Executive summary
The purpose of this Staff Report is to present a revised path forward for the Allandale Transit Mobility Hub and Downtown Mini Hub projects given significant construction price escalations due in large part to the global pandemic and other factors impacting the project timelines. This path forward includes applying to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) to utilize the remaining dollars assigned to Barrie in a broad funding envelope related to transit, to address the escalating costs for this project since it was initially identified in 2018.
Climate implications
The following environmental and climate change impact matters have been considered in the development of the recommendation:
- For the Allandale Transit Mobility Hub, the project is targeting a net zero energy performance with an all-electric building using renewable energy generation through on-site solar photovoltaics.
- By incorporating a net zero energy performance target, the building will exceed the operations-related carbon reductions common with a LEED project and better align with the City’s zero-carbon by 2050 objective.
- Pursuing a net-zero energy, low carbon building design provides a long-term economic benefit for the City by reducing or eliminating operation utility costs. Furthermore, investing in a sustainable building design that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions supports the City’s target of achieving net zero carbon emissions.
- City staff are reviewing the requirements for ICIP’s climate change resilience assessment and greenhouse gas emissions assessment that may require approval from the Government of Canada.