While in the past the practice of adaptive re-use, restoration and historic preservation were largely separate from private development, recent years have seen an increased interest in incorporating our built heritage into new developments. Minto's current project within Old Thornhill, Watergarden, is doing what it can to embrace the area's history, through its restoration of the historic Robert Cox Residence, dating from 1884.

Robert Cox House pre-demolition of contemporary addition

Removal of contemporary addition and excavation for moving

Minto will remove the contemporary addition that was built over the past 20 years, and restore the heritage building, all while moving it slightly (a grand total of 2.8 meters east, to be exact) closer to Yonge Street in order to maximize available space for the new project.

Yonge Street Façade

Courtyard Amenities

While the renderings Minto has released neglect to show how the building will be integrated within the Watergarden project, we hope it can play a part in the overall resident experience, as well as maintain a presence along Yonge Street. We often do not consider the heritage value tucked away within the old suburbs; the maintenance of such a structure will help to remind us that heritage does not necessarily have to correlate with the historic urban centre.

Visit UrbanToronto's Watergarden dataBase page for more details on this project, or have a look at the thread in the Forum, by clicking the links below.