Will convention centre deadline be met?
Published Monday January 3rd, 2011
Downtown | '101 things' to do as project races to finish before Jan. 13 gala
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By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Will it be ready in time?
Above is the ballroom of the convention centre, as officials race to have the centre ready by Jan. 13.
That's the big question for city hall as construction on the $78-million downtown convention centre moves to the finish line.
Painting and flooring have to be completed as the city looks to have the building ready for a $10,000 gala opening Jan. 13.
That's when Mayor Brad Woodside will talk about the state of the city and host a reception and tours of the facility for invited guests.
The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is co-hosting the evening.
The doors of the convention centre will be thrown open to the general public for tours the following Friday and Saturday.
"We're still pushing like crazy here," said Greg Cook, the city's director of special capital projects. "We're still pushing for the date here (Jan. 13), but we're going to soon have to make up our minds.
"It's the same as any job: When you get to the end, there's just 101 things that need to be done and everybody needs to do their little bit. There's nothing major. You've got to put the flooring down to finish off the base. You've got to paint the walls. Everything is sequenced."
Base-coat priming and one coat of paint has been done, but it's preferable to do the final coat at the end of the project.
Cook said the city hasn't lost sub-tradespeople to floor repair work in the private sector, so that's not an issue. It's just all about finishing work, he said.
During December's heavy rains, the parking garage took on water which had to be pumped out, but Cook said that's because pumps weren't installed to cope with water. The garage has been constructed with the ability to cope with annual spring flooding.
There was no damage to the convention centre parking garage due to recent flooding, Cook said.
The convention centre has a 1,125-square-metre (12,500-square-foot) ballroom and 666 square metres (7,400 square feet) of additional meeting space for smaller sessions, executive board meetings and special events.
The building will have a high-definition video conference room and media room, and it offers complimentary wireless Internet.
The convention centre will open into The Playhouse theatre building, where the 700-seat main stage can be used for additional meeting space.
The convention centre is part of a complex that includes a new multimillion-dollar provincial government office building that will open in the late spring or early summer, and a parking garage.