A new contractor has been found for the Guelph police’s headquarters renovations, a little more than two weeks after the previous contractor got the boot.

In a news release issued Thursday, July 16, the City of Guelph announced that Perini Management, an American contractor with a Canadian division, will be taking over management of the project.

“The city will be working closely with Perini Management to address deficiencies, revise the project schedule, complete remaining work and determine if there are any budget impacts. Perini and the city will be working diligently to reduce budget and schedule impacts,” the release reads.

“The city expects to bring a report on budget impacts to council later this year. The report will outline if any additional budget is needed, rationale for the increase, and suggestions for where the funds will come from.”

In late May, a report from city staff was sent to council, notifying them that the police headquarters project saw its project spending and committed costs hit its budget at the end of February.

“With the remaining five months of construction, the project will exceed the budget due to the extent of unexpected conditions that are part of renovating an aged building,” the report reads.

“Staff are diligently working to mitigate costs where possible and appropriate while ensuring the expected outcome is provided.”

At that time, work was scheduled to wrap up by the third quarter of 2020 – more than a year past its original Spring 2019 target.

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