Heritage & Cultural Planning
Spotlight

For nearly a decade, the Distillery District has integrated modern spaces with designated heritage buildings. Industrial architecture has been transformed into commercial, residential and office space. As part of an adaptive reuse and conservation strategy for the property at 3 Tank House Lane, ERA worked with Kingstar Media to create office space for its employees, while ensuring...

The Ruthven Park National Historic Site consists of one of Canada’s finest Greek Revival mansions, which sits on 1,478 acres of property along the Grand River in southwestern Ontario. ERA was retained as the heritage architectural consultant on a conservation management plan team restoring Ruthven Park. We provided detailed assessments and historical studies of the...

Situé au cœur du site patrimonial du Vieux-Montréal, « l’Îlot Bonsecours » est un ensemble composé de 4 bâtiments historiques, notamment la maison du Calvet et son annexe, le magasin Davies et la maison Louis-Viger, qui ont été amalgamés au cours des dernières décennies pour accueillir, entre autres, l’Auberge Pierre du Calvet. À ceux-ci se...

This significant and historic property is situated on the former grounds of Alma College, an important Victorian-era private girls’ school in St Thomas, Ontario. The College, although cherished by the community and its many alumnae, was closed in the 1980s and the property, along with its fine Gothic Revival building and rustic ravine amphitheatre, was...

In partnership with the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO), Canada Lands Company (Canada Lands) is developing a new mixed-use urban community east of Ottawa’s downtown core. Now called Wateridge Village/Village des Riverains, the 310-acre site is on unceded Algonquin traditional territory, located on the former Rockcliffe Airbase, and near surrounding francophone neighbourhoods. ERA was engaged...

English translation below L’ancien Hôpital Royal Victoria (HRV) a été inauguré en 1895 et conçu par l’architecte anglais Henry Saxon Snell dans le style néo-baronnial écossais. Étant d’une grande richesse historique, architecturale et paysagère, et associé à une institution hospitalière d’une grande importance, le site est une des propriétés majeures du site patrimonial cité et...

The site, once owned by the City of Toronto, operated as a public market from 1837 to around 1900. The Water Works Buildings were designed in the Art Deco style by City Architect, J. J. Woolnough and completed in 1933. The construction project was part of a plan supported by federal, provincial, and municipal governments...

The University College Revitalization project brings new life to the University of Toronto’s central architectural landmark, the Romanesque Revival University College, designed in 1852 by architects by Cumberland and Storm. The updates to the National Historic Site respond to the demands of 21st century academia, renewing facilities to expand use and create a more inclusive...

Opened in 1984 in Agincourt, Scarborough, Dragon Centre was North America’s first indoor Chinese mall. Its developers – brothers Daniel and Henry Hung, originally from Hong Kong – adapted an old roller-skating rink into a mall serving the Greater Toronto Area’s growing Chinese-Canadian population. Combining Hong Kong’s dense commercial markets and the big box North...

The oldest among the University of Toronto’s federated universities, Victoria University and its campus are an expression of dynamic, complex and current programmatic needs. Following ERA’s assessment of University of Toronto-owned resources across its St. George Campus in downtown Toronto, ERA was retained by Victoria University to undertake a similar assessment to guide the stewardship,...

The University of Toronto’s King’s College Circle is an iconic ceremonial landscape, an important hub of student life, and a beloved public space. Part of the landscape plan produced by William Mundie and William Storm in conjunction with the designs for the landmark University College (1856-1859), King’s College Circle began as a picturesque landscape setting...

In 2015, a new Secondary Plan was developed for the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. As a sub-consultant on the planning team led by Urban Strategies, ERA undertook a Cultural Heritage Resource Assessment in order to identify and assess cultural heritage resources, including the buildings, views and open spaces, in accordance with the Ontario Heritage...

Homewood Health in Guelph was founded in the late 19th century as a private countryside retreat providing mental health and addiction services. The campus’ original pastoral character remains largely intact despite the addition of new buildings, and changes to programming and circulation patterns. Since 2010, ERA has worked with Homewood to renew its 47-acre campus...

Coronation Park is a six-hectare, culturally significant park at the foot of the historic Fort York area. The park is a living memorial, with the groves of silver maples commemorating the service and sacrifice of Canada’s military in World War I. At over 70 years old, the original design intent of the park had begun...