Government to acquire new office space in Gatineau

DubberDom · #1 Posted **Dec 12, 2007, 7:52 PM**

Anybody know what's is going on with this?

From Government of Canada News Release May 29 2007:

New Office Space – RFIs

The RFIs are for the provision of office space to be leased by the federal government. One RFI includes the development of 35,000-square metres of office space to be constructed on Crown land at 455 boulevard de la Carrière in Gatineau. The second RFI is for 40,000-square metres of office space in the central business district (CBD) of Gatineau (Hull Sector). The CBD area development is supported by the concentration of PWGSC's major clients requiring additional accommodation in close proximity to their existing operational sites and with excellent accessibility. Such new development will also provide PWGSC with portfolio flexibility over the long-term to meet government and clients' priorities.

harls · #2 Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 3:16 PM**

This was mentioned in the General rumour thread - I believe it's part of the 75/25 balance the federal government wants to achieve (3/4 of civil servants in Ottawa, 1/4 in Gatineau)

Whatever they build on de la Carrière will likely be similar to the blue boxes that are already there (10 storey deals). Not sure about the downtown location, but my money's on the lot currently occupied by the lovely orange Duvernay motel.

Kitchissippi · #3 Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 3:52 PM**

Weren't there plans to build on top of Place du Centre? I think whatever is done to the Motel Duvernay should be in character with Place Aubry and low-rise with street-level appeal to kind of fill out that triangular block with more cafés and shops.

I wish they would build on those parking lots behind the Terrasses de la Chaudiere. it is such an eyesore. Your black glass buildings should be there, à la TD Centre. Then someone should build a gold building and a tower and you've got a mini Toronto

Jamaican-Phoenix · #4 Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 4:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Weren't there plans to build on top of Place du Centre? I think whatever is done to the Motel Duvernay should be in character with Place Aubry and low-rise with street-level appeal to kind of fill out that triangular block with more cafés and shops.

I wish they would build on those parking lots behind the Terrasses de la Chaudiere. it is such an eyesore. Your black glass buildings should be there, à la TD Centre. Then someone should build a gold building and a tower and you've got a mini Toronto

I think some people will take offense to the Toronto comment...

harls · #5 Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 4:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Weren't there plans to build on top of Place du Centre? I think whatever is done to the Motel Duvernay should be in character with Place Aubry and low-rise with street-level appeal to kind of fill out that triangular block with more cafés and shops.

I wish they would build on those parking lots behind the Terrasses de la Chaudiere. it is such an eyesore. Your black glass buildings should be there, à la TD Centre. Then someone should build a gold building and a tower and you've got a mini Toronto

Ha.. I like that idea.. yes, those parking lots are horrid. I used to walk by there everyday on my way to work, shaking my head.

courtesy zone5ive on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...8335336&size=o

The Place du centre plans are dead, according to Gatt. I think he called the guy on the poster and he confirmed it. The renders of the place have been up for at least 2 years. It's too bad.. It actually looks like an okay design, and they wouldn't have to start from scratch since the lower podium is already in place.

Aylmer · #6 Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 5:11 PM**

Build a landmark building and host the olympics!
We need to commercialise Gatineau And Ottawa

harls · #7 Posted **Aug 27, 2008, 1:14 PM**

This is a few months old now, but still informative. Now that the closing dates have passed, we should be seeing the chosen proposals soon, I'd think?

http://archive.ottawabusinessjournal...nt%0A%09%09%09

Quote:

Newest federal build ready for next step

Date May 30, 2008

The federal government has finally issued detailed specifications for the second of two long-awaited office construction projects in Gatineau, totalling more than 807,000 square feet.

According to the request for qualification posted on the government's contracting website, in addition to constructing the buildings, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is seeking a company to provide property management services and to lease the office space to the federal government for 25 years.

The most recent request for qualification (RFQ) seeks a firm to build, own, lease and operate a new 376,737-square-foot office building at 455 Boulevard de la Carriere in Gatineau, a Crown-owned vacant lot located adjacent to Lac de la Carriere and Autoroute de la Gatineau 5.

The RFQ specifies the building must have 350,903 square feet of usable office space, 10,764 square feet of storage space and 850 parking spots.

Officials from PWGSC declined comment when contacted by the OBJ.

In April, the government issued a separate RFQ to construct a 430,556-square-foot office building in Gatineau's central business area. Along with 351,980 square feet of office space, that RFQ requires 10,764 square feet of storage space and 450 parking spots.

The RFQ requires both offices to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification standards. The 25-year leases would begin on Sept. 1, 2011.

In an earlier statement, the government said it chose to locate the government offices in Gatineau because market rates are 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than downtown Ottawa. The government is also aiming to locate a quarter of its National Capital area office space in Quebec.

In January, Broccolini Construction Ltd. proposed a 450,000-square-foot, 12-storey federal government office tower on the block bounded by Eddy, Wellington and Saint-Jacques streets and Promenade du Portage.

At the time, company officials said construction would begin in September at the earliest, but added they were waiting for the government's request for proposals.

The deadline to submit proposals for the Gatineau business district project is June 26, while the Boulevard de la Carriere project closes July 21.

Davis137 · #8 Posted **Aug 27, 2008, 2:47 PM**

My wife just got hired by PWGSC...she's going to work in one of the offices of the HR Department at Place du Portage. I wonder if she'll be able to find out stuff about any projects like this after she works there for a little while...

harls · #9 Posted **Aug 27, 2008, 3:20 PM**

^ We need an insider like that

I've tried contacting Public Works to find out when the winning contracts would be made public... they asked me if I was from the media, and I said "No". They said they'd get back to me, but they never did. This was about a couple of weeks ago.

I can't see Broccolini starting anything at Eddy and Portage in September... that would be great news if they did (assuming they are the front-runner for the downtown property, that is).

Acajack · #10 Posted **Aug 28, 2008, 12:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harls

^ We need an insider like that

I've tried contacting Public Works to find out when the winning contracts would be made public... they asked me if I was from the media, and I said "No". They said they'd get back to me, but they never did. This was about a couple of weeks ago.

I work in a communications shop (not PWGSC) where we answer media calls and for some odd reason calls that are not from media are always treated with suspicion. I don’t exactly know why that is but I’m not surprised by their response.

I bet you a large number of non-media calls to these places are probably from SSP forum nerds like us!

harls · #11 Posted **Aug 28, 2008, 12:38 PM**

Hmm, I actually work within the media industry as well, so I guess I could've said I was with the media and not be lying.

I don't know why something like this would be a big secret, I just wanted to know when the results would be made public. It's been over a month since the closing date of the last RFP.

Davis137 · #12 Posted **Aug 28, 2008, 9:06 PM**

I hope they build at least one building that's 30 stories tall...that'd contribute very nicely to the skyline over there...

harls · #13 Posted **Sep 17, 2008, 1:46 PM**

I guess we won't hear any announcement about this until after the election..

harls · #14 Posted **Feb 16, 2010, 8:29 PM**

May as well update this thread:

Broccolini won the two RFPs to construct the federal office buildings (one at Eddy/du Portage, the other near the Casino) on Jan. 18.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-droit/a...e-gros-lot.php

.. but so far there are no details or renders on their website of these buildings. Has anyone seen anything out there yet? Or is it too soon? You would think that Public Works would have some info that they could make public now, wouldn't they?