Edmonton firm awarded tender for first phase of multi-use building

This will appear in Wednesday's Clarion:

Edmonton firm awarded tender for first phase of multi-use building
Expected to break ground on $12.2 million project in February

Kindersley's new arena is one step closer to reality.

The tender for phase one of the planned multi-use facility, which includes the arena and lobby, was awarded last Tuesday to Clark Builders of Edmonton.

Of the six companies initially selected for interviewing, Clark and Stuart Olson Dominion were the two finalists.

"Both firms worked very hard, both are very capable," said Milt Walker of Walker Projects. "We had a process that involved evaluation of each proposal and meetings including representatives of the building committee and the town of Kindersley. In the final analysis, Clark won out; just a little bit better price and a little bit more features."

Clark Builders pegged the cost of phase one at $12.2 million. The final design is now in the works, but the conceptual design submitted with the proposal calls for a seating capacity of 400, all on one side of the arena, along with standing room.

Walker described the delivery of structural steel as the "critical path item" and that will not likely take place until February. As such, he expects "some mobilization" of resources in January but figures the ground breaking will come in early February. Materials could be ordered by December.

"They want to be able to have the steel arrive as soon as the foundations are finished, and so there’s requirements for some design and there’s no point in starting to do the foundations ahead of the critical path schedule," Walker explained.

He said the target is to finish the arena sometime in December 2011 and have it open the following month. He described it as "an extremely aggressive schedule."


Brian Robinson, vice president of business development at Clark Builders, said his firm has done several recreational facilities in recent years, including the North Central Community Recreation Centre at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and a massive multi-use recreation centre in Lac La Biche, Alta.

Although most of the company's $500 million worth of work each year is done in the Edmonton area and the Northwest Territories, it is looking to expand eastward.

"We’re actively looking at doing a number of different arena projects and getting into the Saskatchewan market," Robinson said Monday. "It’s a project we feel we’re very good at doing. The design-build is one of our fortes. We have an opportunity to design it economically and work with a team of professionals. It was a good fit in terms of where we want to go."

Clark Builders has been in business for 36 years.

Kindersley mayor Wayne Foster said he is excited about the schematic designs and looks forward to seeing more detailed drawings.

"It’s an amazing-looking facility. We can’t wait until we get the renderings. That’ll probably be in January," said Foster. "We have some conceptual drawings now that are just stunning. It’s such an enhancement to that area of our town."

BBB Architects has been working on the design of the entire facility in Toronto, and Walker said the specific designs for phase one will fit into that.

He added that he was impressed by the ability of the building committee members - all 26 of them - to put their heads together and agree on what they wanted to see. Not only that, the motion was passed unanimously.

"That’s pretty darn good when you get arts and culture and sports and minor sports and the Klippers and Red Lions and the whole group to agree on something. We were very, very pleased with that," he commented.

Robinson has been involved throughout the selection process and he said he feels at ease dealing with officials from the town, the building committee and Walker Projects.

"I feel absolutely comfortable with the process and the people I’ve been involved with, particularly with (town administrator) Sherry (Magnuson) and (councillor) Tom (Geiger), and certainly the Walker people have been very fair and explained very clearly what it is they were looking for," Robinson replied.

"I think we’re really excited about it and we were able to develop a plan and a concept that excited the people we were presenting to. We brought a high-quality building and a very stylish type of building that will certainly add to the landscape of Kindersley."

More fundraising will be required to complete the multi-million dollar phase, on top of insurance money. Plans are already being made by the building committee.

"That fundraising component is a necessary evil, unfortunately," said Foster. "We’ve had a great response already without really going out and promoting and looking for funding. There’s going to be all types of opportunities to participate in funding."

Beyond the arena and lobby, the entire multi-use facility is expected to cost in the range of $35 million. Funding from the provincial and federal governments will be required to make that happen, Foster acknowledged.

"We’re waiting to hear if they’re going to come up with any more stimulus programs or green programs, those kind of things. We’ll certainly be knocking at their doors looking for funding," said the mayor.

Walker said those discussions are already underway and he also expects help from other sources, given the outpouring of support that came from the North American hockey community in the weeks immediately after the fire in January.

"When they lost their arena, all of Canada in the hockey community certainly came to the forefront in terms of support," said Walker. "Politicians are always supportive of things that are supported by a large amount of people, so we’re confident we can successfully make our case."

One group that will most certainly be happy with the new arena is the Kindersley Sledge Hockey Club. The facility will be specially designed to accommodate the sport, with everything from removable benches to see-through panels in the boards. The benches will also be installed flush with the ice surface so that players can get on and off the ice easily.

"I can hardly wait to see the first sledge hockey game," said Walker. "I'm really excited for that. That's such a heart-warming story to see."