PCL consortium wins $1.5B contract to rebuild four-tower government complex in Toronto

TORONTO—Infrastructure Ontario has awarded a contract for a major reconstruction project in downtown Toronto to a construction group led by Fengate Asset Management and PCL Constructors Inc.

The government agency said Aug. 9 the Fengate PCL Progress Partners consortium will take on the approximately $1.5 billion contract to strip down and rebuild four government office towers. Known as the Macdonald Block and located just east of Queen’s Park, the four buildings were originally completed in the early 1970s and have not undergone any major renovations since. They are connected by a 2-storey podium and cover a total of 1.7 million square feet.

The design, build, finance and maintain contract covers all four of the towers, which stand between 10 and 24 storeys. PCL will serve as the design-builder on the job, while WZMH Architects will manage the design and Johnson Controls Canada will oversee facilities management. Fengate and PCL will share the responsibilities as developers.

The reconstruction work covers extensive renovations to essentially all building components, including electrical, water, heating and cooling systems. With crews stripping the towers down essentially to their structural cores, the rebuild also includes numerous changes to layouts and improved accessibility.

The maintenance stage of the P3 contract will last 30 years.

Before the buildings were emptied to make way for construction, the complex housed more than 3,000 workers.

Work on the project is scheduled to reach substantial completion by 2024. Government workers will then moved back in in several stages.