Blending in
ADL exploring a new façade for Charlottetown plant, while city wants it to fit in with heritage surroundings
A P.E.I. dairy business plans to give one of its buildings in Charlottetown a fresh, new look.
Amalgamated Dairies Ltd. (ADL) has been in talks with the City of Charlottetown’s heritage department about alterations to the façade at its Perfection Foods plant on the corner of Fitzroy and Weymouth streets.
ADL wants to update the building to the new corporate image while reducing heat loss and gain. However, the city’s heritage department would like to see any changes made fit within the context of the surrounding historical nature of the neighbourhood.
ADL is proposing new exterior cladding covering most of the two facades facing Fitzroy Street and Weymouth Street.
It originally proposed that the exterior would be clad in white ribbed metal siding but may propose an insulated composite panel as an alternative.
The windows and spandrels on the corner section are to be replaced with tinted windows and reflective spandrels. Windows on both the Fitzroy Street elevation and Weymouth Street elevation will be eliminated.
The Perfection Foods plant processes evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk for distribution through Canada.
ADL, the parent company, is a producer-owned co-op with dairy processing and retail food distribution facilities throughout P.E.I. Combined, the plants process close to 100 million litres of milk each year and employ more than 250 staff.
Perfection Foods is one of seven plants ADL operates in P.E.I. Besides Charlottetown, it also has locations in Summerside, Alberton and O’Leary.
A spokesman with ADL said the company didn’t want to comment when reached recently by The Guardian, explaining that the process of changing the façade is in its preliminary stages.
Coun. Greg Rivard, chairman of Charlottetown’s planning and heritage committees, confirmed the city has received an application from ADL about making changes.
Rivard said heritage board reviewed the application and directed staff to go back to ADL with suggestions that would see the façade blend in with the historic neighbourhood.
“We can’t really comment too much on it,’’ Rivard said. “The director from heritage board was to have staff talk to ADL.’’
The sense is that the city’s heritage department doesn’t want the building to ultimately look like something that belongs in an industrial park.
It should be noted that no decisions have been made by ADL or the city’s heritage board, nothing has been recommended to council and no votes have been held.
The Perfection Foods property is not a designated heritage resource, but it is located in the downtown mixed use neighbourhood zone of the 500 lot area. The property occupies slightly more than half of the city block and has frontage on Fitzroy Street.
The building is generally comprised of a two-storey office structure fronting on Fitzroy and Weymouth with an adjoined warehouse/factory facility with frontage on Euston Street.