Patricia Williams – Daily Commercial News

Developer Camrost-Felcorp and architects OneSpace Unlimited are giving an office tower in midtown Toronto a new lease on life as condominiums.

Built in 1957, the former Imperial Oil Ltd. headquarters on St. Clair Avenue West features a limestone façade, welded steel-frame construction and lavish interior finishes.

The classic Modernist aesthetic of the building will be maintained as the tower is converted into Imperial Plaza. The development will include condos and lofts with 10 to 20 foot ceiling heights and three-storey townhouses.

The original polished granite lobby will be preserved in new retail and restaurant space.

Chief architect Rod Rowbotham said the key challenge from a design perspective is to be “respectful” of the existing building while updating it with 2010 materials and technologies.

“This is a mid-century modern building,” he said. “What we want to do is elaborate on that style.”

Rowbotham said the major construction challenges entail working with the existing steel framing and floor systems and maintaining the fire ratings that are required for residential use.

“We have to be sure not to disrupt the existing steel framing so that we don’t compromise the building’s structural integrity,” he said.

The project is being undertaken by a team that includes structural engineers Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, mechanical-electrical engineers Trace Engineering Ltd. and Toddglen Construction. The Design Agency is providing interior design services.

To accommodate the conversion to condos, each of the floors in the 23-storey building will be gutted. Interior demolition is under way. That work is expected to be completed by next June.

While the existing limestone façade will be retained, all of the windows are being replaced. Rowbotham said the tower is believed to be one of the first steel-framed buildings constructed in Canada.

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

Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they reproduce them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
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toddglen on st clair

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