Esquimalt is moving ahead with plans to remediate its old public works yard and municipal hall.
Esquimalt has awarded a $200,000 contract to SLR Consulting (Canada Ltd.) to complete a remediation plan for the site, pending successful application for project funding.
It’s all part of plans to make the site “shovel ready” for redevelopment, Mayor Barb Desjardins said.
“It’s a brownfield site and we need to get a certificate of compliance from the Ministry of the Environment,” Desjardins said.
“We’ve done the testing. We know what work needs to be done. Now we’ve engaged a company to do that and that will happen over the summer,” she said.
The remediation plan will build on n detailed site investigation conducted by the municipality in 2013.
Desjardins said the physical work that has to be done is to ensure the scope of the needed environmental cleanup. Indications are it won’t be too extensive, she said.
“They were the public works buildings from days gone by. So we’ve always been aware of where the contamination is. But it’s been contained and it’s been monitored over the years,” she said.
Esquimalt has undertaken an archeological study that indicated no apparent issues related to First Nations sites. A geotechnical study indicated that a building up to 12 storeys could be built on the site.
The municipality will apply for federal and provincial grants to cover about half of the project cost. Work is expected to start this fall.
Esquimalt council wants to redevelop the property into a village core area, with a mix of residential, commercial and retail space.
Esquimalt has floated the possibility of having a tertiary-treatment sewage plant built for Esquimalt, View Royal and part of Vic West as part of its village core revitalization project.
