St. Hilda’s Towers Transformation

ERA was the Architect of Record for a multi-phase modernization project at the St. Hilda’s Towers in partnership with the City of Toronto and WoodGreen. St. Hilda’s has been a cornerstone of its community for the past 40 years, providing affordable housing for seniors at the heart of the new Eglinton LRT corridor. Made possible in partnership with the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario, and CMHC through the National Housing Strategy, the modernization project brings new life to the complex, securing 450 deeply affordable, resilient, and low-carbon homes, fit for the 21st century.

Begun in 2018, the project has helped to save this 450-unit affordable senior housing complex from closing and has renewed the facility to meet 21st-century housing objectives while maintaining deep affordability. The project team includes ERA Architects, New Commons Development, WoodGreen, Turner Townsend, and Gillam Group. The transformation of the 50-year-old facility involved creating a low-carbon campus by providing much-needed fully accessible suites, reimagining the delivery of services and supports, and achieving health, comfort, and resiliency measures through a full systems retrofit. In-suite COVID-resilient ventilation and low-energy full-building cooling are among the key measures ensuring residents are safe and comfortable in a changing climate.

Completed with residents in place — and during the height of the pandemic — work was phased for minimal disruption, ensuring residents’ safety and maintaining operations.

The modernization has enabled St. Hilda’s to continue its critical work of inclusive housing, welcoming dozens of residents — including refugees and participants in the innovative Streets to Homes program — into its doors. ERA is proud to be a partner to this esteemed organization as it re-imagines itself for a changing Toronto.