Construction is expected to resume on a delayed 24-unit addition to Sarnia’s Maxwell Park Place affordable housing site, paused this year when Lambton County parted ways with the original contractor.
Construction is expected to resume on a delayed 24-unit addition to Sarnia’s Maxwell Park Place affordable housing site, paused this year when Lambton County parted ways with the original contractor.
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“Work will be resuming on site shortly,” said Melisa Johnson, the county’s housing services manager.
Federal and provincial funding for the 24-apartment addition to the county-owned affordable housing site, between Maxwell Street and London Road, was announced in March 2021 and an initial building permit was issued late that year.
The county opted for modular construction, with factory-built units shipped to Sarnia to be placed on a foundation, hoping to speed construction. But foundation work paused in 2022 when unexpected organic material was found in the soil.
More delays followed with the discovery of buried water and power lines not on the original plans, weather and supply chain issues, labor shortages and foundation design changes.
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Foundation work resumed after an updated building permit was issued in late 2023, but Warden Kevin Marriott said in May construction had paused again.
At that time, the county said that, in its view, the original contractor had not met the terms and conditions of its agreement. The county said it was taking over the construction site and looking to resume work with another contactor.
Johnson said Wednesday the county was finalizing arrangements with a contractor to finish the work.
“We’re waiting on the final revised timeline, but we’re optimistic for spring of 2025 for completion,” she said.
That’s good news, said Warden Kevin Marriott.
The delays were “getting frustrating,” he said. “Hopefully 2025 brings bigger and better things, and completion.”
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Such issues have become much more common since the pandemic, Marriott said. “There are lots of construction projects that are delayed way longer than what everyone wants.”
The county said previously that 54 project modules, assembled at a Toronto factory, had been delivered and stored in Sarnia.
Cost of the project, originally estimated at $6.1 million, has risen to about $7 million, the county estimated early this year. Ontario and Ottawa together have contributed more than $3 million.
The affordable housing project is aimed at tenants who are seniors, but includes six barrier-free units expected to include additional services provided by an outside agency.
Tenants in the extension will have access to community rooms and other amenities in the existing 57-unit affordable apartment Maxwell Park Place building the county opened in 2011.
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