Capital projects - City of Guelph

Over the next 10 years, the City will spend more than $950 million to plan, design and build over 300 capital projects.

The way we manage Guelph’s capital projects is evolving. We’re creating systems that improve planning and oversight. This involves more rigorous project and risk management practices to ensure large-scale construction projects are well-managed.

Greater governance, oversight, communications and reporting of Guelph’s capital projects are a reflection of our commitment to be more accountable and transparent.

The City’s Project Management Office (PMO) is leading this work based on recommendations from Deloitte’s Capital Projects Risk Assessment and strategic advice from the City’s internal Complex Capital Projects Committee.

What’s a capital project?

A capital project refers to the purchase, replacement, upgrade, expansion or creation of an asset that requires a substantial capital investment.

The City categorizes its capital projects into the following three tiers:

Tier 1

Approximately $10 million
Large complex scope
New initiatives
High profile
Major stakeholder impact
Prolonged service disruption
Major contracts
Highly controversial
Other (specified by the Executive Team)

3-5 projects

Tier 2

Approximately $1-$10 million
Medium complexity
Medium profile
Some stakeholder impact and service disruption
Minor contracts
Somewhat controversial
Other (specified by the Executive Team)

Approximately 20 projects

Tier 3

Less than $1 million
Routine/operational scope
Low profile
Minimal stakeholder impact and service disruption
Internal focus
Not controversial

Approximately 150 projects

Important considerations about the tiers

The dollar figure alone does not determine the tier level
The tiered categorization allows the City to scale the level of project management rigour to the level of project risk.
The City is focusing on project management standards for its Tier 1 projects first.