Restoration of the Tecumseh Arena & Recreation Complex is moving ahead, as town council has approved awarding the tender for the project to TCI Titan Contracting Inc.
The arena, located at 12021 McNorton Street, will be undergoing a renewal of all interior spaces, including new flooring, front lobby, and washroom renovations, that will modernize the aesthetics and functionality of spaces while also repairing the damage from a flooding event that took place in 2023.
The significant rainfall event happened back on July 2, 2023, where a sewer back up resulted in water getting into the main level of the arena, damaging the floors and lower walls in the front lobby, public washrooms, administrative officers, dressing rooms and the canteen.
The total project budget is just over $2.9 million which includes $431,582 for flooding remediation which was previously approved in 2023 and tendered in 2024, $1,880,000 for the Arena Restoration Project itself, and then $600,000 in additional funding for added project elements.
A tender call went out in early May, and the town received a total of five proposals submitted by proponents.
Administration, in conjunction with the architect, reviewed all submitted proposals and determined that all the proponents demonstrated an ability to satisfy the contract.
But based on the review of all tender submissions and relative previous experiences, the recommendation was that council award the tender to TCI Titan Contracting.
Mayor Gary McNamara says they've been working with all the stakeholders at the arena since they had the flood, and it was time to start the repair work process.
"Obviously on the flooding issue, but also to give the arena a new refresh. It's been 25 years since any type of work has been done to the interior. So we're pretty excited given the fact that we've been talking about this now for probably close to 12 months," he said.
McNamara says there is going to be some serious changes to the arena when everything is all said and done.
"The big staircase that's up in the middle of the foyer as you go into the arena, that's going to disappear. It'll be tucked in closer to the wall so there will be more of an opening area for the foyer. Especially when you're having big large events, and it's going to look more like an arena in the 2024 year and not the 1990's."
He says there may be areas of the arena that will be inaccessible come Labour Day due to the ongoing construction, but by that time everything related to hockey should be good to go.
"What we're going to be looking at is getting all of the dressing rooms, the halls, basically the cold space ready to go by Labour Day. So hockey will be there, no upset to their schedule, but they're going to have to be patient a little bit."
Town staff and the proponent will begin working on the timeline for the plan next week, and within three weeks time people should start to see movement at the arena.