Toronto Condo and Real Estate Blog

Through inspiration and hard work, developer Bob Mitchell turns old buildings into new again

By Jane van der Voort

What looks like the musty exterior of an old church or a tired inner-city garment factory shines with living potential for Toronto developer Bob Mitchell.

“One of the key things I try and do is look at the light and volume of space,” says Mitchell, owner of Mitchell & Associates, who has converted more than a dozen old buildings in Toronto into unique loft conversions over the last 20 years.

“Older buildings allow you to do that and smaller buildings have the advantage of more perimeter per volume. You have to go only, say, 50 feet to a window or outside space instead of hundreds of feet”.

His projects include The Glebe, a 32-condominium loft conversion using an extension of the 1912 Riverdale Presbyterian Church on Pape Avenue just south of The Danforth.

In 1990, Mitchell created Hepbourne Hall, a 21 loft conversion, where the Maple Leafs’ Conn Smythe once taught Sunday school.

The 1989 Ontario Medical College for Women, now a heritage Romanesque Revival building, was a machine shop when Mitchell saw it in 1983. Into it he built 10 suites and restored the facade according to photos in a century-old calendar that workmen found behind baseboards.”

“Essentially I design for myself. I’m at the peak of the Baby Boom demographic curve and there’s a lot of people out there who are interested in the same things that I am.”

The developer’s latest projects were Mayfair Walk, nine townhouses at Logan Avenue and The Danforth, as well as 12 lofts at The Greenhouse on Queen Street East in The Beach, directly across from Kew Park.

Still, he’s working with small numbers that allow each suite to be tailored to its buyer.

“We were a lit bit disbelieving when Bob said we could do whatever we wanted,” says Lin Gitterman. She and husband Michael bought a top-floor, 1700-square-foot loft for $259,000 in the knitting mill that Mitchell renovated at 676 Richmond St. West four years ago. “We thought, Okay, where will he draw the line? But he didn’t ever draw the line!”

Instead, they were able to change their kitchen space by removing a powder room, moved the fireplace into a corner, ran the stairs up the side of the room instead of across, and removed all internal doors except for sliding barn doors in the master bedroom.

The downtown loft just south of funky Queen Street West is a big change for the pair who had previously been homeowners outside the city. “We look around for a house each spring when I get the garden lust,” says Gitterman, who now walks to work. “This year we’ve come to the realization that we’re not about to move because we love the community in our building and we love our home.”

Based on the work they saw Mitchell was doing in the next building, the couple bought their loft. “There were just two units left when we came so we had to make a decision pretty quickly,” Gitterman says.

All of the developer’s projects in the last decade have completely and quickly sold-out through word of month and his internet contact list. “It keeps me in touch with end user - it keeps me sharp,” he says.

He’s also kept on his toes by residents in the areas where he builds.

“What makes a neighbourhood is people. Sometimes it’s a real educational process you have to do with the existing neighbourhoods,” Mitchell says of long-time home owners disgruntled by the construction process and the increased density within their communities.

As well, he says, redeveloping buildings that past their life cycle benefits the environment. “All of our units are energy efficient with various ‘green features.’ And there is inherent energy conservation to re-developing the downtown,” Mitchell says, citing the ease of subway travel instead of a daily drive to work.”

———————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information

Bob Mitchell has been turning vacant buildings into ‘astonishing’ living spaces for 26 years and counting

Excerpt from an article by Jennifer Bain - Toronto Star

Bob Mitchell is almost embarrassed to admit it - but he recently captured his design philosophy in words and laid it down on his website for all who care to see.

One of his past projects is Printers Row, in residential Riverdale. Mitchell converted the brick-and-concrete building into a row of six, double-stacked, two- and three-storey lofts. All 12 units - originally priced at $219,900 to $319,900 - face south and open on to private roof gardens or terraces.

Old factories, churches and even schools have large volumes of space, high ceilings, long, clear spans and visible structural elements like brick arches and timber beams or columns.

“Maximize space and light,” Mitchell writes. “Work with and not against existing structures. Be aware of the surrounding environment. Listen to the answers. Consider colouring outside the lines.”

Mitchell must be acting in accordance with the universe, because he has earned a steady living creating more than 150 unique living spaces in the city since 1980.

He got into renovating and converting “by accident” when he and his wife Beverley moved into the Annex in the 1970s, enjoyed renovating so much they decided to do more of it. She worked with him for a while, and now has her own Internet- based gardening company.

Take, for example, 670 Richmond St., constructed in 1950 for Decea Records, and later used as a garment factory. Mitchell converted it into 12 residential two- and three-storey lofts with roof gardens in 1997. Here - and next door at 676 Richmond - a tour reveals entirely different layouts, vibes and styles.

Gorette Costa and her husband/business partner Denis Leclerc bought a 3,200-square- foot space here in 1996. The entrance foyer opens into a large space for their graphic design company, Costa Leclerc, which employs three people.

“It was still a raw space when we bought, so we were able to break down the space the way we envisioned it,” remembers Costa. “I’ve been in almost all the suites here, and it’s really kind of neat to see how the spaces are so different and distinctly individual.”

Each loft conversion calls for a historical study of past uses and, if warranted, an environmental audit studying soil samples for any dangerous residue.

This was the case with 41 Shanly St. in Dovercourt Village, an ugly and obsolete industrial building originally constructed for Dominion Felt Co. Clouds of snow-like pollution had long been part of this residential area.

In 1982, Mitchell turned it into 10 multi-storey loft condos (each with roof terraces and fireplaces) later winning an Ontario Renews Award for design excellence for what was the first legal residential loft conversion in Toronto.

“The Canadian public was not ready for lofts - not back in those days,” recalls Potts, who had toured Robert DeNiro’s loft in New York city before discovering 41 Shanly. “They wanted the artsy feeling of the loft, but they didn’t have the (nerve) to move in. ”

“I have the greatest respect for Bob Mitchell as a concept guy who had the (nerve) to go ahead and do lofts.”

To Mitchell, 41 Shanly was “sort of a win-win situation, creating something of value and at the same time not displacing anybody to do it. It’s almost a philosophical thing. If there’s a way to do it (build) and not be at odds with social policy, it’s easier to do it that way and get it approved.

That’s the case with Printers Row, Mitchell’s work at 523 Logan Ave. in residential Riverdale. Designed in 1911 by architect W. F. Carmichael for the Bell Telephone Co. world headquarters, and recently vacated by ABSO Blue Prints, the building is a “vintage architectural gem.”Potts - now a builder who has lived in several places since 41 Shanly - snapped up a suite in Printers Row. “I’ve got the best unit in there,” he raves. “You know the door with the fancy brick cobbling? That’s my unit.”

Mitchell was ecstatic about the existing floor in Printers Row - six inches of concrete and 12 inches of terra-cotta tile and steel grid that will acoustically separate units.

The 17-metre high Printers Row, for example, went up in the pre-building code era. A residential neighbourhood sprang up around it that complies with rules about height (10 metres in the area), property lines (front, back and sides) and maximum square footage of living space.

That’s what he did with 16 Glen Manor Dr., a three-storey apartment building beside the boardwalk in the Beach. He bought the “famous leaning building on the waterfront” when it was “vacant land” and was allowed to rebuild into 11 condos.There have been many other conversions along the way, usually in the manageable 10-to 30-unit range in highly desirable downtown spots.

But now Mitchell has set his sites on the somewhat overlooked Riverdale. He negotiated to convert an unused portion of the 1912-built Riverdale Presbyterian Church at 662 Pape Ave. into 32 lofts.

Read the rest of the article here:

———————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information

Four out of five Canadians expect the prices of homes to increase over the next year, according to a new survey by Genworth Financial Canada.

The Genworth study shows that expectations of home price appreciation vary considerably across Canada. In Alberta, 92% believe housing prices will go up, with 42% saying that prices will increase “a lot” over the next year.

Most Canadians indicate that they expect the bull market in housing to continue, 25% believe that houses will become much more expensive, and 55% say that prices would increase slightly in the coming year.

The survey found that 56% of respondents across Canada feel that now is a good time to buy a home. Sixty-one per cent of Atlantic Canadians and Ontario respondents believe now is a good time to buy, followed by 51% in the Prairie provinces and 47% in Quebec.

“Canadians see home prices appreciating and they don’t want to be left behind,” said Genworth President Peter Vukanovich. “Fortunately, low down payment mortgages with mortgage insurance make it possible to make a smaller down payment and get into homes sooner even as prices rise.”

The study finds that half of all Canadians who purchase homes choose a low down payment mortgage. Forty percent of homebuyers put down five percent of the purchase price, while 35% make a down payment of 10%.

About one-quarter of Canadians surveyed made down payments of less than $5,000. One in five put down between $5,000 and $25,000, and 10% put between $25,000 and $50,000 down.

The telephone survey of 1,000 Canadian adults was conducted for Genworth by Veraxis Research and Communications, and is considered accurate within +/-3.1 percentage points.

———————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information