The tender for the $12.2-million project to provide Faro with a new firehall and public works building has been cancelled.

A communication officer with the Department of Community Services confirmed that to the Star on Tuesday.

Bonnie Venton Ross explained by email that all six bids received “have come in significantly higher than expected, putting the price for the overall project well beyond the available federal funding.”

The project will be redesigned with plans to retender next spring so that it still fits inside the timelines set out in the funding arrangement.

That agreement calls for a 75 per cent contribution from the federal Small Communities Fund and 25 per cent from the Yukon, Venton Ross said.

The department is working quickly to retain the services of the current architectural firm of Kobayashi & Zedda Architects to undertake the redesign, she added.

The tender opened June 5 and closed July 25.

The government does not post bid prices when a project gas been cancelled, Venton Ross said.

“Not posting the bids enables YG to revise the tender scope of work and re-tender, without concerns that the competitive pricing information has already been shared publicly,” she said.

The government is not releasing the estimated cost of construction.

Venton Ross did point out a third-party estimate for construction was obtained but was much lower than the six bids received.

The $12.2-million budget includes planning and design costs and a contingency allowance in addition to the cost of construction, she pointed out.

Venton Ross said the building was designed in partnership with the Town of Faro, which participated in the community’s 50th birthday celebrations earlier this summer.

Community Services will work with the community in the redesign, with a focus on the core requirements of the building, Venton Ross said.