| City Celebrates Grand Opening of Paramedic Headquarters - A P3 Project
November 29, 2005 Ottawa – Today, the City of Ottawa along with Forum Leasehold Partners Inc. celebrated the grand opening of the new Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters at 2465 Don Reid Drive. Mayor Bob Chiarelli joined Richard Abboud of Forum, Councillor Diane Deans, Deputy City Manager Steve Kanellakos and Anthony Di Monte, Chief of the Ottawa Paramedic Service for the official ribbon cutting and opening of the new facility. “This event acknowledges the commitment and hard work of the City’s first responders in making Ottawa a safer city for residents and visitors,” said Mayor Chiarelli. “This Public-Private Partnership has been a top priority because the new headquarters is a more efficient way to provide paramedic service to the community. It will help save more lives.” The 100,000 sq. ft. Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters will result in improved efficiencies of the paramedic service through the consolidation of services and staff who were located at 1887 St. Joseph Boulevard and 530 Tremblay Road. The construction of the headquarters is the result of an innovative Public-Private Partnership (P3) between the City of Ottawa and Forum Leasehold Inc. Forum’s partnership with Griffiths Rankin Cook, Aecon Westeinde and Trammell Crow Company highlights the City’s commitment to providing quality emergency care. This state-of-the-art, energy-efficient facility provides a central location to deploy and train paramedics and process all emergency vehicles and equipment. The facility includes a world-class decontamination bay for vehicles and personnel that respond to incidents or accidents that involve hazardous materials. It also provides improved facilities for public community medicine training programs such as Paramedic Public Access Defibrillation Program and CPR. It includes an outstanding work of art created by Jean Halstead and Svetlana Swinimer, commissioned as part of the City’s Public Art Program. “Building the paramedic headquarters is another critical component that we need to effectively put our operational plan in place,” said Chief Di Monte. “We are working towards continuing to improve the level of service delivered in Ottawa for our citizens and visitors” The City has entered into a lease agreement with Forum to occupy the building. At the end of the 30-year term, the ground lease will expire and the land and facility will transfer to the City for $1. Trammell Crow Company will be responsible for the property management of the facility for an annual management fee. All costs related to the operation of the facility will be borne by the City without mark-up or contingencies. This project has also been selected as part of the Community Legacy Program to commemorate the City of Ottawa’s 150th anniversary. The program combines celebrations of this historic occasion with community-oriented capital projects being completed or initiated in 2005. A plaque bearing the Ottawa 150 logo will be mounted on the Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters because it is enduring, accessible, and will create a lasting legacy for future generations of the City of Ottawa. For more information: |
