Defence sources say the estimated cost of preparing the campus for DND is now around $880 million. The cost to prepare the site involves everything from creating new offices to installing secure computer networks.
DND documents previously obtained by the Citizen had put that cost at around $623 million. That price tag is on top of the $208 million the federal government paid in 2010 to buy the campus at 3500 Carling Ave.
A Public Works official said the $880 million estimate is not accurate but the department will not publicly release what figure it now estimates the renovation will cost. The department did, however, acknowledge it is reviewing the project.
“We are reviewing our plans for the renovation of the Campus in the context of an environment of fiscal restraint to ensure that all costs related to the occupancy provide best value for taxpayers,” Lucie Brosseau noted in an email.
“As this work remains ongoing, we cannot confirm final costs until a decision has been taken by the Government,” she added.
No date has been publicly released about when DND will move to the campus.
Ciena, a high-tech firm, has an agreement to occupy a building on the site until 2016. Federal government documents previously obtained by the Citizen note that although there is no specific date for the move to occur, the Defence Department expects the shift to take place “within the next 5 years.”
Information sent by Public Works to Parliament about the DND move also noted the government would be involved in preparing the site for DND’s needs with “investments made over a five to seven-year period.”
DND and the Canadian Forces have 42 office locations in Ottawa and Gatineau. DND is hoping the move to the Carling site will reduce the number to seven or less.
Vice Admiral Bruce Donaldson told the Citizen in May 2012 that the Conservative government would be presented with a plan by December of that year which would detail the timeframe for the move. His preference was to start the move in the “next few years,” but he acknowledged, “It is one of the biggest moves I think ever in Canada of an organization.”
Sources have suggested that if the cost of renovation for DND continues to climb, then it is possible the plan could be scuttled and other federal departments could occupy the site instead.
That would be good news, says Phil McNeely, Liberal MPP for Ottawa-Orléans. “This move devastates Orléans,” said McNeely. “People are already leaving to move to the west end.”
He said the community is known as “CFB Orléans” because of the large number of Canadian Forces and DND employees living there.
The DND move, McNeely said, will alter transit patterns, harm the downtown core and create more urban sprawl as people move to Kanata and Arnprior. “Anytime you remove jobs from the downtown it hurts the east end,” he added.
Some DND employees and Canadian Forces personnel have voiced concern over the move, pointing out that many live in Orléans and the commute would be too long. A June 2011 briefing note for Deputy Minister Robert Fonberg described the Carling Campus as a “relatively remote location.”
The Defence Department had claimed in previous emails to the Citizen that it did not know how much it would cost to prepare the campus as the new home for 8,000 to 10,000 of its employees.
DND officials were, however, concerned that taxpayers would find out about the $623 million price tag. Documents previously obtained by the Citizen show DND not only knew about the cost almost two years ago but senior officials ordered references to it removed from public statements and documents. “Media, parliamentarians and Canadians will be focused on the cost to taxpayers for the acquisition of the Campus and the subsequent retro-fit costs,” noted a DND strategy document.
Such concerns were solved when Deputy Minister Fonberg stepped in. Fonberg’s assistant wrote that the deputy minister was concerned about telling the public about the price tag. According to an email, Fonberg asked, “Why are we using the $623m(illion) fit up cost? It is without context and will be a lightening rod!”
The cost was removed from DND public documents about the Nortel purchase.
The Defence Department estimates it will save $50 million a year by moving many of its employees in the Ottawa area into the former Nortel campus.
DND’s main headquarters, the Major-General George R. Pearkes Building on Colonel By Drive, as well as its facility on Star Top Road will continue to be used. The Pearkes building was originally intended for Transport Canada but in 1974 became DND headquarters.
DND’s presence in the Louis St. Laurent building, the National Printing Bureau building and the Hotel de Ville building in Gatineau will continue, according to department documents.
As far as the other DND locations throughout Ottawa and Gatineau, the government will allow leases to run out. In some cases other federal departments will use the properties.
The campus consists of approximately 28 hectares that was owned by Nortel and 120 hectares leased from the National Capital Commission.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: DAVID PUGLIESE
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