Innovative lofts have aged well in 20 years
GRADE : B
Christopher Hume is the The Star's urban issues reporter. In this weekly feature, he rates appearance of condos around town.
"Built as the Dominion Felt Works, it was a nondescript structure just west of Dovercourt Rd. in the heart of a stable neighbourhood. In the early 1980s, it was converted into a loft residence, which it remains today."
" Though stucco isn't as trendy as it was 20 years ago, at 41 Shanly it seems to have withstood the vicissitudes of time and weather change in reasonable style."
"That's not to say it's especially attractive, but on the other hand, it fits into the neighbourhood so well it's almost invisible."
"Still, even after two decades, the complex is strangely unfinished, above all on the east side, where the neighbours park their cars and a gravel path leads to a row of front doors."
" On the west side, where garage doors dominate, the complex looks more like a storage facility than a human habitation."
"But given how innovative the scheme was - and is - it deserves our respect."