Preparing for Centre Block reno
First step is getting credentials from firms interested in massive project
Public Works and Government Services Canada has begun gearing up for the rehabilitation of Parliament’s Centre Block — a project whose size, it says, will eclipse everything done to date in the parliamentary precinct.
In letters last month, Public Works outlined a two-stage process for selecting the Centre Block project’s construction manager and the team that will provide architectural and engineering services. It also solicited industry feedback on key elements that may form part of the solicitation process.
As an initial step, Public Works will soon issue a Request for Qualifications, allowing companies and teams interested in bidding on the two contracts to submit their credentials. It will then select a shortlist of three finalists for each contract and pick the winners after determining which bids offer the best value for Canada, the department’s letters say.
Work on the Centre Block rehabilitation won’t begin until 2018 and could take as long as a decade to complete. While work is underway, members of Parliament will meet in a new glass-roofed House of Commons being built as part of the rehabilitation of the West Block. Senators will meet in the Government Conference Centre, where renovations should be completed by 2017.
Last month, Public Works officials said the 20-year project to rebuild the Parliament Buildings was on time and on budget. Of the $3-billion that has been approved for the renovations to date, $1.8 billion has already been spent.
In its letters, Public Works describes the rehabilitation of the Centre Block as a project of national significance “that will be of a size greater than all work progressed to date” on the Long Term Vision and Plan for the parliamentary precinct.
The Long Term Vision and Plan spells out a series of rolling five-year plans that cover the renovation of the three core Parliament Buildings and other buildings within the parliamentary precinct.
Public Works says the Centre Block project will be “similar in complexity, scope and scale” to such projects as the Capitol Visitors Centre in Washington, a $600-million U.S. project that opened in 2008, the $2.1-billion U.S. renovations at the United Nations headquarters in New York, completed last year, and the planned rehabilitation of Westminster Palace in London, expected to begin after 2020.
“The rehabilitation of Centre Block will be a legacy project on behalf of all Canadians, and will ensure that this symbol of the country is preserved for the centuries to come,” the department’s letters say.
Public Works says it will use a “construction management at risk” approach for the project that may include provision for a guaranteed maximum price. The selected architectural and engineering team will work closely with the construction manager and provide “significant management influence” on the project, the department says.