Barrie Memorial Square

This project presented a significant challenge with the budget, it was originally designed by a consultant and went through a traditional tender process where the tendered prices were more than double the City’s budget. When it was re-released as a design build, Rutherford was the successful proponent and we needed to work with the various stakeholders to realize significant savings from the previous design. It took significant effort and collaboration with our team, the City and the local BIA to revamp the original design and achieve the necessary savings while delivering on the original design intentions.

On top of an extremely tight budget, there were schedule constraints. Rutherford and our team were able to design and construct this 5+ million dollar public square in 15 months from award. This is an incredible achievement, but it is a result of the collaboration, focus and effort of all parties from our consulting team, owner representatives, Local BIA personnel, Rutherford Contracting and our subcontractors that made it a reality.

The site is located in the downtown core of Barrie with high volumes of pedestrian traffic, vehicular traffic, local businesses and signalized intersections. Rutherford needed to use a variety of public way protection strategies, including fast fence, signage and flagging, very similar to what will be required at the ROSS ST site. We needed to ensure access wasn’t impacted to crosswalks, businesses and regular pedestrian thoroughfares.

The scope of work involved the construction of a civic square with two distinct areas called Memorial Square and Meridian Place in the core of downtown Barrie.

This new space was designed with focuses in mind: 1. A civil public space the community can enjoy and; 2. The significance of saluting the soldiers who risked their lives in the Vimy Ridge Battle, and for those who lost theirs.

Memorial Square involved the relocation of an existing historic monument to a more central location within the square and the construction of an elegant plaza that will serve as host to events of historic significance.

Meridian Square involved the construction of a fabric covered performance stage for different types of events, concerts in particular. The functionality of the space is intended to be flexible to allow for varied programming and be able to host both large and small events.

One thing everyone will notice about this site when they visit is the level of quality from the concrete finishes and accent lighting to the masonry feature walls and bronze inlays. There are a number of details throughout the space that are designed and built with particular attention to detail.