People have varying opinions about mixing new and old (cough, cough, Hugh Hefner). But when done right, it's a beautiful sight. Here are four new Toronto condo developments that pull off heritage well.
The scaffolding has just come down at Five St Joseph—a mixed-use project on Yonge Street north of Charles—revealing beautifully restored Victorian buildings that'll house street-level retail and residential units above. With a 48-storey condo tower rising behind the refurbished buildings, Five St. Joseph—which we've featured before—does a fine job blending history and density. The development includes the preserved four-storey brick facade of an old warehouse on St. Joseph.
Designed by Core Architects, this Freed Developments condo integrates the restored 1880s-era Toronto Silverplate Building along King, with its red-brick facade providing a nice contrast to the 12-storey stacked-box glass condo tower that envelops it. The heritage structure—which has designated heritage status from the city—houses The Keg on the main floor and has brick-and-beam lofts on the second and third levels. Prior to the condo going up, a gas station had sat next to the historic building.
To make way for construction on Pinnacle International’s 46-storey tower, the Richard West house (circa 1860) that had sat on the site was loaded—fully intact—onto a 40-wheel flatbed truck and moved across the road to a lot where it was stored for a year as it waited to be reintegrated into the new condo. The heritage building now sits farther south of its original location, and is going to be part of the retail space at the Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed complex.
This 132-unit condo project at King and Sherbourne features a podium built behind the preserved three-storey facade of the 1860s-era National Hotel building, with a 17-storey glass condo tower rising above. The project's designed by TACT Architecture, with ERA Architects (Toronto's go-to heritage guys) overseeing the historical component. The hotel may be long gone, but its facade—propped up by yellow bracing during excavation and early construction—will live on as a reminder of Old Town Toronto.
