Their new, 111-year-old home
Move to a new condo takes couple back to city roots — with a passion for heritage buildings in the mix
Lou and Cheryl Colangelo have a passion for heritage buildings. They both grew up in Toronto and, for the past 20 years, have lived in an1855 farmhouse in Markham Heritage Estates, a subdivision created by the city of Markham where historic homes threatened by encroaching development were moved.
With their son now living in Toronto and their daughter at university, the Colangelos’ 2,600-square-foot, threebedroom home is more house — and maintenance — than they need.
The next chapter of their lives will bring them back to Toronto, where they have purchased a condo suite at 260 High Park Church Lofts and Residences. The project, by Medallion Capital Group, will convert the 1908 heritagedesignated Alhambra Church, at the corner of Annette St. and High Park Ave., into the Sanctuary Lofts, and incorporate a new four-storey condo building: the Condo Residences.
The Colangelos had been watching the High Park real estate market, but “any nice detached homes were $2 million and 70- to 90-years-old, and they required $200,000 to $300,000 in work,” Lou says. “The concept of the restored 1900s church, integrated with a fourstorey condo, makes a lot of sense to us. The building blends into the current neighbourhood and isn’t taller than the trees.
“We couldn’t see ourselves in a 60-storey building in the downtown core.”
The project at 260 High Park Church
Lofts and Residences is the first for Medallion Capital Group, founded by Chris Giamou and his son, Mike.
“I’m a longtime resident of Toronto and some of my earliest and fondest memories are of the High Park area,” says Giamou, a CPA who’s been in real estate development for 30 years.
“When an associate brought me this site, I fell in love with it because of the area, the proximity to amenities and particularly High Park. I used to come on my bike here from Keele and Lawrence.”
Medallion purchased the building, originally built for a Methodist congregation, in 2015 from the Korean Presbyterian Church. The congregation had dwindled to 20 parishioners and the church, though in good condition, needed repairs.
The Giamous hired “a formidable team” of experts to help guide them, including Boston firm Finegold Alexander Architects to handle the church conversion; Toronto’s Turner Fleischer Architects to design the contemporary addition; ERA Architects to create the heritage conservation plan; plus landscaping firm MEP Design and interior designer U31.
The initial plan to surround the old church with glass curtainwall, done in similar projects throughout North America, was not well-received.
“We thought it was an appropriate and subtle approach, but the community didn’t share that sentiment,” Giamou says. “We know Toronto is born and bred of brick, particularly in the High Park area, so we went back to the drawing board.”
The revamped plan maintains the church as well as the north façade of a schoolhouse on the site.
Brick will cover the west side of the new building, closely matching the existing schoolhouse brick.
“The balance of the new construction is brick composition and the community loved the new approach,” Giamou says.
“The challenge with a lot of historic buildings is to get the client’s vision to fit with the building and have it function properly,” says Ellen Anselone, a principal in Finegold Alexander Architects in Boston, and lead on the Toronto project.
“The puzzle was: How could we could take advantage of the windows and do very little modification to the exterior, as the heritage folks required? We were able to design the church lofts taking full advantage of existing entries from the sidewalks, keep the stairs and use them as entries into units or patios. That was a win-win, as we were able to keep the historic fabric critical to the neighbourhood.” Using a program that draws in 3D, Anselone created 15 units ranging from 800-3,000 square feet.
All existing stained glass windows will be retained and the design takes advantage of the sanctuary’s voluminous ceilings.
Giamou says 260 High Park Church Lofts and Residences also helps fill the “missing middle” — multiunit housing that fills the gap between single detached homes and highrises.
The Colangelos are looking forward to their 1,200-squarefoot, two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the new addition incorporated with the church.
“We like the idea of being close to Lake Ontario, as we grew up in Ashbridges Bay and Kew Beach area,” Lou says. “We love where we are now in Markham, and it was a great place to raise kids, but it’s more about us now.”
The move will also bring them close to their son, Dominic, 28, who lives in the High Park neighbourhood, as well being an easier commute to their jobs — Cheryl works in accounting in downtown Toronto; Lou is general manager for a heavy equipment manufacturer in Brampton. Their daughter, Laura, 21, a Queen’s University student, will move with them to the condo until she graduates.
The developers will be their neighbours: Chris Giamou, his wife, his son and business partner Mike and his daughter will also be moving into 260 High Park Church Lofts and Residences.
“We love the area and want to be stakeholders there, too,” says Chris. The groundbreaking will take place this summer, Giamou says. “We are very excited and can’t wait to get started and restore the church to its original condition.”
The Colangelos appreciate they have a historic building incorporated with their condo, without having to tackle a renovation themselves.
“Contrary to our heritage interest, my wife and I are done with living in an old home and maintaining an old home,” Colangelo says.