- Located in Dufferin Grove, one of Toronto’s older neighbourhoods dating to the middle/late 19th century. Dufferin Grove is a home for a very ethnically and economically diverse community.
- Fresh.ca in 2020 said we live in one of the “10 coolest neighbourhoods in Canada.” https://www.freshdaily.ca/travel/2020/02/coolest-neighbourhoods-canada/
- The editors of TIME OUT named Dufferin Grove “one of the 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world” in 2018: https://www.blogto.com/city/2018/09/dufferin-grove-ranked-one-coolest-neighbourhoods-world
- Hepbourne Street was named to honour Susan Hepbourne, the English bride of George S. Dennison [a founding family of early Toronto, the architect who built the older homes in the area, especially those on Rushholme Street.]
- Historic church annex: Building was the collegiate Gothic-style extension/church annex for St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, established circa 1885, built in 1905. [Now the Portuguese Speaking Presbyterian Church of Toronto] The church annex that is now Hepbourne Hall was built in 1910.
- Our building was used by the congregation and the community for Sunday schools, events, and fitness activities
- Conn Smythe held dry-land training of the great Toronto Maple Leaf’s teams here in the 1940’s
HEPBOURNE HALL RESTORATION AND DEVELOPMENT:
- One of Toronto’s first church/loft and live/work projects, converted by renowned architect Bob Mitchell in 1990-1992
- Jane Jacobs said on CBC radio: “Hepbourne Hall is really a model for the development and smart re-use of heritage properties”
- Home of Peter Gzowski, renowned broadcaster and author. Many other fascinating people have lived in Hepbourne Hall including prominent artists, entrepreneurs, academic leaders, teachers, executives, playwrights, authors, and professionals.
- Featured in Canadian Living 1992
- Featured in Toronto Star articles on conversions 1994, 2004, and 2015
- Featured in Christopher Hume [Toronto Star] columnist with a rare grade-A rating… article praised “devotion to detail” and “architectural heritage, with a warm and domestic” feel
- Featured in Toronto Life, spring 2012, praising “small building with congenial atmosphere.”
- Featured in the Globe & Mail, June 2015: “great taste helps sell unique loft… above the crowd… nothing else like it, in a sought-after residential area off a quiet street”
- 21 units at different price points from small [650 sq ft to larger 2200 ft] No two units are the same, all are customized.
- Some lofts feature raised floors under the bedroom or den, or sunken living rooms, while most suites offer private walk-out terraces.
- 2011, cited in The Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada: “Converting Space in Toronto: Adaptive Reuse”, Article citation, Hepbourne Hall
- Featured Toronto Star, article + posted video: June 2015
- Low turn-over in the building, units rarely available