Sitting at the southeast corner of Niagara and Tecumseth Streets is a historic structure known to locals as The Coffin Factory as the large scale building was indeed once a prominent factory for coffin making. Currently, the buildings at 89 through 109 Niagara are occupied by approximately 80 tenants who use their units as artist studios, workshops, offices, and other commercial ventures.

Things will be changing here though, as the structure is again and needs major upgrades to keep it standing in the long-run. Fixing up older warehouses like this is expensive however, so with the site's prime location in the transforming King West area, Shimcor Investments and Jerudan Developments have big plans, and are looking to maximize the site's potential for new development while making the money they need to restore and improve the older structure.

89-109 Niagara Street from Google Street View

89-109 Niagara Street from Google Street View

The heritage structures were built between 1883 and 1887, and are protected by the Ontario Heritage Act. The buildings were designed as a factory that produced consumer products like doors, pianos, and furniture. In the early 1900's the National Casket Company took over a majority of the factory. Caskets were produced at the site until 1973.

89-109 Niagara Street Redevelopment Plans

A redevelopment of 89-109 Niagara Street would see the original heritage elements restored and turned into 80 'home work' units, while the south end of the site would see the addition of two Bernard Watt-designed residential towers at 15 and 19-storeys, connected by a 5-storey podium, bringing 288 new residential condo units to the area.

Layout of 89-109 Niagara Street Redevelopment Plans


Indoor amenity space will be located on the sixth floor of both towers, with additional areas on the ground floor. The existing heritage buildings will include 152 square meters of indoor amenity space on the ground floor. Outdoor amenity space will include a courtyard between the two towers, including a playground on the ground level and a deck on the top of the sixth floor podium.

89-109 Niagara Street Redevelopment Plans

Toronto Planning is recommending that City Council amend the Zoning By-Law to let this redevelopment proceed at their July 8 meeting. To learn more about this project, head to our dataBase file, linked below. Want to talk about it? Choose one of the associated Forum thread links, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

Related Companies:  Core Architects, Groundwater Environmental Management Services Inc. (GEMS), Live Patrol Inc., McIntosh Perry, Orin Demolition, A Division of Orin Enterprises Inc. , Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc., UCEL Inc.