The Tao of loft conversions
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.
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