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The site clearance and heritage retention process is underway at two of Menkes' condominium projects in Downtown Toronto; the sites of Adagio and The Whifield are both being transformed from underused low-rises into towering condos of 26 and 39 storeys, respectively, inclusive of unique heritage components to be featured at their bases.
Located at 33 Sherbourne Street, The Whitfield saw demolition begin at its site in January of this year. What stood on the site was an ESSO gas station and a Tim Horton's – the latter of which was operating out of a building listed on Toronto's Heritage Register.
The gas station is now gone along with Tim Horton's signage, and heritage restoration has begun on the historic building, which has been identified as a "contributing property" in the St Lawrence Neighbourhood Heritage Conservation District Plan. The interior of the building has been gutted, with concrete preservation bunkers put up around the heritage structure.
Where the gas station previously sat has been completely cleared, and is now being used as storage space for materials and equipment in preparation for shoring work. The heritage building has also seen a green steel support structure tethered to its street-facing facade, to be used to reduce shifting and keep it in tact as restoration continues.
When completed, The Whitfield will boast a Giannone Petricone Associates-designed tower clad with red masonry. The building will house a total of 484 residential units, along with retail units within its base. The heritage building that is being retained will come to be a part of the building's podium, prominent in the rendering above, more hidden behind trees below.
Located a couple of kilometres to the northwest at 771 Yonge Street in Bloor-Yorkville, work has also begin at the Adagio site. Here, the project will preserve the heritage Langston House, built in 1883, listed for its cultural value as an important surviving example of a late 1800s commercial building. The building maintains its original symmetry and gable roof, a Georgian style linked to first-generation commercial edifices in Toronto. Langston House was more recently home to an English language school on its upper level, and a Kitchen Stuff Plus store at ground level.
Demolition is taking place around Langston House; removed from the site is 767 Yonge Street, the building that was between it and the Albert Bricknell building to the south. The removed building, funnily enough, was also formerly home to a Tim Horton's, it just wasn't a heritage building in this case.
As recently as last week, crews were on site taking apart the remaining bits of 767 Yonge, as well as removing everything in behind. As demolition is completed, heritage restoration is also on the way, which will see the white paint carefully removed from the Langston House, bringing it back to its original red-brick face, while integrating the structure into Adagio's podium.
Upon completion, Adagio's tower, again designed by Giannone Petricone Associates, will boast 202 residential suites plus retail within its base.
More information on these developments will come soon, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database files for the projects, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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