May 29, 2008

Donald Doucet Youth Centre boasts energy-efficient design

Secure Sault Ste. Marie facility to cost $8 million

ELAINE DELLA-MATTIA

correspondent

Sault Ste Marie

A new youth detention centre in Sault Ste. Marie will boast the most recent energy-efficient features in its design.

The Donald Doucet Youth Centre is in the finishing stages of construction and is expected to be completed at the end of this month.

The $7.8 million facility, which employed 130 construction workers during building, is on time and on budget.

The centre has been designed with energy efficiency in mind, said Anne Machowski, information officer with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

It boasts higher than normal insulation values for a building of its size and has been fitted with thermally enchanced security window frames and argon-filled glazed windows.

It also has an energy-recovery ventilation system, demand-control ventilation and high-efficiency hydronic heating with some radiant-slab heating.

The energy-efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures have also been included in the design along with a state-of-the-art security system, institutional grade doors and hardware, security proof glazing and a fully secure recreational yard.

The general contractor is Sault-based contractor George Stone and Sons Ltd and construction was oveseen by the Ontario Realty Corporation.

The facility is named after Sault Ste. Marie police officer Const. Donald Doucet, who died in a motor vehicle accident in May 2006 while on duty.

The 20,000-square-foot building is a 16-bed, secure custody youth justice centre that will house youths between the ages of 12 and 17. It contains separate male and female units and can accommodate up to 12 males and four females.

The centre is being built as part of the Ontario government’s $30 billion, five-year Renew Ontario Investment Plan.

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