[AlbertC]

Incredible attention to details. Every component is pin-pointed to perfection. Especially love the parts featuring a curved brick facade.

 

[alklay]

Wow, what a beautiful piece of architecture. This proves some firms in the city are able to move beyond linear lines the use of the same materials (and look) over and over again.

 

[Xray_Crystal_Junkie]

While I love this building and probably consider it the best building masterfully designed and constructed in this city in quite awhile, it's worth pointing out the cost. This modest four-storey building cost $40 million according to that Star article. It's simply not realistic to expect the same design and materials excellence in your typical residential building.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Xray:

Of course - what I am interested in knowing is how much of a premium there is when compared to a residential care facility of a similar scale

AoD

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

Well - this building cost $40million and is 96,000sf - which works out to apparently $415/sf (not sure if that is construction cost or project costs).

Construction costs are approximately 75% of project costs - so if the $40million is project cost - construction is $311/sf

This is quite the premium over what happens across the rest of Long Term Care properties in Ontario (2009 numbers) - you can escalate those numbers by roughly 4% per annum

 

[ChesterCopperpot]

I took a drive by today to take a look for myself and the pictures don't do it justice - just fantastic

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Winner of the 2014 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture:

http://www.raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_gg_medals/2014recipients/oconnor_e.htm

The chapel is stupendous!

AoD

 

[adHominem]

Winner of the 2014 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture:

http://www.raic.org/honours_and_awards/awards_gg_medals/2014recipients/oconnor_e.htm

The chapel is stupendous!

AoD

Just an absolute stunner.

 

[innsertnamehere]

It looks great from the DVP, too bad its hidden by the trees in the summer.

 

[Therion]

I drive by this site pretty much every day. It is a great looking building. Are there solar panels on the roof or are those glass panels something else? You can't see them from the pictures above but are visible from Broadview.

 

[someMidTowner]

Reviving an old thread to share this article featuring some beautiful photos of the project: http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/05...-jewel-don-valley-sisters-st-joseph-residence

 

[junctionist]

The building is spectacular and underrated. Perhaps what holds it back in terms of public opinion is the use of green. Green is a polarizing colour.

 

[AlbertC]

Distinctive 2 O'Connor property being sold in Toronto

A unique and historic Toronto property currently used as a seniors assisted living and care centre at O’Connor Drive and Broadview Avenue in East York is being sold by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and marketed by Colliers.

renx.ca

Distinctive 2 O'Connor property being sold in Toronto​

A unique and historic Toronto property currently used as a seniors assisted living and care centre at O’Connor Drive and Broadview Avenue in East York is being sold by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto and marketed by Colliers.

The 2.32-acre property at 2 O’Connor Dr. features a modern four-storey, 84,044-square-foot facility with 58 residential units and a restored 11,280-square-foot, 1885-built Queen Anne Revival mansion with four additional guest suites and office space that’s incorporated into the newer building.

The Sisters of St. Joseph are a Roman Catholic congregation of women that was established in Toronto in 1851 with a commitment to establishing ministries in education, social services and healthcare. They’ve founded four Toronto hospitals: St. Michael’s Hospital in 1892; St. Joseph’s Health Centre in 1921; the demolished Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in 1925; and Providence Healthcare in 1962.

The 2 O’Connor facility was created as a retirement home for the Sisters. But their average age has reached 87 and few younger women are joining the congregation to take the place of the older ones as they pass away, thus the centre is expected to be less than half full by the end of 2026.

“They have a lot of care staff there and it's an expensive building to operate, so we give credit to the Sisters for looking ahead and realizing that a building that's under 50 per cent utilized doesn't make a whole lot of sense for their own finances, so that's why they're looking ahead to ideally selling the property this year,” said Colliers senior vice-president Peter Davies in an interview with RENX that also included executive VP Jeremiah Shamess and VP Matthew Soper.

“With a lease-back in place until the end of 2026, they have a relocation plan in place for the Sisters. They have some other properties and some other agreements with one of the hospital networks, so all of the Sisters will be incredibly well taken care of for the balance of their lives.”

Interest has been strong​

The original land acquisition and construction costs for 2 O’Connor were $63 million. No sale price was set by Colliers, which began marketing the property in late January and had received 51 signed non-disclosure agreements from potential purchasers in order to receive access to the data room by Feb. 19.

Shamess said 2 O’Connor is the only property of its type on the market and interest in it has been shown by assisted living providers, publicly funded and privately owned long-term care providers, non-profit organizations, healthcare providers and hospice groups.

“Most of the buyers have been regional and Canadian-based,” Shamess said. “We think it will end up being used as a retirement facility, but at this point buyers are looking at it for everything from hotel conversion, residential conversion and a purpose-built medical facility.”

“The building does not lay itself out like a traditional long-term care facility and doesn't have the economies of scale that a lot of the private long-term care owners and operators are typically accustomed to, but high-end assisted living is certainly a strong interest,” Davies said.

Suite capacity could be increased​

There’s potential to increase the capacity in the main building by transforming the relatively large private suites into semi-private units. With alterations, the adjoining mansion could also accommodate additional residential suites.

Shamess said there’s potential for intensification and expansion to the north of the primary building, “but given the fact that the building is incredibly built, it's unlikely that it would be economically feasible at this point because the building is so new.”

No official bid date deadline has been announced for 2 O’Connor, but it’s expected to be within the next month, according to Shamess.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It would be a great place for a hospice.

AoD

 

[Northern Light]

It would be a great place for a hospice.

AoD

Not wrong, I think Michael Garron Hospital should have a look-see.

They lost out on the last round of taking over/building ALC/LTC facilities.

Unity Health (St.Mike's) picked up Providence, while Sinai picked up Bridgepoint w/the intent to add LTC.

Hospitals need a site where they can offload some non-acute patients who aren't well enough to go home.

The one knock on this site as-is is the small size. But I think there are solutions.

There are 5 lowrise multi-res adjacent on Fernwood Grdns (all 3s).......if they could be replaced with a single 12 storey building fronting Broadview, the rear portion of Fernwood could be removed, and the road allowance and lands west could be an addition to the existing building, just a bit taller, say 4-5s......which could easily add + 50 rooms.

Just a bit of creativity, a partnership with TCHC or a non-profit or maybe even a developer. ........and away you go. Just a thought.