Full Title: Professional Consulting Services for Feasibility Study for former Canada Post Office Tower - 266 Graham Ave.
D3. SCOPE OF SERVICES
D3.1 The City of Winnipeg wishes to occupy or lease the vacant portions of the former Canada
Post Office Tower (the ‘Tower’) located at 266 Graham Avenue. While tenants have not been
finalized, the expectation is that future occupants will include personnel from selected City
Departments. The purpose of this study is to:
(a) Gain a better understanding of the necessary Work and associated costs prior to occupancy of
the Tower;
(b) Provide the City of Winnipeg with a plan to strategically address the maintenance and
improvement projects on a priority basis;
(c) Assist in the preparation of present and future repair and maintenance budgets;
(d) Identify the minimum Work required and related costs in preparation for re-occupancy of the
Tower;
(e) As the Tower has been mostly vacant for a prolonged period, it is necessary to determine the
extent of remedial Work required throughout the building prior to occupancy and any new tenant, the
City is seeking a comprehensive building condition assessment (BCA), along with recommendations for
maintenance, repairs and upgrades, and related construction cost estimates;
(f) Historically, the most common major occupancy classification within the Tower has been Group
D (Office). It is anticipated that future occupancies within the Tower will again be comprised of
Group D occupancies. It is NOT necessary to investigate additional occupancy classifications for
purposes of this assessment;
(g) Further to D3.1, the Consultant team is required to attend the Tower in order to accurately
assess and document observations of existing conditions. Since some areas within the Tower are
occupied by the WPS, consulting team personnel will be required to obtain and maintain WPS Level 2
Security Clearance for the duration of the assignment. Pending security clearance, all available
drawings, including original construction documents, will be available for review.
(h) The Consultant shall prepare a detailed report comprised (at minimum) of the following
components:
(i) Executive Summary
(ii) Description of Assessment Methodology
(iii) Part A: Building Condition Assessment
(iv) Part B: Code Compliance Review
(v) Part C: Facility Renewal Plan
(vi) Part D: Class 3 Cost Estimates for required upgrades
(vii) Summary and Conclusions
(i) A draft copy of the complete report is to be submitted for review and feedback by City
personnel prior to the final deliverable.
D3.2 PART A BUILDING CONDITION ASSESSMENT
(a) The Consultant is to perform a comprehensive Building Condition Assessment (BCA) of the
specified building. Investigation shall be through visual, non-destructive site reviews and review
of available documentation (drawings, specifications, maintenance history). The purpose of the BCA
is to facilitate a better understanding of the true extent of required upgrades prior to occupying
the Tower. Based on the age of the building and extended period of vacancy, many building systems,
components and finishes will have exceeded their expected lifespan. This is a common reality
among the City’s building inventory. The assessment must not merely conclude that building
components must be replaced simply because they have exceeded their expected lifespan. The
Consultant is expected to document observed conditions and provide informed opinions regarding a
realistic remaining lifespan of all building components.
(b) The assessment shall evaluate the existing condition of Architectural, Structural, Mechanical
and Electrical components, systems and services. Note that where systems and services are shared
or interconnected with WPSHQ, it will be necessary to evaluate areas occupied by the WPS. Access
to WPSHQ and/or WPSHQ construction documents requires WPS Level 2 Security Clearance. The
Proponent’s personnel shall acquire and maintain this security clearance for the duration of the
assignment.
(c) The content and format of the Building Condition Assessment shall be in conformance with
‘Protocols for Building Condition Assessment’ published by the National Research Council.
D3.3 PART B CODE COMPLIANCE REVIEW
(a) It is understood that all applicable codes and standards have been updated and/or introduced
since the time of the Tower’s 1958 construction. For the purposes of this assessment, the
Consultant is to assume that intended future major Occupancies within the Tower shall be Group D.
(b) The report is to provide a comprehensive assessment with respect to compliance with present
codes and standards including:
i. Winnipeg Building Bylaw
ii. Manitoba Building Code
iii. National Fire Code of Canada
iv. National Plumbing Code
v. CSA C22.1 Canadian Electrical Code
vi. Winnipeg Accessibility Design Standards
(c) Similar to the Building Condition Assessment, the Consultant shall exercise professional
judgment and discretion in determining the feasibility of achieving compliance with current codes
or standards. The purpose of this Code Compliance Review is to identify existing conditions that
do not comply with current code(s) and the extent of upgrades required to achieve compliance. In
each case, the Consultant shall include applicable code reference(s).
(d) Compliance with the City of Winnipeg Accessibility Design Standards (CWADS) applies to all
City-owned and City-occupied spaces. The assessment shall identify any shortcomings related to
compliance with this standard. Compliance with CWADS is considered mandatory, and no exemptions or
legacy clauses (grandfather clauses) shall apply. Certain exemptions will be permitted where it is
“technically not feasible” to comply. In such cases, solutions based on ‘equivalent facilitation’
may be proposed (CWADS: 2015, p. 25).
(e) While certain building code violations are likely to be permitted to continue under a
grandfather clause, these conditions that represent risks to occupant safety or health must
not be ignored. Remedial work to rectify these conditions is to be described in the Facility
Renewal Plan, complete with cost estimates.
(f) For each non-compliant condition, the Consultant is to determine:
i. The degree to which the condition represents a risk to occupant safety (if any);
ii. Whether the condition will be permitted to remain under a legacy clause in a
re- occupied Tower. The Consultant will be required to provide a detailed assessment of such
conditions. In cases where the Winnipeg Building By-law is not clear, consultation and
clarification with the Authority Having Jurisdiction may be necessary;
iii. Class 3 estimate of the cost for upgrades necessary to achieve compliance
with present code – to be included in Part D. This estimate is to be included regardless of
whether a condition is likely to be permitted under legacy clause.
D3.4 PART C FACILITY RENEWAL PLAN
(a) With findings from the Building Condition Assessment (Part A) and the Code Compliance Review
(Part B), the Consultant shall prepare a Facility Renewal Plan. The Plan is to include an
inventory of building components and systems along with an indication of their respective age and
condition. The assessment for each component shall include:
(i) Installation date (if available). If unknown, indicate the approximate age of each
component;
(ii) Estimated remaining service life. Beyond the date of installation and life expectancy,
this estimate should be informed by the present condition and maintenance history for each
component;
(iii) Anticipated cost for major repairs or maintenance. The Consultant is to identify and
prioritize repairs or maintenance expenditures based on degree of importance and long-term
cost/benefit evaluation. Recommendations for required repairs or maintenance work shall be
categorized as follows:
(i) Immediate (0 - 3 years). This includes mandatory work in order to comply with applicable
codes and standards
(ii) Short term (3 – 10 years)
(iii) Long term (10 years or more)
(b) Certain building upgrades will result in improved energy performance. In such instances, the
Consultant shall include an estimate of the proposed payback period for consideration. The
Consultant is to exercise professional judgment in recommending the cost-effective
(c) The Consultant is to exercise professional judgement in recommending the cost-effective
solutions for re-use of the Tower. Conclusions and recommendations are to be presented on a
floor-by-floor basis. For each floor of the Tower, the Consultant shall prepare an assessment for
both (2) two options as follows:
Option One: Identify the minimum scope of Work required to occupy the floor.
(a) Assume that the new tenant can partially or fully occupy the floor without substantial
renovation work.
(i) Floor layout and interior partitions to remain in place (refer to Appendix);
(ii) Existing finishes to remain in place, unless damaged, excessively worn, or otherwise
unsuitable;
(iii) Functional fixtures and equipment are to be re-used wherever possible;
(iv) Determine the maximum occupant load for Group D Occupancy based on floor area, exit
capacity and washroom fixture count. For purposes of this study, assume that occupants will have
access to only those washrooms on their own floor (i.e. tenants will not have access to ‘common’
washroom facilities on other floors). For the 6th to 11th floors, it will be necessary to
construct additional washrooms.
(v) Include Universal Toilet Rooms (UTRs) on each floor to satisfy barrier free requirements;
(vi) For each floor, provide an inventory of the Work required; and
(vii) Provide estimated cost for this Work for each floor.
Option Two: Identify the scope of Work for a complete retrofit of the existing floor to suit a new
tenant.
(a) This scenario assumes that the existing interior layout is not conducive to the operations of
the new tenant and therefore the space will be entirely renovated.
(i) All interior partitions and finishes are to be demolished / removed;
(ii) Fixtures and equipment are to be replaced to support a new layout. Existing fixtures and
equipment that are serviceable and in good condition may be re-used;
(iii) For each floor, provide an inventory of items to be re-used;
(iv) Ensure appropriate consideration for abatement / encapsulation of asbestos containing
materials during demolition (refer to Appendix);
(v) New floor layout is to be based on a typical office occupancy including:
◻ open-area flexible workstations (tenant cost);
◻ two conference rooms (8 persons / 16 persons);
◻ multiple small ‘quiet’ rooms;
◻ two staff lunch rooms including small kitchenettes (no cooking);
◻ gypsum board partitions as necessary for secure elevator lobby;
◻ fire separations as necessary for separation of exits;
◻ Universal Toilet Rooms as required to supplement existing washrooms;
◻ HVAC upgrades as required;
◻ Total anticipated maximum occupant load per floor: 90 persons;
(vi) Provide an estimated cost for the cost for extensive retrofit as described for each floor.
(b) The Consultant is to exercise professional judgement in recommending the cost-effective
solutions for re-use of the Tower. Conclusions and recommendations are to be presented on a
floor-by-floor basis. For each floor of the Tower, the Consultant shall prepare an assessment of
(2) two options as follows:
D3.5 PART D COST ESTIMATES FOR TENANT IMPROVEMENTS
(a) for ‘Base Building’ Improvements
(i) Consultant shall prepare detailed cost estimates for proposed maintenance, repairs and
upgrades as presented in the Facility Renewal Plan.
(ii) Provide separate Class 3 construction cost estimates for maintenance and repair work as
identified in Parts A and B, summarized in Part C Facility Renewal Plan:
◻ Provide separate Immediate (0 - 3 years). This includes mandatory work in order to comply with
applicable codes and standards
◻ Short term (3 – 10 years)
◻ Long term (10 years or more)
(iii) Costs in each estimate shall be presented in current construction market pricing (without
escalation). Present this information in a Table Format, as per the attached template.
(b) for ‘Tenant’ Improvements
(i) Provide Class 3 construction cost estimates for each Option One and Option Two: estimates
are to be broken down to identify the cost of work required for each floor (Main through 11th) for
each Option presented.
(ii) All cost estimates are to be prepared by a Professional Quantity Surveyor.
(iii) Class 3 Cost Estimate Classification shall be in accordance with AACE International
Recommended Practices (refer to hyperlink):
https://www.winnipeg.ca/finance/findata/matmgt/documents/2014/726-
2014/726-2014_ADDENDUM_1/726-2014_Addendum_1- Appendix_A_Cost_Estimate_Classification_System.pdf
D3.5.2 The Services required under D3 shall be in accordance with the City’s Project
Management Manual http://winnipeg.ca/infrastructure/asset-management-
program/templates-manuals.stm#2 and templates http://winnipeg.ca/infrastructure/asset-
management-program/templates-manuals.stm#4 . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Consultant is being
engaged by the City for its professional expertise; the Consultant shall bring to the Project
Manager’s attention any aspect of the City’s Project Management Manual or templates which the
Consultant is of the opinion is not consistent with good industry practice.
D3.6 The following shall apply to the Services:
(a) Universal Design Policy
http://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/DocExt/ViewDoc.asp?DocumentTypeId=2&DocId=3604
D3.7 The funds available for this Contract are $120,000.00.
