Grey County Council recommends contractor for historic Rockwood Terrace construction

The tender has closed for the largest capital construction project in Grey County history. Grey County Council is recommending awarding the Rockwood Terrace general construction contract to Melloul-Blamey Construction Ltd. with a bid of $59,230,000 (excluding HST). Council made the decision at the April 25 session of Committee of the Whole. The project will be co-funded by the provincial government and requires approval from the Ministry of Long-Term Care before the tender can be formally awarded.

"Nearly a decade of discussions, planning, consultations, and revisions have led us to today's historic vote by Council that will solidify high-quality public long-term care services in southern Grey County for decades," said Grey County Warden Brian Milne. "This is a huge milestone in the project but there's still an incredible amount of work ahead of us. We look forward to working with Melloul-Blamey Construction Ltd. in building this state-of-the-art home."

The general contractor is responsible for the construction of the new 128-bed, Class A long-term care home in Durham. The current Rockwood Terrace facility has only 100 beds and was built in the 1980s. Its operating license is expiring, and this provides the County with an opportunity to upgrade it to meet changing standards set by the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

Redeveloping a long-term care home is a heavily detailed and regulated process. Resident experience has been central to the planning and design of the new home. Grey County engaged with residents, family members, and frontline workers to design the building to meet the needs of everyone in the home. Emphasis was placed on resident room design, infection prevention and control, dining room experience and an overall community feeling throughout the home. Kasian Architecture Inc. and Ted Handy and Associates have led the design phase.

Work at the site has been ongoing since the fall of 2023. JT Excavating Ltd. was awarded the sitework contract last fall and has built roads, cleared and graded the site and prepared it for servicing. A second phase of sitework will take place after construction is substantially completed and will include work like final paving and sidewalks.

The total budget for the Rockwood Terrace reconstruction project is $96.7 million. Redevelopment costs will be funded by both Grey County and the provincial government. The province will provide $62.9 million toward the project, $48.5 million of this amount through annual transfer payments over the next 25 years. Grey County will finance the balance of the costs through a loan from Infrastructure Ontario. Contributions to a redevelopment reserve are being made in anticipation of the loan expense.

Grey County hopes to receive approval from the province to award the contract very soon. Work on the site is anticipated to begin in mid-June.

More information on the Rockwood Terrace redevelopment project can be found on the Grey County website at www.grey.ca/rockwood-redevelopment.

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For media inquiries contact Rob Hatten, communications manager, at rob.hatten[at] grey.ca(rob[dot]hatten[at]grey[dot]ca)or 519-373-1592.