Adaptive Reuse, Accessibility & Additions
Spotlight
1 Spadina Crescent
Originally home to Knox College, and eventually occupied by one of the world’s first insulin manufacturers and a military hospital, the Gothic Revival building at 1 Spadina Crescent has a rich history and is a major city landmark, terminating views north from Spadina Avenue. ERA worked with NADAAA between 2011 and 2017 to oversee the...
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...
Maple Leaf Gardens
Recognized as a National Historic Site, Maple Leaf Gardens was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club until 1999 and served as a hub of civic life continuously since it opened in 1931. The arena hosted a wide variety of large-scale public gatherings, from operas to political rallies. It is one the oldest and...
Rotman School of Management
Located along the central spine of the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, the Rotman School of Management needed to expand to accommodate growing programming, student body, and faculty. The expansion of the school incorporated the designated heritage building known as the John Downey House at 97 St. George. Additional classroom, faculty, and student spaces...
5 St. Joseph
As part of the adaptive reuse of the historic block at Yonge and St. Joseph Streets, the FIVE Condos project at 5 St. Joseph celebrates the area’s commercial heritage, while creating a mix of new uses to enhance and rejuvenate this diverse, urban neighbourhood. The project includes half a block of designated heritage buildings between...
Bishop’s Block
The Bishop’s Block, a designated heritage property, was built circa 1829. It is considered one of the oldest buildings left in Toronto’s downtown core. Originally consisting of five upscale Georgian row houses, the Block housed the Adelaide Hotel in the early 20th century and more recently the popular Pretzel Bell Tavern. By 2005 the building...
The Roxy Theatre
The Allenby Theatre (also re-named the 99cent Roxy) opened in 1935 and was designed by the well-known Toronto architectural firm Kaplan and Sprachman. Kaplan and Sprachman were responsible for the design of roughly seventy-five percent of all movie theatres in Canada between the years of 1921 and 1950. At the time of the Great Depression,...
Allstream Centre / Automotive Building
The Automotive Building was constructed in 1929 as a venue for the exhibition of new automobiles. This use continued until the 1960s, however, over the years various unsympathetic renovations occurred and after 80 years the building had became outdated and was no longer in demand as an exhibition space. The new project involved rehabilitating the...
Evergreen Brick Works
Founded in 1889, the Don Valley Brick Works became one of the largest and most significant brick manufacturers in Canada, relying on locally extracted clay, shale, and sand. Many of Toronto’s landmark masonry buildings, such as Massey Hall, Old City Hall, Casa Loma, and the Royal Ontario Museum, were constructed with Don Valley’s award-winning bricks....
100 Yorkville Avenue
Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital was founded on this site in 1923. In 1930, a new surgical wing was built by architects Kaminker & Richmond, and the hospital remained on this site until 1953. Subsequently it became a nurse’s residence and then a senior citizens’ home. The property was designated in 1985, but the 1930 wing...
Minto St. Thomas
The project includes the development of a condominium and rental building and the heritage designation of the University Apartments and the McKinsey Building. The University Apartments were designed by S. B. Coon & Son, an architectural firm formed in 1912. ERA’s work involves the conservation and renovation of the University Apartments. The McKinsey Building is...
Artscape Wychwood Barns
The Artscape Wychwood Barns are located on the southwest corner of Wychwood and Benson Avenues, near St. Clair Avenue. The modular structure to house streetcars was built between 1913 and 1921 for the Toronto Civic Railway, a transportation system that played a significant role in the development of the newly annexed suburban areas in the...
University of Toronto, Department of Economics
The William Crowther House was built in 1889 by a Toronto merchant, who occupied it until 1927. The house was built in the Queen Anne Revival style, showcasing gables and dormers with elaborate woodwork, hipped gabled roofs and red brick with sandstone foundations and detailing. The house bears witness to the former residential character of...
Loretto Condominium
This project converted the Loretto Abbey School in the Annex, a designated heritage property, into residential condominium units with new townhouses constructed at the back of the property. ERA was retained to assess the heritage building, prepare a restoration plan and provide exterior conservation services. ERA worked in collaboration with architectsAlliance and Quadrangle Architects.
