After facing some delays, Owen Sound's revamp of part of the downtown core near the Sydenham River is nearly complete.
The city's Director of Public Works and Engineering Dennis Kefalas says the Downtown River Precinct project achieved substantial completion earlier this month, on Dec. 4.
There are still some minor deficiencies to be addressed into the spring, Kefalas notes, such as the installation of a new bicycle structure adjacent to city hall, the placement of some paving stones, installation of a few remaining windows on the Farmer's Market pavilion and minor concrete work.
“We have been using the Farmer's Market for quite some time now,” Kefalas explains. “But it was the whole idea of getting through everything on the list that forms the project. We went through a list of deficiencies and there are still some outstanding. However, the project is substantially complete with materials on site to achieve what's left.”
The $2.93-million riverside revamp was originally supposed to be done by the end of August — but was pushed back multiple times due to hold-ups relating to the completion of the pavilion outside the Farmer's Market building.
The project included the re-alignment of 1st Avenue East and a refresh of several areas near the Sydenham River. This included the reconstruction 1st Avenue East and the city hall parking lot, hardscaping the market square and river promenade, landscaping along top of riverbank, a new sidewalk on east side of road, the replacement of market building canopy, drainage/storm water improvements and a new watermain.
Several aesthetic features were also installed near the riverside, most notably a large sun shade at 9th Street and 1st Avenue East.
Work on the 8th Street Bridge — including the removal of asphalt, application of a new waterproof layer and resurfacing — completed this past summer was also included in the Downtown River Precinct project tender.
This is Phase 1 of the Downtown River Precinct Project. The full build-out is expected to go from the 8th Street Bridge to the 10th Street Bridge, according to a past Bayshore Broadcasting report. But, future phases of the project are only in the concept stage and aren't expected to even start being considered until the completion of the 10th Street Bridge replacement.