Toronto Real Estate Blog

Bob Mitchell has been turning vacant buildings into astonishing living spaces for 28 years and counting

Bob Mitchell is almost embarrassed to admit it – but his design philosophy is captured in words and laid 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 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, the Industrial Revolution Lofts at 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 and 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 lofts (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 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 660 Pape Ave. into 32 lofts called The Glebe.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960

The Academy Lane Lofts are an authentic conversion of the historic building at 1852 Queen St. E. The building used to be a bowling alley and boxing club and was built and owned by William Moore. Moore was a stonemason who worked on Old City Hall and was one of the first homebuilders in the Beach.

For more than 60 years, countless strikes were bowled and championships won. The authentic conversion of the Academy Lane Lofts sent a strike through the heart of the Beaches and promises to knock you out.

Already rich with history, including a boxing club that acted as a training ground for the legendary Larry Holmes and a bowling alley that defined the block, this early 20th century building was given a new beginning in July 2002.

Today this block has been redefined by Streetcar’s first authentic loft conversion project that has brought urban loft living to Toronto’s Beaches District. The unique Academy Lane Lofts is a 4-storey building housing 12 lofts and four split level retail spaces, is coveted for its open design layouts and soaring 20-foot ceilings.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960

By Garry Choo & Aileen Cassells (www.kml.to)

The Kensington Market today is a diverse and vibrant neighbourhood with an interesting historic past. The development of the market and the Kensington Market area has been strongly influenced by the different waves of immigrants who have come to live and work in the area over the years.

Kensington Market was part of a 156 acre lot bought by Colonel George Taylor Denison in 1815. The Denison family built a house which they named ‘Belle Vue’ in 1815 to north of Denison Square. The Denisons were responsible for building of the St. Stephen’s Church in 1858 because they wanted to have a place to worship. Denison Avenue which runs along the western edge of the market was once the driveway from their family house leading to Queen Street.

The land which made up the Kensington Market area was a wooded area. The St. Stephen’s Church used to be known as St. Stephen’s in the Fields before Kensington Market was developed. At one time, Russell Creek ran across what is now Bellevue Avenue. However, like many creeks in Toronto, it was covered over and became part of the sewer system.

Beginning in 1854, the Denison estate was subdivided into lots which were purchased by English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants. These immigrants were labourers and skilled tradesmen. Many of the street names reflect this early influence (Oxford Street, College Street, Kensington Avenue). In the early 1900s, Jews from Central and Southern Europe began to move into Kensington Market.

The Kensington Market began to exist as a market in the early 1900s. It began with merchants pushing hand carts through the streets to sell their goods. Soon, merchants moved their hand carts in front of their homes on Kensington Avenue. By the 1930s, many of the first floors of houses in the market had been extended to create storefronts.

The Kensington Market continued to evolve and change with each new wave of immigrants. In the 1950s, many Portuguese immigrants settled in the Kensington Market followed by immigrants from the Caribbean in the late 1960s and more recently Latin Americans, Vietnamese, and Chinese immigrants. Some feel that the Kensington Market Lofts development represents the next wave of immigration in the market.

As with most buildings in the Kensington Market area, the buildings that make up the loft development have been used for a wide variety of purposes and have grown and changed since they were first built.

Originally, the lots which now make up 21 Nassau Street and 160 Baldwin Street contained mainly residential housing. However, in 1880, a carriage painter was located at 21 Nassau Street and in the 1940s an automobile service centre operated on the south east corner of 160 Baldwin Street.

In 1836, the entire south side of Nassau Street which was then called Cambridge Street was made up of individual houses. In 1922, the homes in the lots from 1 to 21 were torn down. After the property was vacant for a few months, the Toronto Board of Education bought the lots. It was at this time that the property became known as 21 Nassau.

The Toronto Board of Education had bought the property in 1923-1924 to build a public school. Construction began on the building in 1924. The building was named the William Houston Public School after William Houston who was a member of the Board of Education, a political writer for The Globe and Mail, and a witness to the fatal shooting of George Brown.

The school was opened on September 2, 1925. The school had about 12 classrooms and held about 650 children. Even back then declining enrolment was a problem and the school closed less than 10 years after it opened.

After being unoccupied for two years, Harbord Collegiate used the building as an annex from 1935-1936 and then in 1936, the Family Welfare Department took over the building for a period of six years. In the 1940s, the Canadian government began to use the school for military purposes as a signals’ school and for troop accommodation and during the Second World War, the air force held training for new recruits in the building from 1942 to 1946.

After the war, the Ontario College of Art took over the building for a period of five years from 1946 to 1950.

In 1948, the Ryerson Institute of Technology which was then known as the Toronto Rehabilitation Training Institute was looking for more space for its construction trades training program and for its automotive mechanics training program. The property was purchased by the federal government and leased to the provincial government in 1952 for the use of the Provincial Institute of Trades.

During 1953 and 1954 the second and third buildings were constructed. Construction work was done partly by the students and teachers of the school.

George Brown College grew out of the Provincial Institute of Trades and the Provincial Institute of Trades and Occupations. George Brown College was established by the provincial government on November 22, 1967 to serve the City of Toronto as part of the new province-wide system of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology.

William Davis, the Conservative Minister of Education at the time, recommended that the college be named after George Brown. George Brown (1818-1880) was a 19th century Liberal party leader, father of Confederation and founder of The Globe newspaper which was the forerunner of The Globe and Mail. George Brown died in 1880 after having been shot in the leg by a disgruntle employee. His wound had not appeared serious but he died about six weeks after being shot.

In 1968, George Brown College made the Kensington Market buildings one of their five campuses in Toronto. In 1970 the title for the property officially transferred from the provincial government to George Brown College. While the Kensington Market campus was in operation, more than 1,000 full-time and 600 part-time students used the buildings.

Due to the growing enrolment at the College during the 1960s and 1970s, many of the programs offered by the College were operated out of the building. Child care, English as a Second Language, Fashion, Hospitality, Automotive Repair were all offered in the Kensington Market buildings. At one time, a Retail Meat Cutting course was run out of the basement of the 160 Baldwin Street building which sold meat to many of the institutions in the central Toronto area. The buildings also housed a full restaurant and a child care centre as well.

Most of the College programs had moved out of the Kensington Market campus by the end of 1994. The College performed a variety of work to prepare the buildings for sale and in 1998-2000 the buildings and property were developed by Context Development as the Kensington Market Lofts development.

The Kensington Market Lofts is a condominium development that is located in the heart of Toronto. It is situated in the centre of the ‘Market’ and close to other vibrant neighbourhoods such as Chinatown, Little Italy, The Annex and Queen Street West.

Today, the Nassau Building is a 61-unit, 4-story building with terraced street level units and 1-2 bedroom lofts. The Baldwin Building is a 6-story building with 79 condo apartments with the top level set back to create terraced penthouses.

The Kensington Market Lofts feature a rooftop garden to help reduces heating and air conditioning costs as well as reduce rainwater runoff. The buildings are heated and cooled by an efficient central system which reduced energy consumption overall. Water is also heated in a central source to reduce energy costs.

The interiors of the original Kensington Market Lofts suites contain many recycled and environment-friendly elements such as recycled concrete and glass counter tops, bamboo and cork floors.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960

Converted warehouse holds appeal for the individualist

By Sydnia Yu – The Globe and Mail

Buyers are free to make their mark at the Wallace Station Lofts conversion project in the Junction. One person used more than 25 exotic woods in his loft, for example, and another — a bachelor — wanted a Jacuzzi on a platform opposite his bed.

“This project was for individualists who don’t want something everyone else can buy,” says George Powers, developer of the Wallace Station Lofts project, which got its name from a train station that once stood nearby.

Located at 371 Wallace Ave. in the Dundas and Bloor area, Wallace Station Lofts consists of a four-storey warehouse, built in 1929 for the Canadian Glue Stamp Factory, and four coach houses, constructed for the company in 1949. Each of the lofts within the restored buildings has a different design.

“This is a one-of-a-kind project with one-of-a-kind lofts,” Mr. Powers says. “There are few buildings in Toronto that offer this kind of design and lifestyle.”

Finishes have included burnt copper backsplashes, and floors made of various kinds and shades of old wood. Most Wallace Station Lofts units have curved walls, while some feature an atrium or a 1,000-square-foot rooftop garden.

The industrial red brick, art deco-style facade of the main Wallace Station Lofts structure has been preserved. Interior features include the original freight elevator, working sprinkler system, and two-foot-thick beams of Douglas fir held together with cast-iron fittings.

Mr. Powers, an expert in antiques who owns Antique Treasure Traders, introduced other heritage elements, including a Victorian cast-iron fence, an arched oak door with leaded glass and side panels from a Rosedale mansion, and a front door knocker believed to have once belonged to Eva Peron.

Within the Wallace Station Lofts itself, bricks from the old factory chimney were used to create four pillars in a decorative facade for the parking lot.

“Everything we did was to enhance the age and the beauty of the building,” Mr. Powers says.

Some additional features include multiple-level living spaces, 10- to 18-feet ceilings, steel entry doors and exposed brick walls. Wallace Station Lofts will contain appliances, and some will have patios and terraces.

The loft project is in an up-and-coming neighbourhood for working-class and artistic types. It’s close to High Park, and minutes from shops in Roncesvalles Village and Bloor West Village.

The site is serviced by the Dundas West subway and GO Train station.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960

Building has a long industrial history – from soap to cigars to leather

Reprinted from The Globe and Mail

The developer of the Tannery Lofts is Walsh Development Group, which completed the conversion of the old Gillette razor factory on Adelaide Street East into the Liberty Lofts years ago. With the Tannery Lofts, the company waded into a neighbourhood where two other experienced developers had recently been forced to pull their loft projects from the market because of poor response.

Demand for the Tannery Lofts came from a highly tuned marketing strategy that left little to chance. The sales office was compact, and the number of sales staff low, so that as the day progressed a line formed and excitement grew. Some people were filing out contracts on cardboard boxes. While others waited their turn, it was not unusual for prices to rise by $5,000.

Now that the building is complete, people have a chance at the last units available from the builder, or those now being resold by the original owners. The lofts range in size from the smallest, a 443 square-foot unit, to the largest at 1,300 square feet. On a square-foot basis, prices start below city averages, more in line with some resale prices at popular existing loft buildings.

Other recent sales efforts in the area have not done so well. Atria Developments, for example, signed up only a handful of buyers for its LTD lofts before closing the sales office last November, two months after opening it. The building at Queen Street and Carlaw Avenue was to have included 118 lofts designed by the architectural firm Kohn Shnier. The family-owned developer had successfully completed the iZone live/work lofts across the street a short time earlier.

Hans Jain, a principle with Atria, said the company is re-evaluating the LTD project and could re-launch a lower-priced, stripped-down version this year. Initially, Atria aimed for buyers wealthier and more sophisticated than first-timers, offering top-of-the-line finishes, big units averaging 880 square feet, and an unusually large amount of interior common space. But this kind of buyer was just not interested in the neighbourhood, Mr. Jain says.

Inaugural Source, which converted the Malthouse Loft Towns at Queen Street East and River Street into 26 townhouse lofts, also pulled another project because of weak interest. Ron Herczeg, the developer, blamed a softening marketplace where product now has to be unique if it is going to sell well.

Lofts are a niche market with unique ingredients that are often hard to pinpoint, and numerous developers who have successful track records with condos have met their match with lofts.

Among the special features added to the Tannery Lofts to help with their marketability are: extra-large wooden doors — 8 feet by 4 feet — at entrances; roof decks sold separately for between $12,500 and $20,000; sliding walls that partition sleeping areas; partial height walls to block off other areas; and raised flooring in some areas with extra storage space built underneath.

Early on in the project, the Tannery Lofts marketing team decided prices should be competitively set. The group felt that some downtown developers were getting greedy and it didn’t want to fall into the same temptation. The team also thought that a project in the east end of the city had to offer more value than something closer to the centre or on the west side.

Despite the tannery’s derelict look, Walsh Development saw that the building had potential. The 13-foot ceilings, massive windows and thick wood beams and posts — some naturally charred by a fire years ago — are rare in Toronto lofts.

The building had a long industrial history, including years as a soap factory. It has also been know as the Adam Beck Cigar Box Manufacturing Company Building. But leather has more market appeal, so the property was branded appropriately.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960