Supreme Court of Canada Renovation | Proposed

[rocketphish]

Repairs to the Supreme Court of Canada Building to begin in 2023
The aging building needs major work, but the project will not begin for another six years.

By: Kieran Delamont, Metro
Published on Tue Jul 18 2017

http://www.metronews.ca/content/dam/thestar/uploads/2017/7/18/rl-ottawa-stock-34.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg

Despite being in critical condition, repairs to the Supreme Court of Canada building will not begin for at least another six years and will not be completed until at least 2028.

Public Works announced on Monday that the Supreme Court building will undergo a five-year renovation beginning in 2023. Construction is estimated to last at least five years, with an initial price tag of over $1 billion.

Major renovations are required to shore up structural issues with the building. The Treasury Board of Canada, which maintains a database of all federal properties, lists the Supreme Court building as being in critical condition.

In January, CBC reported that an internal Public Works briefing acknowledged that the building’s mechanical systems were expected to fail by 2020, its electrical systems by 2021, and that the roof above the parking garage — which has been subject to water damage — could collapse by 2018.

However, construction on the nearby West Memorial building, at 344 Wellington St. needs to be completed before the justices and offices of the Supreme Court can be moved in. That property has been vacant since 2008, and is also in desperate need of repairs.

In April, Metro reported that the West Memorial $6.2-million project had a one-year timeline and that, at the time, occupancy plans were still “under development.”

Now that Public Works has announced that the Supreme Court is to occupy the building, however, the construction timeline appears to have quadrupled, jumping from a one- to a four-year estimate in Monday’s announcement. Construction is not set to begin until 2019 and continue into 2023.

Public Works declined to comment on whether there were any plans to repair the aging Supreme Court between now and 2023, despite internal reports suggesting major systems failures ahead of that date.

-With files from Ryam Tumilty

http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2017/07/18/repairs-to-the-supreme-court-building-to-begin-in-2023.html

[Harley613]

Here is a shot from last week showing the current condition of the exterior:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/35995068956_c92db841ac_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WQL8Xb)IMG_1716 (1) (https://flic.kr/p/WQL8Xb) by harley613 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92071236@N08/)

[Harley613]

And another shot from last week:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/35903673891_b12f3ba00e_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WGFHoc)IMG_2228 (https://flic.kr/p/WGFHoc) by harley613 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/92071236@N08/)

[Uhuniau]

Yeaaaaarrrrs ago, I had a research project that involved getting access to some books whose only known Canadian holdings are at the Supreme Court library.

It.

Was.

AWESOME.

Main stacks were up in the attic, under the copper roof. There is/was a larger overflow storage either in the basement or a sub-basement. The two were connected by the most wonderfully rickety pre-war elevator I've ever ridden.

[FutureWickedCity]

Remember when there was talk of building a second Supreme Court building on the vacant land to the west of the old one? I guess that's not in the cards anymore...pity

[Kitchissippi]

Remember when there was talk of building a second Supreme Court building on the vacant land to the west of the old one? I guess that's not in the cards anymore...pity

That proposal was to house the Federal Court (http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj.gc.ca/portal/page/portal/fc_cf_en/Index), which different from the Supreme Court. It may still happen in the future but probably not that design.

No doubt that building will be named after Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who was Justice Minister before he was Prime Minister, and not only responsible for repatriating the Constitution but also for forming the Federal Court itself as a replacement to the Exchequer Court of Canada. Probably why he called his first born "Justin", maybe he'll make it happen? :)

I'd love to see the judicial precinct completed as a triad of buildings like Parliament Hill, and maybe incorporate a museum that explains the judicial process and system to Canadians.

[kwoldtimer]

That proposal was to house the Federal Courts, which different from the Supreme Court. It may still happen in the future but probably not that design.

Wasn't there even a render for it at some point? I seem to recall something strikingly modern, yet built of stone that echoed the Supreme Court building.

[Kitchissippi]

Wasn't there even a render for it at some point? I seem to recall something strikingly modern, yet built of stone that echoed the Supreme Court building.

from urbsite:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l67gMGD_Hp4/VnHnU3OeP_I/AAAAAAAAUA4/KWOdZ_J3Ssw/s640/1111just_1tru_b.jpg

I remember someone referring to its tower as the "Salmon Arm Salute (http://www.parli.ca/salmon-arm-salute/)" :)

http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj.gc.ca/fct-cf/images/judicial_building.jpg

[Norman Bates]

Believe it or not but the very first complaint ever assigned to me, considered a nuisance case by my superiors, made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Of course this took many years. But it was the only time that I made it to the Court.

As for Salmon Arm Salute, I chose that for the name of my wifi router when I configured it many moons ago.

[TransitZilla]

from urbsite:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l67gMGD_Hp4/VnHnU3OeP_I/AAAAAAAAUA4/KWOdZ_J3Ssw/s640/1111just_1tru_b.jpg

I remember someone referring to its tower as the "Salmon Arm Salute (http://www.parli.ca/salmon-arm-salute/)" :)

http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj.gc.ca/fct-cf/images/judicial_building.jpg

Interesting that the "salute" seems to be directed over towards the Quebec side... :)

[rocketphish]

Supreme Court building to get $1B rehab in 2023, well after systems risk failure
Building elements at risk of collapse before rehabilitation project can begin

By Dean Beeby, CBC News
Posted: Jul 20, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Jul 20, 2017 5:17 AM ET

The Liberal government has launched a $1-billion project to rehabilitate the crumbling Supreme Court building, though key systems are at risk of failure long before any repairs begin.

A water-damaged section of the parking garage roof could collapse by the end of next year, and mechanical and electrical systems are predicted to fail by 2020 and 2021, says an internal document obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act.

But the heritage building, officially opened in 1939, is not slated for rehabilitation until 2023, partly because the high-court offices and chambers must be relocated to a building across the street that also needs extensive rehabilitation.
West Memorial Building, Wellington Street, Ottawa

Officials at the department in charge of the work, Public Services and Procurement Canada, are "closely monitoring the building for potential failures," spokesperson Nicolas Boucher said Wednesday.

"As an example, the parking garage is inspected regularly and mitigating measures can be implemented should a need arise."

Spokespersons for the Supreme Court referred all questions back to Public Services.

The project's estimated $1-billion price tag includes a massive overhaul of a nearby building on Wellington Street, the West Memorial Building, which will be a temporary home for the high court chamber and justices' offices while the Supreme Court building gets its five-year makeover through to 2028.

Public Services awarded the first big contract for the project last week, to PCL Constructors Canada Ltd., for $6.2 million. The Nepean, Ont., firm will do demolition work and roof replacement at the West Memorial Building over the next year. (The contract requires "zero activity visible" on Wellington Street until Aug. 31, out of respect for Canada 150 celebrations.)

Boucher said an architect is expected to be hired to design temporary chambers for the Supreme Court and the Federal Court somewhere inside the West Memorial Building.
West Block work

The original Supreme Court building, almost 80 years old, is slated for steel-frame reinforcement to make it more earthquake resistant, as have all refurbished Parliament Hill buildings, because Ottawa is in an active earthquake zone.

Heating, air-conditioning, electrical, plumbing and other systems will be replaced entirely, and the building wired for internet and other modern information technology systems.

The parking garage will be repaired, and the escarpment at the back of the property, running down steeply to the Ottawa River, will be stabilized, Boucher said.

Other projects

The $1-billion project joins other expensive rehabs in and around Parliament Hill, including:


The $863-million project to update the West Block, on Parliament Hill, where the House of Commons will meet starting in fall next year as the Centre Block gets a 10-year rehabilitation, beginning 2019. The West Block work included the removal of 2,400 tonnes of asbestos.
The $425-million Wellington Building rehabilitation, a project nearly complete, fitted out with new offices and committee rooms for parliamentarians.
The $460-million, three-year Bank of Canada renovation project, now nearing completion.
The $219-million renovation of the Government Conference Centre, which includes a new Senate chamber that will operate while the Centre Block, which houses the Senate, is refurbished.
At least $81 million for repairs so far to the East Block on Parliament Hill, with more work to come.
The $100-million rehabilitation of the Sir John A. Macdonald Building on Wellington Street, formerly a Bank of Montreal branch, now complete.
The $136-million rehabilitation of the Library of Parliament, completed in 2006.
The Centre Block will get a major facelift, including the possible digging of a basement, starting in 2019 when "many of its major systems and components will be at risk of critical failure … with total failure predicted by 2025," according to Public Services. The price tag has not been announced but is expected to be as much as $1 billion over 10 years.


Public Services has said the total budget for the Parliamentary Precinct repairs is over $3 billion, but did not include the Supreme Court building or the Centre Block in the estimate.

Follow @DeanBeeby on Twitter

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/supreme-court-rehabilitation-earthquake-justices-chamber-parliament-hill-commons-1.4212720