Council received an update on the construction of the new Chatham-Kent Community Hub at its August 10, 2026 meeting, with the project reported to be on budget and 22 per cent complete.
In October 2025, council approved the award for construction of the hub, which will bring together the Chatham Civic Centre, the Chatham branch of the Chatham-Kent Public Library, and the Chatham-Kent Museum into a single, accessible and energy-efficient facility at 130 King Street West in downtown Chatham.
The project supports the municipality’s Asset Management Plan by replacing aging facilities and reducing long-term infrastructure costs, and is proceeding without any new property tax increases. It is being funded through a combination of property sales, existing reserves and long-term financing within the municipality’s existing budget.
Fortis Construction Group Inc., based in Tecumseh, Ont., is the lead contractor for the project. Construction began in December 2025 with site mobilization and demolition of the building’s interior and exterior. Work has since progressed on building extensions to the north, which will house council chambers, and to the south, which will include a library extension and storage area, with steel structures and roof construction completed on the south end.
The final building configuration is taking shape, with progress on elevator structures, utility infrastructure and interior building systems. Mechanical and framing crews have continued installing ductwork and partitioning multiple areas of the facility, while electrical and plumbing rough-ins have advanced for washrooms and service areas. Firestopping and HVAC crews have continued work throughout the ground floor.
Roof drain openings have been completed in preparation for upcoming roofing activities, and partition framing and parapet construction have progressed on both floors. Utility servicing has also moved forward, with excavation and installation of the electrical duct bank, including saw cutting, core drilling, underground service coordination, and layout of future transformer and generator pad locations.
The total construction services contract is valued at $39,280,323, including the HST rebate, coming in under the initial construction budget estimate of $42,920,000. The contract includes $3.4 million in contingency funds. The overall project budget remains at $52.8 million, including more than $7 million in contingency funds, consistent with the cost estimate presented to council in May 2025.
Eight progress payments have been made to date. As of July 21, 2026, the original contract amount of $38,600,945.60 had been reduced by $8,327.23 through change orders, bringing the revised contract amount to $38,592,618.37. A total of $8,430,418.10 has been certified, with mandatory holdbacks of $1,011,650.17 and a remaining balance of $31,173,850.44.
Thirty change orders addressing previously unknown conditions or design changes have been approved to date, totalling $1.06 million. Previous geotechnical investigations had identified the potential for underground soil condition issues, which was the rationale for the larger $3.4 million contingency to address risk items identified through excavation and installation of the building’s caissons.
The Chatham-Kent Community Hub is scheduled for completion in early 2028. Detailed transition planning is underway and will be communicated in mid-2027. Biweekly meetings between Fortis, Architectura and the municipality are being held to review progress, address construction issues, and discuss work planning and scheduling, with no known delays to the project schedule to date.
Updates on construction progress will be posted on the project’s Let’s Talk page at key milestone points.
