Search begins for Canadian team to restore uninhabitable 24 Sussex Drive

The search is officially on for a Canadian team to renovate Canada's most famous fixer-upper — 24 Sussex Drive — so it's no longer uninhabitable and future prime ministers can once again live there.

The federal government recently posted its first procurement notice for the long-awaited rehabilitation project, which opens the door for domestic companies to pitch themselves as contenders.

The document reveals that Ottawa will choose seven finalists during this first stage to move on to the national design competition, with the winning team awarded a design and construction contract by the fall of 2027.

Ottawa is looking for a "world-class design vision" that focuses on using Canadian products to transform the gutted official residence into a secure and modern home and place to work for future prime ministers, the document said.

"Given its national and historical significance, the rehabilitated residence must be completed by Canadians for Canadians," the Request for Qualification (RFQ) posted on Aug. 21 said.

"In that spirit, the use of Canadian materials and innovations must be considered and incorporated throughout the project."

The official residence has sat vacant for more than a decade. Successive prime ministers have been unwilling to take the political risk to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on renovations, allowing the building to deteriorate. In recent years, the heritage home had to be stripped down to the studs to remove asbestos, mould and dead rodents.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the state of the official residence an "embarrassment" in an exclusive interview with CBC News earlier this year. He unveiled his long-awaited plans in June to restore the heritage home built for his successors through a national design competition and a fundraising campaign to help foot the bill.

Canadians have donated more than $735,000 as of late July — almost 1.5 per cent of the $50 million fundraising goal.

The government's new RFQ is the first stage of the procurement process. The nearly 100-page document provides the most detail in writing about the competition to date.

Teams pitching a design plan must show they can create a private living quarter for the prime minister and their family while balancing space for work, meetings, hosting receptions or ceremonial events, the request said.

The winning team, according to the document, will also be responsible for making the property universally accessible, handling landscaping elements and restoring heritage elements.

The main building has already been gutted to remove "hazardous materials," the document said, but there might be archaeological assessments, geotechnical studies and security-related modifications.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada will use a jury of experts to score the design concepts, and a separate technical evaluation board at Procurement Canada will judge the construction plans, budgets and schedule, the request said.