Construction has ground to a halt at the new St. Anthony’s School being built on North Dinosaur Trail as Christ the Redeemer School Division has fired its contractor.
“We are in the process of looking for a replacement,” said Van Hyfte. “The good folk at Lear Construction (which is the contractor for DCHS) were kind enough to come over and help us secure the site and get it wrapped up a little better.”
Christ the Redeemer Board trustee representing Drumheller, Paul Andrew also told inSide Drumheller that they have dumped the contractor.
“They weren’t performing, they were not meeting our expectations,” Andrew said.
The official groundbreaking for the project was on March 27 of last year, and came after years of working to secure funding and coming up with a site. At that time, Bayview Constructors of Calgary was named as the managing contractor. The construction is valued at about $13.5 million.
When the contractor was named in January 2009, they expected to see the school open in September of this year. However, delays early in the project occurred as they stabilized the site mitigating historic mining remnants. The weather this season also slowed the project.
Van Hyfte said it was both the quality of the work and the delays that prompted the school board to make the change.
“There were quality issues, a lot of things had to be reworked, and of course it was just taking forever,” said Van Hyfte.
He says they are working with a bonding company to plan the next step and have talked to other contractors they have worked with in the past.
“We want to find someone who is reputable and proven,” he said.
Gibbs Gage Architects designed the new St. Anthony’s School. Van Hyfte said they are overseeing the project to make sure the quality of the construction is maintained.
“They are excellent. They are meticulous at monitoring and keeping track of everything… we are really lucky to have them,” said Van Hyfte.
Inside Drumheller reported in its October 29 edition that they are looking at the end of March before construction is completed, although no move in date has been set. Van Hyfte said they hope to announce a new contractor in the near future.
