Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/3/2015 (2024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s taken $4.1 million so far to fix damage from the summer 2014 rainstorm that flooded Winnipeg’s new police headquarters.

In August, water pouring into the Graham Avenue facility compromised five high-voltage transformers and also damaged fire and life-safety systems. The storm prevented the city from taking occupancy of the building and delayed the Winnipeg Police Service’s move into the building.

In a report to council’s finance committee, city property and finance officials report the remediation work is not expected to increase the budget for the police-headquarters project beyond its current $210-million pricetag. So far, $3.8 million has been spent on remediation work by Caspian Construction and $330,000 has been spent on related engineering services by Adjeleain Allen Rubelli Limited.

The city hopes to recoup this spending through insurance. "However, there is a possibility that the insurers will not cover all the costs associated with the damage," project manager Jeff Dibley and city capital-projects manager Jason Ruby state in the report, published Friday.

In that event, the city will dip into its insurance reserve fund, they said.

The city now expects to take occupancy of the building this summer. The police hope to move in during the fall, two years later than originally envisioned.

The police headquarters project involved the purchase of the former Canada Post warehouse and tower for $29.25 million and a renovation originally pegged at $105 million. The combined cost of the purchase, renovation and interest rose to $210 million in 2013.

The project was the subject of a 2014 external audit by consulting firm KPMG, which criticized the way the primary contract was awarded, the way that award was disclosed to council and the way change orders were managed, among other issues. The police headquarters also figured prominently in a separate 2014 real estate audit by consulting firm EY, which noted the city purchased the Canada Post building without appraising its value.

The construction is also under investigation by the RCMP, which raided Caspian’s Winnipeg offices in December.