24 Sussex was built between 1868 and 1888 by lumber baron Joseph Merrill Currier. Photo by Alasdair McLennan
The prime minister?s official residence at 24 Sussex Drive is in critical condition. Its last major renovation was in 1951, and, according to an NCC report issued last year, its building systems ?have reached the point of imminent or actual failure.? There is no central air conditioning, so window units are used in each room. The wiring poses a fire hazard. A pool building, added in the 1970s, is rotting and mouldy. The NCC estimates that the house will cost $34.53 million to rehabilitate.
Renovating the house is a political hot potato: no prime minister wants to be seen as spending public money on improving 24 Sussex for their personal comfort. It?s a theme embedded in the history of the house. When the decision was made in 1950 to refurbish the property as an official residence, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent moved in reluctantly, and insisted on paying rent?a practice that continued until 1971. This sense of parsimony has, it seems, also been extended to the visioning of the house itself. It?s a designated heritage property, which makes it politically safest to undertake a sensitive (and preferably undetectable) renewal, if and when the decision is made to proceed. But could more be done"
Some have called for an outright demolition of the building, which would set a dangerous precedent for heritage structures. A more realistic approach may be a hybrid of co...