Proposed renovations to 24 Sussex could cost four times assessed value of $9.67 million

nationalpost.com
By Jason Fekete
Nov. 24, 2016

The federal government is examining a proposal to fix up the vacant official residence of Canada’s prime minister that could cost about four times its assessed value of $9.67 million.

And while it figures out what to do with 24 Sussex Drive, the government is paying tens of thousands of dollars every month just to maintain the now-vacant property – including more than $10,000 a month on hydro – the National Post has learned.

For the month of December 2015, for example, with no one living at the 151-year-old home, the total maintenance bill for 24 Sussex was more than $50,000, according to documents released to the Post using federal access-to-information laws.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose not to move into 24 Sussex after last fall’s election, partly on concerns about security. He lives on the grounds of Rideau Hall in a house known as Rideau Cottage.

As a result, 24 Sussex Drive - which the auditor general said back in 2008 needed a massive $10-million retrofit - has had no family living in it since Stephen Harper and his family moved out last fall.

But now, a decade after that auditor general report, the costs of securing the prime minister’s official residence and doing the necessary structural renovations could cost many times the assessed value of the property.

For the 2015 tax year, the assessed value of the property was $9.673 million, according to records on the City of Ottawa’s tax rolls, obtained by the Ottawa Citizen and National Post.

The property did not increase in value between 2012 (assessed at the same $9.673 million for that year) and the 2015 assessment, according to the records. However, the value of 24 Sussex Drive has increased 30 per cent from the assessed value of $7.441 million in 2008.

The official residence sits on 3.98 acres (1.6 hectares) on a plateau at the edge of an escarpment, with more than 200 metres of river frontage and a spectacular view of the Ottawa River and Gatineau Hills.

On top of that, there is a beautiful indoor pool, built when Pierre Trudeau and his family were the occupants.

Records released to the National Post show that, even though no one is believed to have taken a dip in the pool for months since the Harpers moved, the government is paying $750 every month for weekly pool maintenance.

Then there’s the hydro bill. For the billing period from Jan. 24, 2015 to Feb. 22, 2015 - again, with no family in the residence - the cost of electricity was $10,232. Just for one month.

Altogether for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2016, the total bill for heat, hydro, gas and maintenance at 24 Sussex was $272,302 for an average of $22,692 a month in that fiscal year.

The documents obtained by the National Post - records of monthly maintenance costs from January 2015 through to June 2016 - show that it actually cost less to maintain the home when a family was living there then when no family is living there.

In the final 10 months when the Harpers were the occupants, maintaining the home cost an average of $16,550. With no family living there, the cost of maintaining 24 Sussex averaged $27,025 from November 2015 to June 2016.

With the Trudeaus living at Rideau Cottage, 24 Sussex is being used on a daily basis by RCMP staff, who are still stationed on the grounds, as well as by staff who provide services to Prime Minister Trudeau.

Reporters from iPolitics and the Huffington Post, also relying on records released under access to information requests, reported this week that proposals have been put together for a re-fit, demolition or re-location of the official prime minister’s residence with price tags running from between $38 million and $562 million.

According to the proposal obtained by iPolitics, the estimated cost of the renovations (as of February 2016) included about $13.5 million for repairs to the main building, including completely replacing the electrical system, all exterior windows and doors, and building a new sunroom.

Another $12 million would be spent on constructing a new building that would adjoin the south side of the main house and replacement of the pool house.

The Prime Minister’s Office has stressed that no decisions have been made about any proposals for renovating 24 Sussex Drive.

The National Post has learned that a decision on what to do with the property at 24 Sussex is likely to be made early in the new year. As minister responsible for the National Capital Commission, the file ultimately goes to cabinet under the name of Heritage Minister Melanie Joly.

In the meantime, the five buildings on the property must be maintained by the NCC, which paid, for example, a gas bill for Dec. 11, 2015 to Jan. 13, 2016 (when no one was living there) of $1,921. A water bill for the 35-room home plus outbuildings for Feb. 5 to April 6 this year was $350.

In December 2015 - though no one was living there - the NCC had to call in pest control to clean up mice droppings in the basement washroom. Cost: $550.