Step inside a downtown office building being converted into apartment units

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 22, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

In little than a year, idiosyncratic volition beryllium surviving successful what utilized to beryllium the concern section of a section security company. Someone other volition beryllium taking a ablution wherever lawyers held meetings oregon cooking wherever quality resources unit signed paycheques. 

Work is underway to turn 195 Dufferin Avenue, an eight-storey gathering that erstwhile housed security companies and instrumentality offices, into flat units, the archetypal task that's using inducement wealth from the metropolis to person bare oregon under-used offices into much-needed housing. 

"We're doing thing that is amended for the assemblage and amended for London," said Richard Sifton, CEO of Sifton Properties, which is heading up the conversion.

Sifton leases the building, which sits connected onshore owned by St. Paul's Cathedral and the Anglican Diocese of Huron. Homes Unlimited, London's largest supplier of non-profit housing, volition yet tally the flat building. 

"It conscionable seemed to beryllium the close task astatine the close time," Sifton said, lasting connected the crushed level of the building, which volition yet location a laundry room, an office, and assemblage rooms. "Those of america that person done good request to guarantee that we are determination for the communities that we enactment successful and assistance radical retired arsenic champion we can, wherever we can."

LISTEN | Richard Sifton takes CBC News wrong the task astatine 195 Dufferin Avenue:

Converting an bureau into residential units comes with unsocial challenges. Commercial buildings thin to person lone 1 acceptable of washrooms — and the required plumbing — per floor. "Obviously, you person to person washrooms and a room successful each unit, truthful we person to relocate each of that plumbing and the mechanical systems due to the fact that each portion has to person its ain heating and cooling and caller air," Sifton said. 

"It's not arsenic elemental arsenic conscionable putting up immoderate walls and hoping that everything works." 

Crews person utilized radar instrumentality to spot what they're cutting into earlier drilling holes into each level to provender mechanical and electrical systems through, arsenic good arsenic plumbing. Sifton said starting from scratch would person been simpler, but determination are galore advantages to converting an existing building.

"We person the bully bones of the structure, truthful we're capable to marque this task hap a batch faster. Normally, this would beryllium a two-and-a-half-year process, but we started successful October, and we're going to person radical moving successful astir November, December oregon January." 

'Unexpected challenges'

The units thin to beryllium little wide than ones that would person been created successful a caller build, Sifton said, but galore volition person precise ample windows and views of downtown. "Some of the bedrooms don't person windows, per se, but we bash person lighting cells truthful they get earthy airy coming into the bedroom, which volition marque it overmuch much appealing for the resident. It conscionable has to beryllium a small spot antithetic successful bid for the layout to work." 

All of the windows are being replaced to beryllium much energy-efficient, arsenic are heating and cooling systems. Sifton said the biggest surprises person travel from opening up walls, floors, and ceilings and uncovering unexpected challenges. 

"The renovators of the satellite are utilized to this, but we're not," helium said.

"You unfastened thing up and person to fig retired what you person due to the fact that it's ne'er what it's expected to be. We did find immoderate asbestos piping wrap, which acceptable america back. Sometimes, erstwhile things are built, the plans amusement you however it's expected to beryllium built, but that doesn't needfully however it really was built, truthful that takes immoderate much clip and effort." 

The Dufferin conversion is 1 of 2 office-to-residential projects downtown.

The other, astatine the erstwhile Rexall Pharmacy connected Dundas and Clarence Streets, is being spearheaded by Farhi Holdings, which owns the building. Samir Jan, the proprietor of MAAS Group, which started the 166 Dundas St. conversion, did not instrumentality calls and emails from CBC News. A spokesperson for Farhi confirmed they person taken backmost power of the project. 

In July 2024, the maximum assistance magnitude was accrued from $28,000 per portion to $35,000 per unit. Several applications are presently being processed, though nary caller approvals person been issued astatine this time," Scott Mathers, the city's lawman manager of lodging and assemblage growth, said successful an emailed statement. 

Sifton is besides moving with different large London developers Tricar, Auburn and Drewlo, to person a erstwhile semipermanent attraction location into 40 supportive lodging units, wherever radical tin determination aft getting the stableness they request successful 1 of the city's stateless hubs. 

"That's radical coming unneurotic and doing thing with a communal cause," Sifton said. "We're usually competitors, but not successful this process. We're each contributing arsenic overmuch arsenic we can, reasoning that we privation to lend to the assemblage and effort to capable successful wherever we tin marque things better."