Construction company sues FortWhyte Alive over visitor centre delays, cost overruns

A construction firm is suing FortWhyte Alive over claims the designer of the non-profit nature area’s new, multimillion-dollar visitor centre repeatedly revised plans during the building process, jacking up costs and delaying the work.

PCL Constructors Canada filed a statement of claim against FortWhyte Alive and the Fort Whyte Foundation earlier this month over the construction of Buffalo Crossing, the non-profit’s new visitor centre that opened in April.

“Through no fault of its own, PCL was unable to achieve the contractual substantial completion date, as a result of which it and its subcontractors incurred substantial losses and damages,” the court filing claims.

“At the time of completion, the cost of the work had increased to ($24.2 million) due to significant changes to the design, missing design information… and the addition of a pedestrian bridge.”

The court papers argue the delays began during the pre-construction and design development phase of the project and point the finger at FortWhyte Alive and Stantec Architecture, the prime architect and contract administrator.

The $25-million project, which was partially funded by the federal and provincial governments as well as private donors, broke ground in late 2022.

PCL inked a contract with FortWhyte Alive in 2021 to build the visitor centre and associated landscaping. The contract stipulated the work was to begin in March 2022 and be substantially completed by November 2023, say the court filings.

Construction wasn’t finished until February this year, PCL claims.

PCL estimated construction costs at $16.9 million, plus a construction manager’s fee, the court filings say.

PCL claims it is still owed nearly $2.2 million for its work, plus court costs and interest, which FortWhyte Alive has refused to pay.

FortWhyte Alive and its foundation have yet to file statements of defence and the matter hasn’t been heard in court.

The court papers argue Fort Whyte and Stantec caused the repeated delays, which PCL calls breach of contract.

Buffalo Crossing, a two-storey, 18,000 square-foot-facility on McGillivray Boulevard, serves as a southern entrance to the 660-acre urban green space and wetlands. The nature sanctuary used to have just one access point, off McCreary Road, on the north side of the property.

Stantec initially designed a 24,000 square-foot facility, despite PCL budgeting and scheduling for 18,000 square feet, say the court filings.

Stantec was then forced to redesign the building to bring it back in line with Fort Whyte’s budget and concept, “resulting in months of lost time and effort,” the court papers say.

The design development stage was meant to take 25 weeks, but as a result of Stantec’s revisions, it took 78, the court filing claims.

“Despite this and in a show of good faith, PCL did not seek recovery of its additional pre-construction costs from (FortWhyte Alive),” the court papers read.

On top of delaying the start of construction, the redesign resulted in material costs increasing during “increasingly volatile market conditions” in 2022, the claim says.

PCL wasn’t able to start work at the site until October 2022, pushing the completion date to February 2024.

Fort Whyte was kept apprised of the delays on the project and the required time extension, the claim says.

PCL and its subcontractors also encountered a slew of delays and problems, allegedly caused by Stantec, during the actual construction process, the papers allege.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca