
“There can be so many factors in the mix. It can be overwhelming trying to move the project forward. The schedule is a very unforgiving one and can’t be changed. The substantial completion date was carved in stone when the contract was signed. You can’t afford to miss it financially.
“In any substantial project, there are changes that have to be managed and those always get to be an issue.”
The main activity over the late fall and winter months will be moving in the new furniture as well as training more than 2,500 staff and volunteers to orient them to the building. The initial walk-through phase for staff, physicians and volunteers began in mid-October and ramps up in intensity in November before they launch into specific training for clinic and non-clinic groups on computers, equipment and work processes.
The new facility is outfitted with advanced cancer therapy equipment for the first time in the Sault and the emergency room will double in size.
Koskenoja expects Sault residents to be pleased with what they see.
“I think people will find it more spacious and more logically laid out. They’ll especially notice more natural light in the building and a good use of colours to effectively accent walls. We’ve spent a lot of money on premiere finishes and on the floor to identify locations and light fixtures.”
The property also features three courtyards.
Koskenoja is hopeful the new facility will be an attractive recruiting tool for new doctors, with learning space set aside for medical school students. “We’ve taken physicians through the hospital and have always received very positive comments.”
Public tours are scheduled for late January.
“People are interested in taking a look at it and they’ll be impressed when they see it. It’s real departure for Sault Ste. Marie to have a major public building this new. They don’t come along very often.”
Besides the hospital, the Sault has a raft of institutional construction projects underway with new mega-schools being built and additions being tacked on.
“That’s been our biggest portion of work this year,” said Don Maki, the city’s chief building official.
Sault College is undergoing a $44-million rebuilding project to add more than 151,000 square feet of new space, the biggest capital project in the school’s 45-year history.
A new entrance will be built along with an academic building to accommodate the college’s aviation program, a combat training centre, justice studies lab, a 120-seat lecture theatre, 19 classrooms and a learning commons.
Across town, Algoma University is a year away from opening their $16-million Biosciences and Technology Convergence Centre. The 41,600-square-foot edifice will house business incubator space for technology tenants, including the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, and expanded classrooms and lab space.
Three new schools are also being added to the mix.
Bonfield Construction began work on the $46.7-million Superior Heights Collegiate and Vocational School last February through the Algoma District School Board (ADSB). It takes in its first students in September 2011.
The sod-turning for the new Francis H. Clergue French Immersion elementary school began last April. The ADSB’s $15.5-million project amalgamates two schools and will open its doors next September.
The Huron-Superior Catholic District Board held the groundbreaking for a new $7.7-million French Catholic school last June and site preparation was continuing into October for the new Notre Dame des Grand Lacs, an addition onto an existing elementary school. The doors open next fall as well.
Maki said a major expansion at St. Patrick’s Catholic elementary school is also in the works.
On the residential side, new home starts look healthy this year with 74 new single family homes registered as of mid-October. That’s three more than were built during the same period last year.
“It’s still pretty strong coming up and hopefully we’ll hit 100 (home starts),” said Maki, as permit applications continue to roll in this fall.
Maki said it’s been relatively quiet on the commercial and industrial side although two environmental technology companies have been building in the city’s west end.
Tire recycler Ellsin Environmental is erecting a 10,000-square-foot operation on Yates Avenue with plans to employ 30 people and eventually process as many as 60,000 tires per day.
Just to the north, Heliene Canada quickly built a new solar panel start-up plant over the summer on Allen Side Road and the company is starting production this fall.
“Overall, we’ve had a pretty strong year,” said Maki with almost $118 million worth of building permits issued by the city. “We’ll probably have our third or fourth-highest year in construction in the last 25 years.”
