Trudeau to live at Rideau Cottage, not 24 Sussex Drive

Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau won’t be returning to his former home at 24 Sussex Drive, until millions in renovations are complete.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) confirmed Monday that Trudeau and his family will live at Rideau Cottage, “a designated heritage building on the grounds of Rideau Hall” in the interim.

That will give the NCC more time to fix decades worth of repairs on the prime minister’s primary residence. The commission wasn't immediately available for comment.

A 2008 auditor general’s report said the NCC estimated the 147-year-old home, built a year after the country was founded, needed $10 million in renovations on plumbing, electrical and infrastructure. It’s estimated to take about 18 months to complete.

Trudeau’s mother, Margaret, told CBC last week that the house has been in dire needs of repairs since she lived there, 40 years ago.

According to the government’s website, the first inhabitants of 24 Sussex Drive were “public men, prominent entrepreneurs but also members of Parliament, and all of them married to women with distinguished political pedigrees of their own.”

In 1950, the property was transformed into the official residence of the prime minister of Canada.

The cottage where Trudeau, his wife and three children will live in the meantime was built in 1867. The Federal Heritage Building Review Office designates it as a recognized heritage building.

The 22-room, 931 square metres residence was renovated in 2013, in which upgrades were done to the building envelope, mechanical and electrical systems, and interior finishes, among others repairs.

Fares Elsabbagh, president of Ottawa-based Canadian General Contractors, says a government contract of this size would likely be put out for bids, similar to how architecture firms bid on projects.

“That way different companies can bid on the scope of work,” he told Yahoo Canada News. “Another would be to hire a project manager, who would subcontract different pieces of the project.”

When it comes to the type of renovations that would total the $10-million required on Sussex Drive, Elsabbagh stresses they must be extensive. To give some context, he says his company recently built a 1,000-square foot mansion for $3-million.