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Good afternoon everyone,
I am delighted to formally announce that the Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse (TBCC) achieved Commercial Close on Thursday November 18th and Financial Close today Friday November 19th , 2010. The Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse is the third DBFM project to be procured and delivered jointly with the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG).
The Courthouse will house the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice within 15 courtrooms and 4 conference settlement rooms and is located in Thunder bay on a site defined by Brodie and Archibald streets on the East and West; Miles Street and Victoriaville Mall on the North and South directions.
The new facility, designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification adopts universal design principles and accessibility requirements, seamlessly integrates an Aboriginal Conference Settlement Suite into its clear well resolved internal planning, and ensures that the architectural expression is consistent with the positive projection of the Courts’ authority.
Plenary Justice (PJ) was selected as the Preferred Proponent in September 2010 and following negotiations was selected to design, build, finance and maintain this courthouse.
The successful Consortium is comprised of: Bird Construction (Builder), Johnson Controls Inc. (Service Provider), Plenary Group (Equity Partners), TD Securities (Financial Advisors), TD Bank and Manulife Financial (Bank Financing Lenders), and the Ontario Pension Board, Canada Life and Bimcor (Long Term Private Lenders).
This achievement was possible due to the professionalism, dedication, and industrious work of the primary Infrastructure Ontario project team members:
Project Delivery: Yaprak Berktin and Nelson Francisco Rodriguez
Project Legal: Simon Finlayson
Project Finance: Bruno Welt and Gregory Sweeney
Project Communication: Thomas Boreskie
Project Procurement: Andrea Robinson
Project Management Office: Andrew Apangu and Lesya Padalko
I particularly want to express a special thanks to Yaprak Berktin as the Project Manager for her tireless commitment to the project. Yaprak’s skillful management of the project since its inception to Financial Close has been exceptional.
I would also like to thank the Infrastructure Ontario’s Senior Management Team for their guidance and vision in getting this project to the finish line.
This accomplishment would not be possible without the dedicated involvement, support, and hard-work of our MAG Co-Sponsor Team led by Ellen Wexler, Judy Stamp, Sandra Hornung, Wei Chiao and Caitlin Sweet. Their expertise in design and operations of courthouse facilities was essential in bringing the project to its current stage. Furthermore, I would also like to highlight the Ontario Realty Corporation’s expert participation and contribution to the project; special thanks to Bill Hebburn, Jason Fellen, Frances Grabowski, Frank Vinodolac, Gareth Newlands, and Justin Wallbott.
The Ogilvy Renault team of Sandra Nissan, Andrew Pritchard, Joseph Hillier, and Mark Bailey provided flawless legal advice and were crucial in effectively preparing and customizing the Project Agreement for the Thunder Bay Consolidated Courthouse and leading us to Commercial and Financial Close.
Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of the Attorney General benefitted from the following team of expert advisors who brought an extraordinary pool of knowledge to the project; the team was comprised of:
Planning Design and Compliance: IBI Group
Facility Management Consultant: P-1 Consulting
Fairness Advisor: Knowles Consultancy Services Inc.
Process and Financial Advisor: KPMG LLP
Infrastructure Ontario Construction Insurance Program: AON Reed Stenhouse Inc.
I would also like to thank those of you at Infrastructure Ontario who directly or indirectly contributed to this major milestone.
A news release will be issued shortly by Infrastructure Ontario’s Communications and Corporate Relations Department, so please maintain confidentiality of this achievement until the close of today’s business day.
Now that we have reached Financial Close, the fun begins as we embark on fully developing this site by the Fall of 2013!
Angelo Gismondi
Vice President Project Delivery
Tel 416.327.5686
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