The rapid redevelopment of Toronto's Liberty Village area has injected thousands of residents into an area once designated primarily for industrial and factory uses due to its proximity to multiple rail lines. Along with the critical mass of young urban professionals brought to the east side of the area by development over the last several years, a number of commercial projects have created new employment space in the area, replacing surface parking lots and restoring the aging industrial structures that give the west side of Liberty Village much of its charm. 

One such proposal was first submitted in 2014 by property owner Kevric, for a restoration and intensification of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company building and attached boiler house—both designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act—on the block bounded by Liberty Street, Hanna Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, and Snooker Street.

Aerial view of the 99 Atlantic Avenue site, image retrieved from Apple Maps

The existing complex—which originally produced billiard tables, billiard balls, cues and chalk—consists of a factory building of three matching volumes constructed between 1905 and 1913, and an adjacent boiler house to the south built between 1910 and 1912.

Site viewed from the corner of Hanna and Liberty, image retrieved from Google Street View

Approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in an Order issued on November 9, 2015, the project—with architecture by WZMH Architects and heritage elements overseen by ERA Architects—would include the construction of a new 8-storey office building on the west half of the site, replacing an existing surface parking lot. The four-storey factory would live on as commercial space containing retail and office tenants, with three new entrances proposed on the east side, while the boiler house would be restored and converted into a new space for Scotiabank. A new Privately Owned Publically accessible Space (POPS) is planned to the immediate east of the boiler house, fronting the intersection of Hanna and Liberty. 

Aerial rendering of 99 Atlantic Avenue, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

An elevation diagram depicting the proposed changes to the boiler house reveals plans to reuse brick and new clear vision glass framed in black-painted steel mullions.

Elevation diagram of proposed changes to the boiler house, image retrieved from the City of Toronto

We will be sure to return with additional information as new details about the project emerge. In the meantime, you can visit the project's dataBase file, linked below, for more info. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.