City awards $475K contract for consulting, design work on Millennium Library parkade rehab

A six-figure contract has been awarded by the City of Winnipeg to begin what will be tens of millions of dollars in repairs to one of downtown Winnipeg's busiest parkades.

Crosier Kilgour, an engineering consultant firm, has been hired for $475,000 to conduct a thorough review of the 50-year-old Millennium Library Parkade's mechanical and electrical systems, as well as its structural condition and accessibility compliance.

It will then plan and supply schematic designs for the project contractor, who will be hired at a later date, city documents say.

The two-level, 480-stallindoorheated parkade located below the Millennium Library on Donald Street opened in 1974. Themajority of the electrical and ventilation systems are original to the facility and operating beyond their expected service life, city documents say.

The concrete slab on the P1 level "shows signs of significant deterioration and requires large-scale remediation in the short term," city reports say. The other slab, for P2, remains in good condition.

Crosier Kilgourdid acondition assessment in April 2021 and determined the facility needed about $6 million in repairs in the short termand another $48.3 million over the next 10 years.

The city considered options that includedselling it, demolishing itor building a new parkade. Afeasibility study by Stantec Consultingin April 2024 concluded that repairing the parkade was the best option and revised the cost estimate to $30 million.

A previousreport to the city'spublic workscommitteerecommended making the repairs over the next seven years, which the city hopes will extend the life of the parkade for another 25 years.

Crosier Kilgour is expected to review and validate the assessments from 2021 and 2024 and prioritize the required work.

There are hazardous materials, such asasbestos,present in thefacility, the city says. Crosier Kilgour will provide afull asbestos report.

Theproject schedule is expected to begin immediately, with a schematic design by the end of November anddrawings and document preparation by the end of January 2025.