Tunney’s Pasture Revitalization

The changes come as Tunney’s Pasture is about to face its own major transformation in the coming years. A long-term revitalization plan by the Canadian government hopes to transform the 49-acre office site “into a vibrant, sustainable, mixed-use urban community.”

While plans are slow moving, artistic renderings propose an urban Main Street at the complex with shops, apartments and businesses. Lower density residential units are also part of the proposal, with a new district and heating cooling center on the northwest corner.

“As the plan evolves, our goal is to improve and transform our office portfolio so that we can provide federal employees with efficient, modern, accessible and green workplaces where they can continue to deliver services to Canadians,” Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said.

The Brooke Claxton Building and Annex at Tunney’s Pasture, which has been designated as a heritage building, alongside the nearby Graham Spry Building, are among those on the “disposal list”.

PSPC office space services more than

260,000 federal public servants from 103 departments and agencies across Canada.

“The shift to a hybrid work environment permits a more effective utilization and sharing of space that was simply not possible before the pandemic when desks were assigned to public servants on a one-for-one basis,” PSPC said. “The Government of Canada’s shift to a hybrid work model will enable us to relocate these employees into modern accommodations.”

PSPC said the buildings could be revitalized into affordable housing units or could be used as community space.

These plans were released in 2014 when a 25-year master plan was unveiled. It called for 3,400 to 3,700 residential units to be built on the site, alongside up to 150,000 square metres of federal office space, which would house up to 25,000 employees.

Tunney’s Pasture was expropriated by the federal government in 1947. Settlements with former property owners tallied around $700,000. Initial excavation work began in 1950 with the first four buildings on the site completed in 1956.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the site housed around 13,000 employees. Because many now work from home — at least parttime — the implementation plans are being reassessed and analyzed.

The site currently houses at least 18 federal office buildings and the light rail transit station which opened in 2019.