Construction on the new $12 million CFB Shilo Transition Centre broke ground in the spring and is raising questions on social media pages from the local community about what is being built on the site next to the fire hall on Tete-Du-Pont Road. (Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News)
K-J Millar
Shilo Stag Media
A $12 million capital project for a new Army Transition Centre for ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces Members at CFB Shilo, which broke ground in May on Tete-Du-Pont Road, is raising interest from locals wondering about the construction.
Officer Commanding Real Property Operations West, Shilo Detachment, Major Steven Peregoodoff said it’s “the big one currently,” referring to the centre’s construction among numerous other projects happening as part of the CFB Shilo modernization.
“It’s a national capital project that recently started construction. It’s been in the books for a while, and it just got awarded for shy of $12 million,” he told Shilo Stag News, speaking about projects that have been publicly awarded or are already underway.
While no definitive completion date is available for the Transition Centre, which will move from beside Base Headquarters, he anticipates it to be finished in 2028 or 2029.
The need for the massive construction projects at Shilo is two-fold Maj Peregoodoff said. He explained that infrastructure has been underfinanced, and the Army’s modernization now has a growing need.
The requirement for construction isn’t isolated to CFB Shilo, but is occurring across the nation.
“Historically, over the past few decades, the CAF has been underfunded in the infrastructure space. We have had what we call deferred maintenance costs.”
With funding now available, many projects are coming to the forefront to address the maintenance disparity, he said.
“As well as with the Army modernization, new requirements are coming up. As the Army grows, we need to help facilitate that.”
He explained that cost allocations for project management have recently been redesignated. Projects that used to be managed in Ottawa when they exceeded $10 million can now be managed locally under new financial delegation authorities.
“The big moving parts,” he said about Shilo’s development, include a $6.5 million kitchen expansion set to start this fall at Flatlands Dining Hall. This will renovate the kitchen facilities, improve the entryway to include gender-neutral washrooms, and make the space more serviceable overall for staff and users.
“Still on the books for approval is building a new kitchen … but the timing is still to be decided. It’s on the list. It’s just down to timelines.”
Another project driving the Base forward is the Royal Ave. project, replacing underground water mains, sewer pipes, and storm lines, and then repaving roads, for just under $6 million, with the water main on Aldershot Road being replaced for $1.3 million.
“Our infrastructure is old enough that it is degrading. We are constantly having to do repairs and fixes that cost more in the long run. So this type of project makes it all new again. It adds to the lifecycle of all the assets.”
Projects will be completed in phases over the next few years, Peregoodoff said. There are contracts which have not yet been awarded because they are still in the design phase.
A $3 million well will be installed, as Shilo is a self-sufficient community, he said.
“We have wells that pull the water from the aquifer, and then our water treatment plant treats the water and then pushes it out to the base.”
Working with the water treatment plant is the wastewater lagoon across the highway, which his team manages and is located next to the ammunition compound.
The ammunition compound is also under an estimated $300 million renovation requirement, which is still in the planning phase. Rifle Range 2 in the training area was recently recapitalized for $1.2 million, with $400,000 of those upgrades being completed this year.
Construction undertakings also include $1.3 million in pool and aquatic heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) renovations, with other improvements like replacing mould-resistant ceiling tiles to save costs in the long term.
Building C101, which houses Base Supply, will also receive a $1.3 million boiler replacement to improve heating efficiency.
Maj Peregoodoff said projects are moving along “positively” and the Royal Ave. project finished earlier than expected. However, sometimes things get in the way of the “optimistic” scheduling and fall behind, citing the recent pool renovations, which took almost a year.
With ongoing road construction around the Base, traffic delays are expected, which are unfortunately a “necessary evil,” he said.
For those who love the winter climate, the outdoor ice rink is being moved and rebuilt next to the General Strange Hall.
With the current Gunner Arena in an operational area, it is also planned to be relocated next to the new outdoor rink, but is still in the planning phase and not yet approved.
“Planned is not approved, tendered or awarded,” he stressed.
“As security levels rise, we may end up having to section off parts of the base for higher security levels,” he said, explaining the arena move.
When asked about the progress of the $84 million housing project first reported in the Shilo Stag on Feb. 25, he explained that he could not speak to housing construction, as a different government branch manages it.
Construction on the new $12 million CFB Shilo Transition Centre broke ground in May and is anticipated to be finished by 2028 or 2029, Maj. Steve Peregoodoff, officer commanding Real Property Operations West, Shilo Detachment, told Shilo Stag News in Sept. (Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News)
