Some thing old, something new…

Architect and condo developer Gary Switzer sees a bright future for Yonge St. in its neglected past.

Switzer has a “personal passion” for restoring neglected old buildings and incorporating them into modern condo projects. That’s why the company he founded in 2009, MOD Developments, is now spending tens of millions — he refuses to say exactly how much — on two major restorations: the 110-year-old Bank of Commerce building on Yonge St. north of Queen St., and a retail revival at Yonge and St. Joseph St.

The bank, which had been vacant since 1987, will form the elegant, mosaic-tiled new lobby of the 60-storey, 699-unit Massey Tower project.

But the real poster project for how condo development, when done right, can revive whole neighbourhoods is MOD’s Five Condos at Yonge and St. Joseph St., just south of Wellesley St.

There, as at Massey Tower, MOD has enlisted heritage specialists ERA Architects. They have rebuilt and restored the facade of the mammoth 1905 Rawlinson Cartage warehouse that now forms the base of the almost completed 48-storey, 539-unit Five Condos tower.

Just steps from there, ERA is completing a stunning remake of five 19th-century stores lining Yonge St. that will have condos on their upper floors.

Recently returned from vacation in Chicago, one of North America’s most spectacular showcases for heritage restoration, Switzer spoke with the Star about the past and the future.

Q: What makes Yonge St. most attractive to you as a condo developer?

A: There is a technical answer and an emotional answer. It’s got the subway and proximity — there are all those kinds of planning and business answers. But for anyone like me, who grew up in Toronto, it’s Main Street with a capital M and downtown with a capital D. There are emotional aspects to Yonge St. that still resonate with a lot of Torontonians who have been disturbed by the decline that started in the 1970s.

Q: What appeals to you most about bringing history back to life?

A: It’s very satisfying from an esthetic point of view because you are improving on something that was great to begin with. But, in the end, it makes the entire street look better, it creates a unique project that is very appealing and, as we saw with Massey Tower, people were willing to pay some of the highest prices ever for Yonge St. because they also felt passionate about the restoration of the bank building.

Q: What drew you to the block of Yonge St. at St. Joseph St.?

A: It was already assembled. That’s one of the biggest challenges for developers, because most blocks of Yonge St. are owned by multiple owners. This came to us as a package, which made it a lot easier to come up with a redevelopment plan.

Q: What are the biggest challenges of melding old Toronto buildings with new condo towers?

A: The costs. It is cheaper to build new than to try to restore, but what I find architecturally satisfying is the way the old and the new play off each other. We’re not trying to pretend that the condo tower is from 1910 — it’s a very contemporary tower. The Victorian buildings look even stronger because of the contrast. They both make each other look good.

Q: Why is there suddenly such interest in Yonge St. as a residential, rather than just a retail, address?

A: There have been a bunch of baby steps that are making a difference: Dundas Square has been great for Yonge St. I have to give credit to (former city councillor) Kyle Rae and the planning department in terms of trying to revitalize from that point of view.

It’s helped that Cadillac Fairview is putting storefronts into the (Yonge St. expanse of) Eaton Centre to try to fix the planning mistakes of the ’70s.

The fact that Bay St. has evolved into a high-end condo address has permeated everything by bringing people downtown. Buyers today aren’t buying parking spaces like they used to, they are looking for walkability, and these sites are 100 out of 100 on a walkability score.