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McCallum Sather Brings Westinghouse Headquarters Back to Life

McCallum Sather Brings Westinghouse Headquarters Back to Life

McCallum Sather Brings Westinghouse Headquarters Back to Life
May 25
01:26 2018

It’s a magnificent brick and stone building from a time when corporate headquarters were symbols of pride and confidence. But the former Westinghouse Headquarters of Canada sat vacant for more than 30 years.

Now the team behind Westinghouse Headquarters is bringing the building in Hamilton’s industrial northeast back to life as unique office space.

“Researching the site showed us the huge significance of that building to Canada and that really made this project special,” said architect Drew Hauser, director at McCallum Sather Architects.

“This is a great and important investment and shows Hamilton can be a leader in sustainable adaptive reuse.”

The first five floors of the building, each 10,000 square feet, were finished in 1917, with a two-floor addition coming in 1928.

In assessing the building and removing flooring and interior walls added over the years, the development team found a full theatre, beautiful glass and marble mosaic floors, gorgeous hardwood, ornate pillars, even stunning wrought iron and wood railings on the fire stairs.

“There were beautiful details that were covered up but left intact,” said Hauser.

The development team puts a premium on bringing the building back to its glory while also bringing into the modern age, says Meir Dick, a representative of the investment team.

More than 350 new eight-floor tall windows on the upper floors have been installed and unlike many office buildings, they are operational. The beautiful, 11-foot arched windows on the ground floor are being restored.

The building will include a high-efficiency HVAC system, two high-speed elevators, state-of-the-art fibre to each unit, a new roof, solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations. It will also feature destination retail and culinary space on the ground floor, which is reminiscent of a hotel lobby, and event space on the top floor.

McCallum Sather is deeply invested in the project, acting as architects, mechanical engineers, interior designers and heritage consultants. But the firm and its 45 employees will also be tenants, taking up residence on the building’s second floor that once was the home to the office of the company’s president and the executive boardroom.

Westinghouse Headquarters, which is just north of Barton Street, will connect with its Gibson neighbourhood, said Dick, by focusing on bringing vibrancy to an adjacent park, working with the local BIA and listening to the community.

The scope of the project was overwhelming until the group went out to the community, seeking financing and leasing commitments, said Dick.

“We’ve seen instant support. People are unbelievably attached to this building. It seems to be a magnetic force. It turned a daunting task into something energizing.”

MCCallumSather

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Lloyd Stevens has been writing Canadian business news for over 20 years with articles appearing in Perspective which appears in The Globe & Mail and contributing to ThinkHamilton.blog and Creblurb.com

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