Olympic Stadium spokespeople have revealed a beautiful new facade for the Big O tower — while some contractors are found to have charged some $2.5 million more than was initially budgeted for the project.
"Some of [the contractors] were over, others were under but basically the budget is still good, it's still on," says Olympic Park spokesperson Cédric Essiminy. "There's no extra on the budget, it was $143 million, it's still at this amount to this day."
The tower is being renovated into office space to accommodate over 1000 bank employees, Desjardins is leasing the tower for 20 years.
The project launched in 2015 — and is meant to be ready by the end of the year, while the face of Big O tower is in shambles, pock marked and with plywood windows. Today the Olympic Park Committee released images of a more open, windowed tower that promises to be sparkling and lit from within at night.
Over $40 million was borrowed from the government to begin renovations, that Essiminy says will be repaid over Desjardins lease, the tower has been empty for over 30 years.
Underbelly of the Big O - renos are apparently on time and on budget despite some contractors charging more than 1st estimates. #cjad pic.twitter.com/nLXTyHD0dg
— Emily Campbell (@emkcampbell) July 10, 2017