IO, Pomerleau kick off development phase for WAHA redevelopment project
Infrastructure Ontario announced that it has officially kicked off the development phase of Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) redevelopment project.
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and WAHA announced that they signed a Development Phase Agreement with a public-private partnership (P3) team led by Pomerleau in December. The team also includes designers Kasian Architects Ontario Inc. and Bertrand Wheeler Architecture Inc., and financial advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
The WAHA redevelopment project is being delivered using a progressive P3 approach which fosters collaborative development of project requirements, design, pricing and risk management.
During the development phase, Pomerleau will work with IO and WAHA under the Development Phase Agreement, as well as with the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Services Canada, to continue to define and refine project requirements to advance the design and confirm fixed pricing.
Pomerleau will engage with local communities along the James Bay and Hudson Bay coasts in order to ensure the design and development process for the project is responsive to the needs of the Indigenous communities it is intended to serve.
This will include outreach to ensure Indigenous economic participation in terms of subcontracts for labour, materials, equipment, services and trades required for the project.
Once the Development Phase is complete, the parties will have the option to sign a P3 Project Agreement and proceed to the construction phase, which is expected to begin in 2024.
The WAHA redevelopment project involves the construction of a new hospital, Elder Care Lodge, visitor hostel and staff accommodations in Moosonee and a new Ambulatory Care Centre on Moose Factory Island.
Once complete, the facilities will support WAHA in providing exceptional, culturally sensitive healthcare to patients and clients living along Ontario’s James Bay and Hudson Bay coasts, many of whom are Indigenous.