#501 Library Cost Blowout...will not show up in the Newsletter

Grass Roof of New Library

Numbers King Doesn't Put in His Newsletter - now just try and get a better deal for Bathgate Park

Peter Karwacki · Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe) · Accountability Watch

Rawlson King sits on the Ottawa Public Library Board. It's one of the more consequential seats a Ward 13 councillor can hold right now, because the library system is in the middle of the most expensive, most delayed capital project in its history: the new central library at LeBreton Flats, known as Ādisōke.

You wouldn't know that from his newsletter. What follows is the record — where the project's cost and schedule started, where they stand today, and what taxpayers are paying in the meantime to keep the old Main branch open.

Ādisōke (That'll soak ya): then and now

	Original estimate	Where things stand now
Total project cost	Fixed at $175 million — $71 million from the federal government, $104 million from the city — plus $18 million more for a 200-spot underground garage.	Approaching $352 million: nearly double the original budget. Council was asked for another $18.5 million on top of that in May 2026.
First major blowout	—	Construction bids in 2021 came in $131 million over the fixed price, pushing the total to $306 million and leaving the city on the hook for an extra $65 million.
Opening date	Hoped for as early as 2024, back when the project was first announced.	No public date. As of the most recent staff report, the contractor's own schedule "has not stabilized." A year ago the contractor was targeting completion by this past September — staff still couldn't say when the doors would actually open to the public.
City's posture	—	Not ruling out legal action against the contractor.

One honest caveat: two CBC reports give slightly different post-2021 totals — $306 million in one, $334 million in another. That's likely a scope difference (with or without contingency) rather than a contradiction, but it's not been cleanly reconciled in public reporting. Worth a direct question to OPL communications before anyone treats either number as the definitive one.

Meanwhile: the old Main branch lease

Because Ādisōke isn't ready, the library board has had to keep paying for the building it was supposed to be leaving — the Main branch on Metcalfe Street.

Extension	Cost to taxpayers
Six-month extension, to June 30, 2027	$900,000 plus taxes
Full extension through the end of 2027 (12 months)	$1,800,000 plus taxes

The library has now exercised its final lease extension — the full-year option, roughly $1.8 million plus taxes — to keep the Main branch open through the end of 2027. There is no further extension available after that, regardless of whether Ādisōke is ready.

Why this belongs in the newsletter

None of this is secret. It's in public board reports and it's been covered by CBC and CTV. But a Ward 13 resident reading Councillor King's newsletter wouldn't see any of it — not the budget doubling, not the schedule that "has not stabilized," not the $1.8 million taxpayers are now on the hook for just to keep the lights on at the old building. A library board member is well placed to explain this to constituents. Silence is a choice too.

References

1. Josh Pringle, "Ottawa Public Library extends lease at main branch until end of 2027 as Ādisōke faces delays," CTV News Ottawa, Sept. 8, 2026. ctvnews.ca
2. "With no set opening for new central branch, Ottawa Public Library extends downtown lease," CBC News, Feb. 2026. cbc.ca
3. "Ādisōke library project goes further over budget, faces more delays," CBC News, May 2026. cbc.ca
4. "City of Ottawa not ruling out legal action for delayed Ādisōke Library," CTV News Ottawa, June 2026. ctvnews.ca
5. "Ottawa's new main library $131M over budget with city on hook for half," CBC News, Oct. 2021. cbc.ca

Published as part of an ongoing series tracking city capital projects and board oversight in Ward 13.