Jun 23 2010
The Honourable Chris Bentley, Attorney General of Ontario, the Honourable John Milloy, MPP Kitchener Centre, Leeanna Pendergast, MPP Kitchener Conestoga, and Ken Seiling, Regional Chair of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, celebrated the official groundbreaking today for the new Waterloo Region Consolidated Courthouse.
The new facility, to be located at Duke and Frederick Streets in downtown Kitchener, will improve courthouse services by consolidating the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice, currently operating in three locations across Waterloo Region. The new multi-storey building will have space to accommodate 30 courtrooms.
The construction project will provide a boost to the regional economy by creating and supporting thousands of jobs. At the peak of construction, it is estimated that 250 workers will be on site daily. Construction of the new courthouse is expected to be completed in early 2013.
As a part of the government's commitment to creating and promoting energy conservation in Ontario, the new facility will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Silver standard, which focuses on energy efficiency, healthy indoor environments and reduced greenhouse emissions. The building will also feature a barrier free design including:
- no courthouse steps,
- five barrier free courtrooms,
- infrared hearing assistance,
- barrier free witness stands, jury boxes and spectator positions in all courtrooms.
Infrastructure Ontario is working with the Ministry of the Attorney General to develop the new courthouse. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.
Source: http://www.infrastructureontario.ca/