EllisDon has embarked on the tallest heritage retention project in North America.

The United Building is set to become a 54-floor residence that incorporates the facades of the Maclean Publishing Company, built in 1929, and the Maclean-Hunter Building, built in 1961. These facades are designated as heritage sites by the City of Toronto (Ontario).

Preserving the facades posed a unique challenge, as they wrap around approximately 75% of the project site. Additionally, the project is landlocked by busy city streets, public transit and critical city utilities—requiring all work to be completed entirely within the building’s footprint.

“The project site is one of the busiest areas of downtown Toronto filled with potential roadblocks,” said Tom Kavanagh, Senior Project Manager, EllisDon. “We could not interfere with the public transit or foot traffic in the area. Many of our traditional retention methods went out the window. Everything we did had to be confined to the project site—no use of sidewalk, or street.”Rather than placing them on the exterior, supports for the facades were constructed inside the building. The facades were then jacked up and severed from their original supports to allow for the excavation of a 4-level parking garage, then reattached to a new foundation.

“There was nothing simple about this,” said Kavanagh, “We owe our success to the collaboration between our project team and our VDC and Construction Sciences teams. Their advanced modelling was instrumental in designing the temporary support structure that ensured the facades’ stability and safety throughout construction.”

The completion of the tenth floor marks the final stage of connection between the facades and the beginning of the next phase of the project. Through our meticulous attention to detail, and respect for the site's cultural significance, the iconic facades of The United Building will stand the test of time for future generations.