Veterans Affairs aiming for green standard with HQ reno

A major renovation to Charlottetown's Daniel J. MacDonald building, the headquarters for Veterans Affairs Canada, will include environmental upgrades.

In an email to CBC News, Jon Stone, a spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said new mechanical systems will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building. The government hopes the renovated building can be certified by Green Globe.

The renovation is necessary, Stone said, both because of the building's age and the number of people currently working there.

The MacDonald building has not had a major renovation since it opened in 1984. The building was designed to house 450 staff, and there are now 750 people working there.

Both the mechanical and electrical systems in the building will be replaced.

Planning and design work are scheduled to start in January, with construction starting in early 2020. The work is expected to be complete in the spring of 2023.

Stone said it is too early in the process to estimate the cost of the renovation.

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