How the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping plans to build a new City Hall
Council is reconsidering City Hall’s long-term need for office space after the pandemic accelerated work-from-home opportunities for civic employees.
“It seems like we’re turning what was a very difficult and challenging situation into a potential positive,” explained Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan.
An update to City Hall’s Master Accommodation Plan (MAP) determined that maintaining alternative work strategies will reduce the amount of work jspace needed to deliver municipal services by approximately 20 per cent (56,000 square feet).
In an accompanying report, the city treasurer writes that the alternative work strategy enacted during the pandemic, “has resulted in no significant impact to service levels.”
An internal survey of more than a thousand municipal employees found that those who working at home feel more productive and prefer the flexibility.
The treasurer recommends a gradual approach.
Councillor Steve Lehman agrees, “I like the use of pilot (projects) to test the waters on such things as employee satisfaction, productivity, and cost savings.”
“This also has the opportunity to make an impact on our greenhouse gas emissions,” added Councillor Shawn Lewis.
The MAP report estimates reducing office space and employees commuting each day could reduce City Hall’s carbon emissions by 40 per cent.
Just two weeks before the pandemic began, council approved the multi-year budget including $13 million in consulting fees to design a new $125.5 million City Hall building.
The deputy mayor says more affordable options may now be viable.
“That could be a public-private partnership, it could be utilization of our existing spaces in a more efficient way, it could be the construction or consolidation of new spaces,” says Morgan. “That’s determined through the update to the Master Accommodation Plan and the RFP that would follow.”
Funding for work-from-home pilot projects will come from within existing departmental budgets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Ontario reveals highest public sector salaries in sunshine list
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.