The District of Saanich announced a new milestone has been reached in their efforts to build a new operations centre facility.
This new facility would replace the current building that acts as a hub for several municipal services. District staff say the current building is ageing and has been slated for redevelopment for some time.
According to the District, the new plot of land they have recently acquired, located on the land between 4088 and 4098 Lochside Drive, will allow for the reduction in overall project costs and a more smooth development process.
The land on which the District will be taking over was formerly owned and operated by Don Mann Excavating.
“We are thrilled to announce that this complex and multi-faceted project is progressing,” said Mayor Dean Murdock.
“The property we have recently acquired will reduce overall project costs as well as provide additional space for our operations, ensuring a high quality of service is maintained throughout this large redevelopment project.”
This new stretch of property is located close to the current operations centre which is situated at 1040 McKenzie Avenue and because of the close proximity, the District says this should make the development phase and the moving phase much easier than previously anticipated.
They say the old property will be redeveloped into something new for Saanich residents once the construction and move is complete, but don’t know what that will be yet.
As for reduction in costs, the District says that on the new property, there are already recently built office spaces and on-site vehicle storage space. This means that they will have to commit less money to construction costs and can build off what is already there and fully functional.
The plan is to have the new complex constructed in the next few years.
In total, the District is investing $25 million into this property which they have deemed necessary for the municipality.
As new plans for the property are put together by District staff, more information will be made public in the coming months.
