2012 Award for Adaptive Reuse of a Heritage Building

Willow Lofts
18 Willow St., Truro, NS
Willow Lofts Ltd.

Willow Lofts post-restoration.

Willow Lofts Ltd, a partnership between Ron and Janet Meech and Gar Moffatt, was the recipient of the 2012 Award for Adaptive Re-use of a Heritage Building, to recognize their conversion of the former Willow Street School, a municipally designated Heritage Building, into commercial office space and residential units. The school was designed by local architect E.D. Vernon in the Romanesque Revival style and opened in 1915. The two-storey red brick and freestone building features a low pitched, copper-coloured, hipped roof topped by an octagonal cupola, deeply recessed entrances framed by rounded arches and freestone belt courses characteristic of the style. When the school was declared surplus in 2008, demolition appeared imminent. When it was purchased in 2010, the several generations of Truronians who had passed through its doors were very supportive of the conversion which would preserve this prominent landmark in downtown Truro.

The conservation work on the exterior of the building saw the copper-coloured roof and cupola restored and the brick work repaired. All the original entrances and windows were maintained. Great ingenuity was called for to integrate the interior structural walls into a workable floor plan to accommodate offices and high-end apartments. The commercial spaces with their high ceilings and transom windows over doorways are a charming reminder of the building's origins. The balconies on the north and south sides, a necessary addition for the residential units, were cleverly cantilevered into the building to avoid ugly supports on the exterior. The building has been fully occupied since it opened in 2011 and can be regarded as a textbook example of an adaptive re-use of a heritage building.

Ron Meech was a presenter at the 2012 Heritage Canada conference, where he was invited to speak about his experience as a heritage developer.