Timeline troubles

Wellington’s main corner in limbo

It’s not possible to walk through downtown Wellington’s busiest corner at Main and Wharf Streets, without hearing chatter about the buildings that sit atop Lane Creek. Since 2011, County officials have worried about the two buildings that straddle the creek. Buildings the County held no legal easement to fix or maintain should potential creek issues arise. An early plan to re-route the creek was put on the shelf after cost estimates rose to nearly $2 million. They had to look at other options.

In 2015, the municipality purchased the two properties for $620,000. Various ideas were floated, but the notion of levelling the Convenience store leaving a blank for parking or greenspace was quickly rejected by residents in the village.

In June of 2018, the County’s Neil Carbone presented three options to a packed house at the Highline Hall. The original plan of running Lane Creek down Wharf Street, crossing the Drake Devonshire property and spilling back into the waterway was still in the mix, with a price tag $1.9 million. Demolishing the buildings and creating a greenspace and parking lot would cost roughly $1.4 million. The preferred option of lifting the Convenience Store, shifting it north and west by a metre, and putting it back down on a new foundation, and re-routing the creek around exterior of the store would cost taxpayers $1 million.

This plan provides parking space behind the store and a greenspace to the east sitting over the creek. Once the project is completed. The building would be marketed and sold—likely with covenants to ensure that it remains structurally, functionally and architecturally intact. The sale price for the purpose of comparing option prices is estimated at $500,000. The total cost of this option, net of the sale of the building is pegged at $980,000.

At the same meeting, Carbone laid out a proposed timeline. Assuming the preferred option was validated by council that summer—which it was—detailed engineering and regulatory approvals would proceed through the fall and winter of 2018, targeting a May 2019 construction start date, with a view to completion by the end of the same year.

May has come and gone, and construction has not yet started on the corner of Main and Wharf. Peter Moyer, the County’s Director of Development Services explained that the project has been stalled. “We are currently experiencing a delay moving into the next phase of this project due to staff turnover internally and communication challenges with the consultant,” said Moyer. “The detailed engineering designs and necessary approvals are not in place at this time.” Moyer told The Times that staff are currently examining potential options to advance the project, with an intention of bringing council a recommendation in the near future.

Moyer does remain confident that the budget for the project will remain at $1 million. “The budget for this project has not changed. However, as we finalize the designs, we will take another look at the budget and see if any revisions are required.”