Police HQ roof repair to cost up to $360K

The city will be paying up to $360,000 to repair the roof of the Winnipeg Police Service’s downtown headquarters.

A city tender calls for a company to complete a roof replacement at 245 Smith St.

City council’s finance chairman said numerous problems have emerged at the facility over the past nine years since it was converted from a former Canada Post warehouse and office tower.

“There were a number of issues that weren’t … necessarily dealt with and ready on Day 1,” Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said.

“There’s one taxpayer at the end of the day, (so) Winnipeggers keep paying for it.”

The City of Winnipeg filed a statement of claim in 2018 seeking damages for alleged construction deficiencies at the headquarters from major contractor Caspian Projects and structural engineering consultant Adjeleian Allen Rubeli (AAR). The city claimed several problems became clear after police moved into the building in 2016, including a deteriorating structural slab, faulty or missing waterproofing, falling concrete, roof leaks and temperature issues.

Media and city reports in the years that followed noted heating and ventilation issues, leaky windows and cracked ceilings.

The new tender for repairs does not state when the current roof issue began. It calls for a contractor to remove, replace and reinforce parts of the roof system over the headquarters’ boiler and server rooms while redirecting water towards drains.

“At this point, it’s not shocking. We were sort of led to believe that this was what the police headquarters was going to cost, and time and time again, we found that there were different aspects of it that were certainly lacking,” Browaty said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham was not available for an interview Wednesday.

Winnipeg Police Board chairman Coun. Markus Chambers and the WPS referred questions to city staff members. A request to interview city staff was not granted.

In a brief email, the city did not directly state how much it has spent on repairs at the headquarters since police moved into the building or how much it expects to spend in the future.

“The city works to maintain all its buildings in operational condition. Maintenance work is undertaken as required. The bid opportunity contains all the information the city is able to provide,” city spokeswoman Tamara Forlanski wrote.

The city launched a civil suit against Caspian, AAR and dozens of other defendants in 2020, alleging a fraudulent scheme inflated the price of the project.

The allegations from that lawsuit and the construction lawsuit were not proven in court. City council approved a combined settlement of the claims in March 2023.

At the time, the terms called for the city to receive: $21.5 million if the payment was made in full within 12 months of council’s approval, $22.5 million if paid within 24 months or $23.5 million if paid within 36 months. If the payment is not made within 36 months, the city would ask the Court of King’s Bench to be paid $28 million.

While the city recognized “a receivable of $22.5 million” from the settlement to help balance its 2024 budget, Forlanski confirmed no money has been paid yet.

Browaty said he remains confident the settlement money will come through.

“By a certain date, if that payment is not made, the city has the means to take property and get its settlement that way,” he said.

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Concerns about the WPS HQ project have plagued city council for years. The building opened two years late in June 2016, at a cost of about $214 million — well above its original $135-million price tag.

An external audit later found the project had been severely mismanaged.

The RCMP conducted a lengthy investigation into fraud and forgery allegations, but no criminal charges were laid.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.