Cogswell District construction to come in under budget, on time

The Cogswell District redevelopment in downtown Halifax is on schedule to finish next year and will actually come in under budget despite millions in unexpected costs.

On Tuesday, Halifax councillors received an update on the project, which will create a new 6.5-hectare neighbourhood connecting the downtown with the city's north end and waterfront.

Project manager Donna Davis said crews are about two-thirds of the way through construction, and all of the ramps and the major retaining wall in front of Casino Nova Scotia have now come down.

Councillors approved Davis's request for about $15 million in new money to cross the finish line, which is needed due to unexpected costs like disposing of unsuitable soils and breaking trench rock.

But Davis said funds coming from utilities like Halifax Water as part of cost-share agreements for the project will cover that — and actually lower the budget.

"I'm coming with the left hand saying 'got more costs,' coming with the right hand saying 'but we've got some money to offset that,'" Davis told councillors.

Those offsets, including work done for third parties like the Department of National Defence and Bell Aliant, will add up to about $25 million.

That will bring down the net project budget by about $10 million, leaving Halifax with a final cost of about $113 million compared to the original price tag of $122.6 million.

"To see that, in fact, the net cost of this project has dropped by a substantial amount, the amount of debt we'll have to take on while we're waiting to sell the lots has dropped — that is a really good news story for this city," area Coun. Waye Mason, who is running for mayor, said Tuesday.

The cost of a new interactive fountain for the future Granville Park near Upper Water Street has also gone up slightly from $1.4 million to $2 million. Its underground services have been installed and staff will soon begin constructing the fountain itself.

Renderings show the fountain will take the shape of three breaching whales, spouting mists.

"This is going to provide a very important cooling station for residents and visitors, which will become even more important as we experience much higher temperatures in the summertime," Davis said.

About $625,000 of the new money will also go toward temporary public washrooms to serve the park and Granville Mall until permanent ones are built in later phases of the development.

"This is exceptional," said Coun. Pam Lovelace, who is also running for mayor. "We want this to be a family, community space, and that includes public washrooms."