Renovation work on Wing B at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) will re-start in February.

The hospital announced on December 7 that it has entered into a settlement agreement with former builders Bondfield Construction Company Limited, as well as the Bank of Montreal, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. and Infrastructure Ontario.

The terms of the agreement see the remainder of the work on the project awarded to EllisDon—with no change to the original budget of $187 million.

“This is a fantastic day for the communities we serve. Getting this project finished is a top priority for our hospital,” said Mike Prociw, executive lead, capital redevelopment at CMH. “Its completion ensures the extensive planning we made to grow services and enhance our clinical programs will get realized. Cambridge, North Dumfries and the Region of Waterloo will continue to be well-served by CMH both in the present and in the future.”

Construction progress at the site began to unravel in the summer of 2018. Months had passed with little or no work performed, and subcontractors complained they were not being paid by Bondfield, which later filed for insolvency. In December of that year, the hospital called in its performance bond to settle those liens field against the project.

Doing so, said CMH president and CEO Patrick Gaskin, allowed a number of essential subtrades to return to the site and finish their work, but progress was slow. In April 2019, the hospital announced that it would work with Infrastructure Ontario, Zurich Insurance Company and the project lenders to arrange for the completion of the renovation to Wing B by a different contractor.

The settlement that went into effect on December 3 of this year ensures that work on the hospital will be completed for the original sum of $187 million. CMH will pay only for change orders that may arise in the normal course of the construction. Any costs above the guaranteed price will be funded through a demand bond issued by Zurich.

In addition, CMH received $10 million to compensate for losses related to past delays.

EllisDon has installed trailers on site and will begin mobilizing its team this month. The contractor’s first course of action will be to finalize a schedule and hire subtrades.

Construction is expected to take 48 months to complete.