Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has completed the proposal evaluation process and identified Plenary PCL Properties Gatineau as the preferred proponent to build an ultra-modern preservation facility adjacent to its existing Preservation Centre in Gatineau, Quebec.

Plenary PCL Properties Gatineau is made up of a group of companies: Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd.; PCL Investments (Canada) Inc.; B+H Architects; PCL Constructors Eastern Inc.; and ENGIE Services Inc. The team's proposal was selected because it meets all of the technical requirements and can be carried out at the lowest cost for taxpayers.

Subject to internal approvals and successful negotiations with the preferred proponent, an agreement will be signed by spring 2019. Implementation of the project is planned to begin this year, with commissioning of the new building planned for 2022. The building’s design and construction phases are expected to create more than 1,300 direct and indirect jobs.

The project will be delivered through a public‑private partnership under the responsibility of Procurement Services and Procurement Canada, the department that acts as the federal government’s main purchasing agent, and LAC.

The project will result in the construction of the first “net zero carbon” building dedicated to the preservation of archives in the Americas, the first Government of Canada building built to the requirements of Canada’s Greening Government Strategy, and the world’s largest preservation facility equipped with the advanced technology of an automated storage and retrieval system for archival materials. The vaults within the existing Preservation Centre will also be reconfigured as part of this project, to further optimize LAC’s collection storage capacity.