New City Market

From the Border Cities Star – April 4, 1929.

THIS is an architect’s sketch of Windsor’s new public market, Pitt street east, which
is to replace the existing structure, which has stood for so long on a site opposite
the central fire station.

Setting an example to other civic spending bodies, the City Council, in awarding
contracts for the structure yesterday, kept well under the expenditure limit of
$185,000, set by the ratepayers at the polls last fall, and authorized a start on con-
struction activities by April 10, it a total cost of $180,517.

The article that accompanied the rendering was as follows:

THREE MONTH LIMIT IS SET

City’s Trading Centre To Be Completed By July 10

Council Awards Contract To Walkerville Company

Construction activities are due to start by Wednesday, April 10, on Windsor’s new public, market, with the com¬pletion date set for July 10, three months later.

COST IS $180,517

Costing a total of $180,517, with architect’s fees included, the trading centre will thus be kept well under the spending limit of $185,000 set by the ratepayers of the city last fall when the enterprise was favored by a large majority at the polls.

Contracts were awarded by the city council yesterday as follows: general. Alex Barren, Limited, 344 Victoria Road, Walkerville, at $141,000; plumbing and heating, C. E. Greenan and Company, 210 Windsor avenue, at $20,883; and wiring, Duncan and Moore, 344 Victoria Road, Walkerville, at $10,038.

TWO SESSIONS

Two sessions of the council were necessary before the final award on the general tender was made.

Meeting in special session, under the direction of Commissioner Joshua Gitlin, market chairman, the city’s six-man board opened tenders and found that the lowest of the 11 general contract bids had been submitted by the Gosselin Construction Company, Ouellette Avenue, at $139,000.

Later, after the session broke up, it was found that this tender contained figures for another type of roofing than that set forth in the specifications, and when the bids were re-examined it was found that the Gosselin company’s tender was $379 above that submitted by Alex Barron, Limited, on the basis of the specified type roofing.

AWARD CHANGED

Subsequently the Walkerville firm was given the job, and the former award revoked.

In each of the three contracts the lowest figures submitted in each of the different classifications was accepted by the council. The highest general contract tender placed before the council reached to $166.360. The highest plumbing and heating tender was $26,240, and the highest electrical tender, $12,835.

Plans and specifications for the market, which is to be two stories in height, and of the ramp type, were supplied the city by Trace and Diehl, architects, Bank of Montreal Building. J. E. Trace, one of the members of the firm, had previously informed the council that the specifications could not overrun the sum of $185,000 voted by the ratepayers.

ARCHITECTS’ FEES

Of the total cost of $180,517 involved, the architects fees are placed at $8,596, based on the regular percentage for this kind of work. The cost of wrecking the old market is included in the general contract.

When it became apparent at the first of the two council meetings that the Gosselin company’s was the lowest tender, Commissioner Frank J. Mitchell demurred on the claim that the firm was actually an Arnherstburg company with an office in Windsor. He reminded his colleagues that he had tried some weeks ago to restrict the bids to Border contractors.

Later, when the original contract to the Gosselin company was revoked, this point remained undebatable.