Construction on the new Chatham-Kent Community Hub remains on time and on budget.
The first in a series of quarterly reports will be presented to council Monday night, outlining the progress on the former Sears building in downtown Chatham, which will house the Civic Centre, Chatham branch of the public library, and Chatham-Kent museum.
According to the report by Edward Soldo, Chatham-Kent’s General Manager of Infrastructure and Engineering Services, the final building configuration is taking shape with work on the elevator structures, utility infrastructure, and interior building systems, along with partition framing and other preparatory work. So far, the building is 22% complete and is expected to be finished in early 2028.
On the financial side of things, Soldo says the total construction services contract, valued at $39.28 million dollars, including an including HST rebate, came in under the previously projected budget with significant contingency funds.
The overall project budget remains at $52.8 million including over $7 million of contingency funds, which Soldo says are best practice for project of this size, which aligns with the cost estimate presented to Council in May 2025.
Detailed transition planning for the Civic Centre, library, and museum is underway, with details expected to be presented to council in mid-2027.
The full report will be posted online through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website.