City awards $475K contract for consulting, design work on Millennium Library parkade rehab

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Peggy

A six-figure contract has been awarded by the City of Winnipeg to begin what will be tens of millions of dollars in repairs to one of downtown Winnipeg’s busiest parkades.

Crosier Kilgour, an engineering consultant firm, has been hired for $475,000 to conduct a thorough review of the 50-year-old Millennium Library Parkade’s mechanical and electrical systems, as well as its structural condition and accessibility compliance.

It will then plan and supply schematic designs for the project contractor, who will be hired at a later date, city documents say.

The two-level, 480-stall indoor heated parkade located below the Millennium Library on Donald Street opened in 1974. The majority of the electrical and ventilation systems are original to the facility and operating beyond their expected service life, city documents say.

The concrete slab on the P1 level “shows signs of significant deterioration and requires large-scale remediation in the short term,” city reports say. The other slab, for P2, remains in good condition.

The inside of an underground parkade, showing parked cars and support posts. — The P1 level concrete slab “shows signs of significant deterioration,” a city report says. (CBC)

Crosier Kilgour did a condition assessment in April 2021 and determined the facility needed about $6 million in repairs in the short term and another $48.3 million over the next 10 years.

The city considered options that included selling it, demolishing it or building a new parkade. A feasibility study by Stantec Consulting in April 2024 concluded that repairing the parkade was the best option and revised the cost estimate to $30 million.

A previous report to the city’s public works committee recommended making the repairs over the next seven years, which the city hopes will extend the life of the parkade for another 25 years.

Crosier Kilgour is expected to review and validate the assessments from 2021 and 2024 and prioritize the required work.

There are hazardous materials, such as asbestos, present in the facility, the city says. Crosier Kilgour will provide a full asbestos report.

The project schedule is expected to begin immediately, with a schematic design by the end of November and drawings and document preparation by the end of January 2025.