Wildrose claims total price for ‘sky palace’ over $2M

EDMONTON – Alberta’s Wildrose party says the bill for the so-called ‘sky palace’ is more than originally thought. It says it cost more than $2 million.

Luxury draperies, bullet proof doors, porcelain and stone wall tile were among the nearly $1 million in interior upgrades that increased the total cost of the penthouse suite, said the Wildrose.

The opposition party says new data – obtained under Freedom of Information legislation – reveals over 1,286 change orders to the original Federal Building renovation contract.

The Wildrose says 96 of the 1,286 change orders were related to the 11th floor penthouse. According to the party, those changes total $2,088,000.

In May, documents tabled in the legislature revealed Alberta taxpayers were billed $150,000 just for design concepts on a planned penthouse for former premier Alison Redford.

READ MORE: Redford planned swank penthouse: documents  

At that time, it was believed the total bill for all consulting work on the suite, dubbed the “sky palace” by the opposition and media, was just over $173,000.

The documents were tabled by former infrastructure minister Ric McIver.

They showed that $150,000 was spent on conceptual design, related contract documents, and fittings.

Ultimately, the suite was never finished. The project was shut down this spring as Redford resigned as premier in a mounting scandal over lavish travel expenses.

McIver has said he learned of it in January, just weeks after taking over the infrastructure portfolio.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said the ‘sky palace’ continues to “remind Albertans of the PC culture of entitlement” and “points to extremely poor judgment by Premier Jim Prentice who rewarded the two ministers responsible for it, Wayne Drysdale and Ric McIver, with seats around his cabinet table.”

Infrastructure Minister Manmeet Bhullar issued the following statement Thursday on the Federal Building:

“Premier Jim Prentice has stated unequivocally that the residential suite project cancelled in the spring was irresponsible and that his government will not spend another nickel on changes to the 11^th floor of the Federal Building. 

“However, for the second time in only a week, the Opposition have incorrectly interpreted government documents and made allegations that mislead the public.

“They have alleged that $2 million was spent on the suite, which is grossly in error. In fact, associated costs were only $239,500. This includes $138,500 in design fees explicitly related to the project, less than originally reported, and about $100,000 in construction costs spent before the project was cancelled.”

With files from The Canadian Press