Brick by brick

The new consolidated courthouse should begin to resemble the final product in the coming months.

The foundation is finished and work is almost complete on the courthouse’s 12 elevator shafts, two of which are for stairs. Steel work is expected to begin in mid-August.

"That’s when you’ll see the building actually start to take shape," said Graeme Silvera, Plenary Justice vice-president of project development, Friday.

While the $248 million building is on time and on budget, because of its public-private partnership status, Silvera said his company is on the hook for any overruns. So the taxpayer won’t be paying any more money than it already has.

"Even if we weren’t on budget, you wouldn’t have to worry about it," Silvera said.
That budget includes design, construction, maintenance, project financing and lifecycle repairs for 30 years from Plenary Justice.

"We have to maintain this building in tiptop shape for 30 years and that’s included in that price," he said.

The courthouse will become home to 15 courtrooms, four conference settlement rooms and an Aboriginal settlement room, which is the only of its kind in North America.

Silvera added that as of now, all work on the site has been done by local contractors.

While there are 40 workers on site daily, at the height of construction in 2012 there will be 225. The building should be completed by the fall of 2013 with an early 2014 projected opening.