Halifax’s $500-million Nova Centre project is over budget and behind schedule, but developer Joe Ramia says taxpayers won’t be on the hook for additional costs.
The update came Friday as Ramia led reporters through the downtown construction site.
The development, which will include the city’s new $164-million convention centre, is now slated to open nine months later than planned, in September 2016 instead of January of that year.
“The delay came from the extensive public consultation that we had to go through, which took over nine months, and the redesign that has come as a consequence,” said Ramia, president of Argyle Developments Inc.
He said even though the project is a little over budget, taxpayers won’t have to cover the costs.
“Because the price we’ve given to the city and the province for the convention centre is fixed, so any extra cost is being absorbed by the investors,” Ramia said.
However, the delays will impact some clients of the convention centre, who have already scheduled events following the building’s scheduled opening.
“As of today, we have secured 30 events for the new convention centre, 17 of which we will now be rescheduling,” said Scott Ferguson, head of Trade Centre Ltd.
He said he believes many will try to squeeze into the much smaller existing convention center, or rebook when the new one is finished.
All the Nova Centre’s venues – the hotel, office towers and the convention centre – are expected to open simultaneously by Sept. 30, 2016, Ramia said.
The convention centre won’t be officially open for business until January 2017, although Ferguson said there will be some events prior to that.
“We’ll need a period of time to test out systems and try test events, so there will be some staff and some event activity happening,” Ferguson said.
Meanwhile, Ramia said he hopes to make up the cost overruns and some of the lost time, and he’s bought a $1-million concrete pouring machine to help do that.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant.
