London's Normal School. Photo by Ashton Patis, BlackburnNews.comLondon's Normal School. Photo by Ashton Patis, BlackburnNews.com
London

Normal School Renovations Over Budget

It is going to cost the city $2-million more than budgeted to upgrade Wortley Village's Normal School.

Extra money is needed to fix a number of things that were discovered when the initial project began.

Officials say the school has undocumented asbestos, collapsed sewers and storm drains and needs a proper drainage system.

Initially, two tenders were awarded to two different companies in the amount of $8,030,875 and $577,186, with the project expected to come in at $9.3-million.

Now, it's estimated the revised project will cost over $11.3-million.

The extra $2-million is forcing the city to use debt financing.

Upon completion of the renovation, the building will be leased to the YMCA for 10 years at a cost of $450,000 per-year.

The YMCA is also required to take on a capital needs campaign to raise some money to support the needs of the building.

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