By Lindsay Forsey
There’s a saying that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. There’s nothing, however, to say that they shouldn’t throw parties. Let’s hope the future residents of the Imperial Plaza (imperialcondos.ca) sky penthouses — glass dwellings of the literal sort — are celebratory folk. The panoramic views of Toronto-and-beyond from up here are something everyone should see.
Sound grandiose? In years past, people gravitated to this spot where the penthouses will be constructed to take in the Toronto cityscape. The homes in the sky will occupy what were once mechanical rooms and a public observation deck at the top of the Imperial Oil Building, former headquarters of the Canadian petroleum giant, located at St. Clair Avenue West and Avenue Road.
“This building was the tallest in the city when it was constructed in 1957. The observation deck was open to the public and school groups would come through on day trips. You’ll have to be invited up for your martini to enjoy the view once the penthouses are built, though,” says developer David Feldman, president of Camrost-Felcorp, standing on the massive 21st-floor deck that will be divided into terraces.
The two- and three-storey penthouses are part of Imperial Plaza’s recently released private residences collection, which begins on the 18th floor. Five three-bedroom units ranging from 3,000 to 4,800 square feet, with terraces up to 1,750 sq. ft., will be perched atop the tower, encased in glass. Private residences start at 2,185 sq. ft. and are priced from $1.8-million. The largest penthouse, a corner suite with wrap-around terraces for a total of 6,550-sq.-ft. of living space, is priced at $8.4-million.
“We’ll customize all five units into one suite if there’s an interested buyer,” Mr. Feldman says. Purchasing the entire floor will cost about $32-million, but the owner would have more than 17,000 sq. ft. of indoor space and terraces providing 360-
degree views of the city.
degree views of the city.
“We’re on the escarpment, so being up here is like being 50 storeys up in a building downtown. You have this incredible view where you’re set back from the city with a green buffer of residential space in between,” says Matt Davis, Imperial’s interior designer and principal of The Design Agency. He compares the perspective to looking out from a building at the north end of New York City’s Central Park or from a Los Angeles home overlooking the Hollywood Hills.
Los Angeles homes, specifically those documented in Case Study Houses, are an inspiration behind the Imperial design. The book documents a series of houses constructed from 1945 to 1966 that redefined the modern home, with contributions from such architectural talents as Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames.
“The inspiration comes not just from the building itself, but also from the period of modernism and International Style in which it was built. The Case Study program set a benchmark for modern architecture in North America and internationally,” Mr. Davis says. “Luxury used to be about a lot of layers, textures and traditional sensibility, but new world luxury is about clean modern design and livable spaces,” he continues. “We’re breaking down formalities and walls to create open interconnected spaces. You see that particularly in the sky penthouses.”
Finishes in the penthouses reflect the building’s modern aesthetic, with ensuite glass elevators (they’re multi-storey suites, remember), sleek Italian Poliform kitchens and freestanding contoured soaker tubs.
The building itself, which is clad in limestone with aluminum and bronzed window casements, is another inspiration for the project. “One of the most amazing things about this building is how well it’s constructed,” Mr. Davis says. Even the stairwells are finished with terrazzo floors and solid wood handrails. (Not bad for a building that was set to function as a bomb shelter in the event of a nuclear disaster.)
Demolition is revealing a lesser-known history of the building. An intricate hand-cranked mail delivery system runs vertically throughout the tower (don’t fret — residents won’t have to collect their post the old-fashioned way), as do vacuum tubes and other communications tools-of-the-time. “We’re uncovering all kinds of amazing things. The building is like an urban art gallery,” Mr. Davis says.
“We haven’t found any money in the walls or notes from secretaries who were in love with their bosses,” adds Rod Rowbotham, principal of Onespace Unlimited and the architect in charge of the makeover. “It’s exciting to take an iconic building that has been left vacant and make it relevant again for a whole new generation.”
The Imperial will be updated using 21st-century materials, but will remain stylistically harmonious with the original. New high-efficiency glass will be used to rebuild the sky penthouses while lighting features on the exterior walls will ensure the distinctive cap on the tower still radiates.
Imperial residents will have access to more than 20,000-sq.-ft. of amenities, including such unusual luxuries as Turkish hammam-inspired baths, two recording studios (with a green room for groupies) and a golf simulator.
But the undeniable star of the Imperial is its main lobby, a soaring two-storey space drenched in book-matched granite and marble, with an historic floor-to-ceiling mural by artist York Wilson flanking the passage through to the elevators. The Cubist diptych, which took three years to complete, depicts the story of oil from prehistoric to modern times.
“The building has such a strong presence,” Mr. Rowbotham says. “I like to think of it as a well-dressed, distinguished gentleman, with the limestone exterior as his tuxedo and the glass penthouses as his top hat.”
Imperial will be dressed in his finest attire when the houses in the sky are complete in 2014. Let the housewarming parties begin.
