Founded in 1832, Gooderham and Worts is a five-hectare parcel of 45 aging distillery buildings, declared a National Historic Site in 1988. A 20-minute walk to downtown, the site lies between the St Lawrence Neighbourhood and the “brown fields” of the West Don Lands.

As part of a 10-year mixed-use planning exercise, 875 residential units were assigned to the periphery of the site, 25% of which were to be “affordable” following the City guideline.

A change in provincial government saw an end to housing subsidies in the early 1990s. In response, Michel Labbé of Options for Homes devised a plan whereby co-op groups would be formed as non-profit developers to build condominium units. The units were priced as “affordable” under the City guideline, without any Government subsidies.

To date, three buildings, containing 420 units in total, have been built under this plan. The balance of units will be market condominiums. The apartment towers rise out of 19th century rack and tank buildings on the edge of the site and overlook the historic Trinity Street core. The central area is slated for retail and office uses fitted into the heritage buildings.

All new buildings planned for the site are tightly controlled by built form guidelines that define setbacks, side yards, build-to lines, and building heights. These controls were put in place to ensure a harmonious relationship between the new development and the heritage building fabric.

David Dennis