Ketza TSL starts work on $44.8M housing, wellness centre in remote Old Crow, Yukon

Ketza TSL Construction Ltd. has begun site prep for a major building project in a remote community in northern Yukon.

After years of planning, the contractor will begin land clearing and laying a gravel pad for a combined housing and wellness complex in Old Crow this summer. Thermopiles for the foundation will be flown into the community on the Porcupine River and installed over the winter. Construction on the building itself will start next year.

The Old Crow Health and Wellness Centre aims to bolster health and dental services in the small community, while also addressing its current housing shortage. 10 housing units are included in the plans for the multi-use project.

“We are eagerly anticipating the overdue replacement of our health centre, built in the 1970s. The new centre will facilitate a collaborative approach to health and social needs, while the 10-unit housing complex will help provide other housing that will change lives in Old Crow,” said Dana Tizya-Tramm, government chief for the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, in a release.

In the lead up to construction, the Yukon government agreed to a long-term land lease agreement with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. Whitehorse-based Ketza was awarded a $44.8 million design-build contract for the job this March.

The new facility is scheduled to be complete by late 2023.