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SD43 hopes stalled construction project back on track soon

Work on neighbourhood learning centre at Centennial school in Coquitlam to resume once new contractor is in place
Centennial
Work on the neighbourhood learning centre at Centennial school shut down after the school district fired a contractor because the work was taking too long. A new contractor has been selected but details need to be finalized before work can resume.

Students and staff returning to Centennial secondary school Sept. 3 will have to wait a little longer to see progress on construction of the neighbourhood learning centre next to their school.

Originally scheduled to take two years to build, and possibly open in 2019, construction has been slow on plans for offices, classrooms and a gym, forcing School District 43 to dismiss the original contractor while a new, as yet unidentified, builder has been found, although final paperwork has to be done before work can begin.

“We are nearing the final agreement with the bonding Insurance company, the selected contractor and the school district. We expect to have this completed within the next week or two. We are not in a position to comment on the selected contractor until the agreement is finalized and signed. As a result we are not in a position to reasonably estimate the [construction] timeline,” said Chris Nicolls, SD43's secretary treasure, in an email to The Tri-City News.

The project — part of the $61-million Centennial rebuild — has been sitting idle for months while SD43 dealt with various issues with the previous contractor, which was terminated in April for slow work. Because of legal issues, the name of the dismissed contractor has not been revealed.

When complete, the project will include some additional classroom space, offices for support staff who work with new immigrants and refugees, as well as a gymnasium.