U of T engaged in legal battle over Pan Am pool site

The University of Toronto is being sued for $2 million over extra construction work done on the site of Scarborough campus’s Pan Am Sports Centre, which will host an athletic complex that includes two Olympic-sized pools. York Excavating & Grading Ltd. and Green For Life (GFL) environmental group claim that the university should pay for additional labour, materials, and equipment expended on the project. York and GFL have also sued the City of Toronto for $3.7 million, and the engineering firm Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (CRA) Ltd. for $1.6 million.

The city alleges that the additional cost to York and GFL’s current $29.5 million contract is unwarranted. The company, which began work on the project in April 2011, was scheduled to finish excavating the 12.5-hectare site by the end of that year. After two extensions, the project was completed in June 2012. Additional construction work occurred during this extension period. In the city’s opinion, this prevents the companies from making any monetary claims.

Both the university and the CRA believe that the companies’ claims are unjustified. U of T has counter-sued for $150,000. The university declined comment on the lawsuits.

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC) is still being constructed at Military Trail and Morningside Avenue. The scheduled completion date for the athletics facility is during the summer of 2014. The facility will be open for students and the public by the university’s fall 2014 semester, and will be used during the Pan Am 2015 games.

The TPASC will cost $205 million, and will be jointly paid for by the City of Toronto and the university. Due to a 2010 levy, University of Toronto Scarborough students will pay a cumulative $30 million toward the project, spread over 25 years, through their student fees.

The lawsuit over the TPASC has raised larger concerns about the university’s role in the Pan Am games. The university will be constructing several facilities for the 2015 games, including the Pan Am Field Hockey Centre on the St. George campus. Varsity Stadium will be used as a venue for the archery competition.