The federal government has chosen which firm will handle an exterior renovation that will brighten up one of the Gatineau skyline's most prominent buildings.

The Provencher Roy-NORR consortium has been awarded the $3.9-million contract to design and manage the recladding of the deteriorating Terrasses de la Chaudière complex, according to an announcement by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

The work is necessary because the building's brick facade is cracking prematurely, PSPC said.

Fragments have fallen twice from the building since 1997.

New glass facade expected

Built in 1978, the 30-floor complex serves as headquarters for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Transportation Agency and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

The recladding is part of a larger plan to modernize the complex with lighter materials such as glass, potentially expand pedestrian access, and create a new commercial zone on Rue Eddy.

"[The current facade] is still pretty dark, pretty sombre. There's no great life that breaks out," said Provencher-Roy co-founder Claude Provencher in a French-language interview with Radio-Canada.

The consortium will be working with Dillon Construction, which is developing the master plan for the site and the surrounding area, PSPC said.

The recladding work is expected to get underway in the spring of 2019 and be completed by 2023, pending National Capital Commission approval of the master plan next summer.

Federal departments, agencies and other businesses inside Terrasses de la Chaudière will continue operating during construction, PSPC said.

More than 6,000 public servants work at the complex.