Dufferin Grove neighbourhood shows how preserved heritage buildings are being reused

As many Toronto neighbourhoods continue to see a boom in developments, Dufferin Grove isn’t excluded. However, for those who want to step back in time and enjoy heritage buildings, the neighbourhood is one to check out.

Along Sterling Road, east of Dundas Street West and south of Bloor Street West, lies a collection of historical structures worth exploring. At the centre of this Dufferin Grove street is Ethica Coffee Roasters.

The business, dedicated to selling single-origin coffee by the glass or by the bag from countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Kenya, is in an old industrial warehouse property that was constructed in the late-1800s near multiple rail lines.

Liza Dobrokhodova, a spokesperson for the company, said the owners leaned into the building’s heritage in order to help build the brand.

“I think in our community people who come to Ethica, when they think about Ethica, they definitely think about the exposed brick walls and windows that are filled with the sun,” she said.

Exposed brick walls and steel beams along with wooden ceilings have been preserved inside the coffee shop along with several other businesses in the divided-up property.

Despite being surrounded by businesses, which for decades have dominated the street, there have been growing pockets of residential developments. Dobrokhodova said the Dufferin Grove community has been supportive.

“The community has been truly fantastic and received us so well since day one,” she said, adding so to have the institutional neighbours.

Dobrokhodova said the Museum of Contemporary Art across the street, housed in a heritage high-rise, offered up free tickets to Ethica’s customers.

Sterling Road is also home to a Nestle chocolate plant mixed in with a variety of smaller businesses specializing in the arts, books and brewing.

A little east toward Dufferin Street and Bloor Street West, the front facade of the former Kent Senior Public School is being incorporated into a future mixed-use development even though most of the school was knocked down.

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Also, among the historical treasures to be found in Dufferin Grove, there’s the Bloor/Gladstone Library on Bloor Street West near Dufferin Street.

The library branch, which was the first one in Toronto to be municipally funded in full, opened its doors in 1913. The original entryway and much of the structure still stands.

“This building is a very well-loved building,” said Raymond Lam, a senior branch lead with Toronto Public Library during a tour.

“We’ve managed to bring back a lot of features that were in the original building … We also have maintained our beautiful windows and our arches, which certainly give customers a very good view of Bloor Street as well as Gladstone to see how life in this neighbourhood is just thriving.”

In 2009, the library branch reopened after undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion to ensure the facility can keep up with contemporary needs.

Lam said there’s a workstation with the Adobe Creative Suite available for two-hour bookings in order for people to work on Photoshop skills or video editing along with a console gaming program.

He added slightly older forms of media are popular, such as an expansive DVD movie collection in English, French, Portuguese, Hindi, Mandarin and Cantonese languages.

Lam said there’s still a large demand for printed items, noting there’s a huge graphic novel collection along with a wide array of new and older items.

“A lot of customers have mentioned to us that they are tired of staring at a screen all day and they just want to hold a physical book and just relax in bed,” he said.

The Bloor/Gladstone library branch, Lam said, has also become a destination for newcomers and those who live in precarious housing. As a result, the staff have worked to provide social service referrals.

Lastly, the facility with all it’s heritage features has become a destination for special events and small business meetings. It’s soon set to host a wedding.

Meanwhile, Lam said he and the staff hope the neighbourhood will keep using the facility.

“The hope for this branch is that this will still be here 110 years later, that we will continue to be able to serve our community,” he said.