Hanover picks Domm Construction to build its new police station

The Town of Hanover has picked the company that will build its new police station, and work on the 10th Avenue site could begin before the end of the month.

Domm Construction Ltd. submitted the lowest of five complete bids, at $10,180,000 before HST, according to a staff report in the agenda package for Hanover council's Monday, Oct. 19 meeting. The report says a contract with the company has already been finalized and that work "is expected to commence within two (2) weeks."

The Banner has asked the Town of Hanover to confirm the details of the contract and the project budget.

The other four general contractors bid between $11,052,000 and $12,323,863: Corebuild Construction, Hayman Construction Inc., K&L Construction and BDA Inc., in that order, the report shows.

The station will go up on the site of the former Hanover fire hall, next to the Civic Centre. A town council summary from May puts the address at 443 10th Avenue.

What it will cost

The report puts the total project budget at $11,247,961. That is made up of:

• construction, $10,180,000
• engineering and consulting, $689,104
• furniture and other items the town supplies itself, $117,724
• the building permit, $50,000
• legal work, surveys and land purchase, $12,250

The total also includes the 1.8 per cent of HST the town can't get back. It comes in just under the cap of $11.3 million plus HST that council approved on May 19, according to the minutes of that meeting.

How the contract was awarded

At that May meeting, council approved the bigger budget, told staff to go to tender, and gave staff the power to award the tender and sign the construction contracts if council was in a "lame duck" period, as long as the price stayed within the approved budget. Ontario's municipal elections end Oct. 26.

The tender was posted on Aug. 14 on Biddingo and on the town's website, according to Monday's report. Seven general contractors attended a mandatory site walk-through, and the tender closed Sept. 15 after four addenda. Town staff and the project architect, +VG Architects, found all five bids complete. The architect recommended going ahead with Domm, which the report describes as a local contractor that has worked on town projects before. The police station steering committee met on Oct. 13 to review the results.

The report is on Monday's consent agenda and asks council only to receive it for information.

Bigger than first planned

When council committed to the project in July 2024, the town estimated a new station would cost about $8.6 million. The town said at the time that the case for a new building included rising calls for service, prisoners being held longer in the station's cells, virtual bail hearings held at the station, and a lack of space in the current building.

By May of this year the design had grown to a two-storey building of about 15,500 square feet, including an accessible public washroom, and the estimate rose to $11.3 million. Council's 2024 decision phased in a property tax increase over three years, starting in 2025, to cover the long-term loan repayments. The town's 2024 timeline called for the station to be finished in 2027.

Monday's ceremony

The town has invited the public to a construction launch ceremony on Monday, Oct. 19 at 6:15 p.m. on 10th Avenue, with the mayor, council and Hanover's chief of police, according to a post on the town's X account.

Council meets earlier that day, at 4 p.m. in the council chambers at the Civic Centre, 341 10th Street. Residents can also watch on Zoom using the link in the agenda package.

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