A new building for Yarmouth’s HOPE Centre is being constructed at a different location than originally planned.
Staff and clients of the Handicapped Organization Promoting Equality, which offers services and programs for people with disabilities, should have been in a new building by now on Adelaide Street.
Project manager Doug Thistle says they encountered issues with sewer and groundwater management at that location.
Thistle said they needed to move the project to higher ground, so they looked to the the Boys and Girl’s Club on Bond Street.
“On the initial piece of land that we received from the town, when we went for our permits there was an issue with sewer, we had to put in a holding station for the sewer and pump the sewage uphill which we did not want to burden the HOPE Centre with in the future. Also groundwater runoff, we had to design a system with underground drainage. It added $13,500 to the budget”
“We said ok, if we could get it up on a higher elevation to avoid pumping the sewage higher. There was a piece of land on Bond Street owned by the Boys and Girl’s Club.
The club didn’t want to sell the land.
“They said well, if you guys want to build us a parking lot on the land that you can’t or don’t want to use, we could entertain that idea. We looked at what it would cost to put a parking lost in for them on Adelaide Street and it was less money than the $13,500.”
Construction has been delayed about four months.
Doug and and his wife Elaine donated $200,000 towards the $280,000 cost.
Thistle says a fundraising campaign to cover the balance was very successful.
The HOPE Centre will continue to operate from its current location on south Main Street until the new facility is complete.
