Bridgepoint Health: The Old Don Jail

Completed in 1864, the Old Don Jail was the last work of one of Canada’s most respected early architects, William Thomas, and the largest building project in Toronto’s history at the time. Like much of Thomas’s late work, the jail was conceived in the Renaissance Revival style popular during the mid-1800s which draws inspiration from Italian Renaissance, Baroque, and Mannerist architecture. The heavily rusticated stone and imposing masonry structure—symbolically appropriate for its purpose—remained in excellent condition right up to its closure as a functioning jail in 1977.

In 2013, a conservation and adaptive reuse project was completed to preserve the site’s heritage while providing new administrative offices for Bridgepoint Active Healthcare. ERA advised Bridgepoint prior to the purchase of the jail and throughout development of its initial concepts, project masterplan, heritage conservation strategy, heritage compliance review, and project completion.