Waterloo considers $700K plan to save relic Cold War relic

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The estimated cost to restore an historic Cold War bunker owned by the Region of Waterloo has quadrupled to more than $4 million.

The King Street East site has been unused for about three years and staff now recommends proceeding with repair work to waterproof, abate asbestos and mould, secure, and stabilize the building to avoid further deterioration and to further explore potential uses of the site, associated design options, and funding sources for consideration as part of the 2022 budget.

The bunker was built for $96,000 in 1966 —about $750,000 in 2021 dollars — and was designed by Webb Zerafa Menkes and Matthews, the same firm that designed the CN Tower.

The region’s heritage committee wants to renew the structure and make it accessible, “so people can value and appreciate the space.” It was decommissioned in 1992 and used by the Kitchener-Waterloo Rowing Club to store boats from 2003 to 2018. It has been vacant for three years.

Structural assessments conducted in 2017 and 2018 identified serious health and safety concerns that needed to be addressed for the building to be utilized and the Region attempted to address the issues concerning repairs, “but a mutually agreeable solution could not be found.”

Repairs are estimated to cost approximately $700,000. Early cost estimates of a longer-term bomb shelter rehabilitation project starting in 2023 (after consultation and design) are in the $4 million to $4.5 million range.

“Staff will explore and apply for any potential grants or funding to assist with rehabilitation of the bomb shelter,” Laurie Wells, program manager, Facilities Management wrote in a report to council.

“In the absence of any grant funding, it is expected that the Region would be required to debt finance the rehabilitation work.”

The fallout shelter was designed to protect key officials after a nuclear attack and is a unique piece of local history and should be preserved and restored, Waterloo Region’s heritage advisory committee says.

Owned by the region, it was built in 1966 by the defunct County of Waterloo and the Department of National Defence as part of a planned national network of bunkers meant to ensure governments could carry on in the event of a nuclear attack.

The underground bunker is tucked next to the Grand River on 1.23 acres at 3571 King St. E., next to the Freeport bridge and Freeport hospital. All that can be seen from the street are two radio towers and some pipes sticking out of the ground, near a concrete entrance.

The building had its own well and septic system and was capable of being self-sufficient with no outside requirements for power, water or sewage. It was designed to house about 40 local officials for several weeks.

A report by DST Consulting Engineers says the 5,700-sq. ft. shelter site is worth designating, and meets the criteria for a regionally significant cultural heritage resource.

Options presented by the region’s cultural services department for potential future reuse of the building include community art space, filming space, space for Indigenous activities and community events space.

If council decides to demolish the building, it is tentatively scheduled for 2022.

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