Contract Awarded for Toronto Courthouse Project

By CN Staff

TORONTO—Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of the Attorney General have awarded an approximately $950 million contract to EllisDon Infrastructure to design, build, finance and maintain the new Toronto courthouse project.

Located just to the north of Toronto’s City Hall at 10 Armoury Street, bordered by Centre Avenue and Chestnut Street, construction is expected to start in the next few months, with an anticipated completion in spring of 2022.

The new Toronto courthouse will include the following:

  • Barrier-free environment to allow visitors and occupants to travel throughout the building with ease.
  • Video conferencing to allow witnesses to appear from remote locations and in-custody individuals to appear from detention facilities.
  • Closed-circuit television to enable children and other vulnerable witnesses to appear before the court from a private room.
  • Courtroom video/audio systems to allow counsel to display video evidence recorded in various formats and for the simultaneous viewing of evidence.
  • A single point of entry with magnetometers, baggage scanners, continuous video surveillance, and separate corridors to ensure the security of judges, members of the public and the accused.

The new courthouse will bring together many of Toronto’s Ontario Court of Justice criminal courts operating across the city. Amalgamating several courts into one state-of-the-art facility will reduce costs, make operations more efficient and effective, provide for equal access to services, and will ensure the province’s real estate portfolio is sustainable, accessible and efficient.

The project also includes the first learning center in an Ontario courthouse. This space offers opportunities for the public, justice workers, and students to learn about Indigenous history and issues related to the justice system in Ontario.

The EllisDon Infrastructure team on this impressive project includes EllisDon Capital Inc.(developer); EllisDon Design Build Inc. (constructor); Renzo Piano Building Workshop and NORR Architects & Engineers Limited (design team); EllisDon Facilities Services Inc. and SNC Lavalin O&M (facilities management); and EllisDon Capital Inc. (financial advisor).

The courthouse will be designed to meet the LEED Silver standard with a focus on energy efficiency, healthy indoor environments and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.