West Block Rehabilitation Project Update

10 BUSINESS ELITE CANADA | MARCH 2019 WEST BLOCK FACTS ORIGINAL HERITAGE BUILDING • Constructed in phases between 1859 and 1909 • Originally named the Western Departmental Building and housed the Postmaster of Canada and Ministry of Public Works. • Building Area: 12,930m² • Building height: 26 metres; 81 metres with the Mackenzie Tower RESTORATION PROJECT Cost: $862.9 M | Construction: 2011-2018 • The largest heritage masonry restoration project ever undertaken in Canada • Over 6,000,000 person hours of employment • About 5,000 jobs created or sustained. • Average of 500 workers on site each day; 1,200 at peak periods. • Construction of the Infill doubled the size of the building to 26,000 m² • New courtyard infill weighs over 1,000 tonnes – one seventh the weight of the Eiffel Tower. • If laid end-to-end, the steel beams of the roof would stretch over 7km • The roof is made of 2,600 m² of glass: about the size of 2 NHL hockey rinks • 500 kms of copper cabling were used • Over 200 masons worked on the building daily during the peak of masonry work—the project contributed to a renewal of heritage masonry in Canada.