Next week, city councillors are expected to approve the criteria for the request for proposals (RFP) to design and build the $100-million arena/events centre planned for The Kingsway.
Three companies are eligible to bid on the project, having pre-qualified through a process held last May. They are EllisDon Corp., PCL Constructors Canada and Ball/Tesc Construction.
Tesc Construction is owned by developer Dario Zulich, who owns the Sudbury Wolves and is selling the land for the arena to the city for a nominal fee, where a hotel and casino are also planned.
The RFP was prepared by city staff and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The two most important criteria are cost (35 per cent) and the quality and thoroughness of the design (another 35 per cent). A weighting of 10 per cent is being given each to the quality of the construction plan, the quality of the project design (which includes planning approvals, engineering, etc.) and the thoroughness of the plan to stay on schedule.
“The RFP will be ready for issue when appropriate zoning is in place,” a staff report on the process said. “The earliest it is expected to issue the RFP will be spring 2018, with the preferred proponent being selected early fall.”
The land where the arena will be built has to be rezoned to allow for a public arena. It's expected to go to a second and final public hearing sometime this spring, before councillors vote whether to approve it.
“Further steps include finalizing the legal agreement between CGS and the preferred proponent and preparing the final drawings for building permit submission,” the report said.
Councillors will vote on the criteria at their meeting Tuesday.
