KATHY RENWALD
Former auto body shop on Cannon is remade into an expansive gallery and home for artist Paul Elia and his family
Loft lifts off after a long journey. Former auto body shop is remade into a gallery and home for the artist and his family
Loft living is still all kinds of hip, but the road to finding a nest among beams, big windows and wood floors requires a strong stomach and deep pockets.
Artist Paul Elia trudged that path with its twists and turns but now, after three years of planning and construction, he and husband Paul Sousa and their 13-month-old son Denver have moved into their new cocoon on Cannon Street.
“It was such a dream to finally move in,” Elia says. “We lived with my parents for a long time with the baby, we took over their master bedroom, it was chaotic.”
Elia wanted to make a live/work space in an industrial building. It had to be big enough for a gallery, studio, maybe some rental space and living quarters.
Many buildings were considered and most were rejected until they saw an auto body shop for sale on Cannon.
“It had everything we were looking for: some of the original character, parking space, a loading area, a big lot, and it was close to Ottawa Street,” Elia says.
What they weren’t looking for was the environmental cleanup that came with the property. Though it was built in 1920 as a bakery, various ensuing industrial uses made soil testing mandatory before construction could begin. When a small amount of lead was found in soil under the parking lot, a cleanup was ordered. The process was slow and expensive, though half of the cleanup cost was covered by the city’s ERASE program supporting brownfield remediation.
Finally, after two years of cleanup, design and building permit work, renovation and construction began in 2018.
“We wanted to keep the original industrial feel, but somehow balance it with modern, comfortable living. And we wanted to keep all the textures, the wood, the metal, the rusted iron, things like that,” Elia says.
The 3,000 square foot living space begins on the second floor above the still-under-renovation gallery. The principal room is open concept with seating, dining area and kitchen combined in one big space. Original beams and exposed floor joists add the warmth of wood to the room, and vinyl plank flooring was used for its durability. The crispness of the sleek, white Ikea kitchen is a pleasing contrast to the dominant industrial motif of exposed brick, and wooden beams.
While the couple knew the look they wanted to achieve, they were happy with the design enhancements brought to the project by Toms + McNally Design. The architectural firm suggested taking the roof off a portion of the second floor to create a garden terrace. From there the view includes a slice of the escarpment, and Hamilton’s industry in the distance.
“It’s been a wonderful addition,” Elia says. “The cats can go out there, and there’s room for a swing and sandbox for Denver. We all like to escape there.”
To make up for the loss of living space on the second floor, Toms + McNally designed a boxlike addition as a third storey that contains the master bed and bath. They also suggested separating the private space from the public — an idea that has been a plus, especially with the arrival of a baby.
Elia admits his usually prolific work schedule has changed with fatherhood.
“I work in slow motion now, basically only when Denver sleeps at night I can make art.”
Elia’s work distills Hamilton’s ‘take me as I am’ streetscapes, with a combination of photography and illustration.
It’s interesting that the neighbourhood around their new home portrays the same sort of sturdy resolve captured in his art.
“It’s a real neighbourhood here. We can walk to Ottawa Street, to the market, to restaurants, and there’s a good neighbourhood association.”
Though he displays the work of other local artists in the living space, Elia’s work will be on display in the gallery — which he hopes will be ready for a grand opening in the spring.
For that show, he’s working on something different: landscapes seen on a trip to Utah. The vast views there couldn’t be more different from Elia’s familiar compressed images of Hamilton streets and houses. Places without artifice, but embedded with dignity.