Construction is well underway on the new Toronto Police Service 41 Division in Scarborough. Major interior and exterior features are now visible.
The Eastern Construction-delivered project is located at the intersection of Birchmount Road and Ellesmere Road, and is at a critical point, with crews continuing work around an active police facility.
The building’s interior partition framing is nearly complete, and most of the mechanical and electrical rough-ins are in place. Drywall work is also starting so the project is going into its final stages.
Crews have installed the air and vapor barrier membrane and insulation for the metal panel system outside. Work on the building’s green roof is expected to begin soon, with landscaping already underway.
A police building that is net zero
The redevelopment intends to set a new benchmark for sustainable public buildings.
The new 41 Division is anticipated to be Ontario’s first net-zero emissions police building and will include a number of technologies to reduce energy use and increase overall building performance.
The two-story facility will be heated and cooled by geothermal energy, energy recovery ventilation and solar photovoltaic generation.
It will also feature a high-performance building envelope to improve energy efficiency and reduce heat loss.
The roughly 60,000-square-foot building will have a sloped roof with about 260 solar panels and will be designed by WZMH Architects.
The panels are expected to produce over 100,000 kWh of electricity a year in all.
Building on the history of the site
Adding another level of complexity to the project is the fact that the new facility is being constructed on the footprint of the existing building.
The original Scarborough Police Headquarters was constructed in 1961. The 3.5 acres of land was shared with the Magistrates Court for the first 18 years before being exclusively used by police.
This means the redevelopment is changing a police site that has been there for a long time rather than a site that is undeveloped.
Police operations continue as construction
One of the biggest challenges, according to Eastern Construction, is phasing the work as the project nears completion.
The work has to be carried out without affecting the functioning of the existing police station.
The new parking area will be used by the Toronto Police Service, which is expected to move from its current parking lot in the coming weeks. Police operations can continue while crews can begin to replace the existing parking lot.
Another tricky part will be removal of the hoarding wall between the two buildings, one of which remains an active police station.
So the work is a balancing act between construction crews and police operations – some phases must be completed one after another to keep the site functioning.
Once completed, the new 41 Division will be a mix of state-of-the-art policing facilities with a much lower environmental footprint, making the Scarborough project an important example of how public infrastructure can serve the dual purpose of operational needs and aggressive sustainability targets.
