But the new home they were imagining, Ms. Lewis told me, would be nothing like the circa-1930 Colonial Revival mansion they had rescued from neglect and that Mr. Oberman had restored. Nor would it be anything like the several architecturally and culturally significant old properties the developer rejuvenated over the years. Instead, one option for the house they dreamed about was sleekly modern from stem to stern. If executed with the same generosity of spirit and exacting attention to detail that Mr. Oberman lavished on the Georgian, this new dwelling might have become a stirring Toronto example of residential modernism.

We`ll never know, of course, because Paul Oberman’s very active professional and public life ended last year in an airplane crash. So it is that the large four-level Rosedale family home (currently on the market for $13,800,000), not the modernist villa he and Ms. Lewis could have built some day, stands as Mr. Oberman’s final testament to his zest for architecture and his ideas about living well in a big city.

As I learned during a tour of the place last week, Mr. Oberman was content to put down roots in a very tight spot that’s almost completely plugged by architectural fabric. The little space that the house didn’t fill is now occupied by a four-car garage and an attractive garden in front, and a ravine-edge swimming pool at the rear. (Much of Rosedale is like this. American visitors have been known to marvel at the sight of large houses on too-small lots in Toronto’s poshest neighbourhoods, but many people here are comfortable with this arrangement.)

Mr. Oberman also seems not to have minded the quite modest, retiring demeanour of the street-side façade – another typical Rosedale feature occasionally remarked on by people who think a big, costly house should brag about itself.

But viewed at close range, especially from the terrace off the music room, the exterior shows the excellent stuff of which it’s made. There is the expert brickwork in walls and at corners and around windows, the lovely classical cornices that crown the walls – additions by Mr. Oberman – and other sharply focused details that we would expect to discover in any important 20th-century domestic building cast in the Georgian revival style.

This refinement is carried through into the interior of the structure. On the main floor, one encounters a stately procession of spacious, well-proportioned public rooms decorated with expanses of dark, elaborately carved wood panelling, flourishes of plaster moulding and other romantic touches – the kinds of things that graced many a baronial Rosedale home put up, like this one, during the Edwardian and interwar heyday of Toronto’s old Anglo-Scottish elite.

The architects of the house, from the local firm of George Moorhouse & King, designed for this upmarket clientele, and apparently did this dwelling, 80 years ago, for a member of it who wanted something eminently respectable and old-school, but who wasn’t fussy about stylistic purity. Instead of being laid out according to the strict symmetry admired by the 18th-century Georgians, for example, the main-floor interior is cheerfully irregular. The plaster and wood decorations in the principal rooms, similarly, owe more to Beaux-Arts exuberance than to the restrained temper favoured by the Georgians.

In his overhaul and furnishing of this eclectic house – a project undertaken in collaboration with Heintzman Sanborn, a Toronto architecture and interior design studio – Mr. Oberman carefully restored the opulent decoration and high-style finishes, as well as the handsome oak floors. The library, with its array of very good Art Deco furniture, is one of the best period recreations I’ve seen in any Toronto house.

As for the original plan, he spared the general sense of it, while changing the programs of certain rooms. During the renovation, for instance, the mahogany-panelled dining room was converted into an office, and the former pantry became the barrel-vaulted dining room. Some new windows were punched into the brick wall, and finished to look as though they had been there forever.

When Mr. Oberman and Ms. Lewis bought the place, it was the perfect house for aficionados of Toronto’s deluxe dwellings from yesteryear. The elderly property badly needed practical renovation. Even more urgently, it needed love, admiration and care – all of which, heaped up and running over, the couple happily gave to it. I hope the next owners will appreciate what has been done here, and maintain this accomplishment intact far into the future.

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Developer Clayton Smith says the workmanship that went into the Dineen Building just isn’t seen any more.

Once an icon of Renaissance Revival style, the withered heritage building at the corner of Yonge and Temperance Streets has seen better days. Now, a local developer vows it will see them once again.

“You look at old photos of it and it just looks beautiful,” says Clayton Smith, president of Commercial Realty Group. “I’ve wanted to restore it so badly for years. So one day I was bored and said, ‘What the hell, I’ll give the owners the $7-million they want for it.’ ”

Known as the Dineen Building, the property at 2 Temperance is a surviving example of a late 19th-century commercial building in the city’s financial district. It was built in 1897 for W. and F. Dineen Co., a producer of hats, caps and furs. Mr. Smith purchased it last fall, and has since been working to restore it to its former glory.

“I’m not fixing it up in the classic ‘Let’s demolish it and rebuild something’ kind of way,” says Mr. Smith, who also owns six other heritage buildings in the city. “What I try to go for is more like: ‘This is the way it looked 115 years ago.’ ”

The Dineen Building, as it was before restoration started at top, and its future, at bottom.

Through a restoration method called adaptive reuse, Mr. Smith and his various tradesmen are resurrecting the building to look as it once did, while making it work in a modern context. The structure’s masonry, sandstone balcony brackets, cornice, decorative ironwork, windows and main entrance are all being retouched and revived, while electrical upgrades and a new elevator are being installed. Age-old J.J. Taylor vaults found deep in the basement are being polished and placed in the lobby. Whereas the building’s exterior exhibited a mucky, grey hue in recent years, Mr. Smith is reconditioning its deteriorated bricks to resemble the radiant, buff-yellow ones it once had.

“The building was in really rough shape,” he says. The family that owned the building before him rented it out cheaply to various tenants, he says. “You felt like you were in the Bronx in there. The bricks were cracked. There were mattresses on the floors. It was disgusting.”

Mr. Smith says the Dineen Building will now be rented to high-end restaurant owners and professionals. The storefront will feature an Italian sidewalk bistro, a wine bar and a Starbucks with a “historic theme,” while the next three floors will be used for office space. The centrepiece, however, will be a rooftop restaurant with a panoramic view of the financial district. He says the glass encasing will have a darkened tint, so as not to detract from the building’s heritage character.

“In order to make the building pay, we have to add on modern additions like the glass rooftop restaurant,” says Philip Hoad, president of Empire Restoration Inc., a company Mr. Smith hired to work on the building’s exterior. “The owners need to be able to get some income and pay for the costly work that’s involved in bringing these buildings back.”

While many property owners cannot justify the costs of rehabilitating old buildings rather than demolishing them, Mr. Smith thinks saving heritage properties makes good business sense. It’s something he realized a dozen years ago when he purchased his first historic building, at 50 Richmond St. E.

“I could have easily gone with the old-school mentality of taking over a building: Clean things up, sweep up some floors and lease it for minimal rent,” he says. “You might get $20 per foot in rent. But what I like to do is go in, restore it, clean up, modernize everything else and get $40 a foot. Sure, I’m investing a sugar-load of money here, but this is how to create a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It’s lovely looking at old antiques, but don’t you love it when the drawers actually work?”

The Dineen Building in better days at front-left.

He isn’t the first to breathe new life into old structures. The late Paul Oberman, who died last year in a plane crash, was an icon of adaptive reuse in the city, brilliantly reviving King James Place and revamping the old North Toronto train station as a chic LCBO, among his many projects. Mr. Oberman liked to boast that his work was ample proof that developers could still fill their coffers restoring and updating heritage buildings.

“Oberman showed that it could be profitable,” says Karen Carter, executive director of Heritage Toronto. “There was a good business model there. Developers aren’t always going to come to these spaces the way heritage die-hards might like, but sometimes the middle ground is what’s necessary to ensure these buildings are saved.”

Many developers today are carrying Mr. Oberman’s torch, some not only for monetary gain. “It’s way better to keep a building and reuse it for something else than putting it into a landfill site,” says Brian Curtner from Quadrangle, the architectural firm known for turning the old Ryerson Press building at 299 Queen St. into the Citytv headquarters. “Thirty per cent of landfill sites worldwide are actually filled with construction materials. It’s just inherently good practice to take an old building, renovate it and repurpose it so it has a meaningful use in the modern era.”

Last year, Mr. Smith purchased the iconic Flatiron building, formerly owned by Mr. Oberman. While he refuses to say he is following the late developer’s footsteps, he clearly shares a similar philosophy. Although each of his renovation projects have cost him a fortune in restoration expenses, he says they’ve all been successful ventures. He expects the Dineen Building to take at least a few million dollars to rebuild — an investment the city appreciates.

“I would call this a very successful project from a heritage point of view,” says Scott Barrett, senior co-ordinator of Heritage Preservation Services at the city of Toronto. “We have difficulty, from time to time, with things like the retention of facades alone. We try to work with property owners as much as we can to save as much of a property [as possible], but there’s a lot of development going into constrained sites downtown, and that certainly puts pressure on the development aspirations of applicants.”

To Mr. Smith, the real appeal in salvaging archaic dwellings lies in his respect for the hours of handiwork devoted to their construction.

“I think it’s as simple as appreciation for the workmanship,” he says. “Let’s face it: There’s a lot of glass and steel out there today. Who does that sort of panache, like these little terraces and the handcrafted sandstone, any more? It’s just not done today.”

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Upon my first perusal of the 2012 PUG nominees for Toronto architecture, I can’t escape a feeling of déjà vu. Despite the presence of some excellent buildings, taken as a whole, the crop from 2011 seems much like it did the year before: a bit underwhelming. While there are some significant projects — namely the restoredShops of Summerhill, the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, and perhaps the understated but elegant Ritz Carlton — I’d once again make the argument that the list lacks a real superstar.

What would constitute a superstar? I’m thinking of past winners like the National Ballet Scool, the Royal Conservatory of Music, or even the controversial ROM addition, which took an honourable mention in 2008. Is there a building amongst this group that stacks up against these? My inclination is to say no, though I’d be willing to hear an argument to the contrary.

I did pretty well with predictions last year, but aside from the commercial category of the Paul Oberman Adaptive Reuse award — which will almost surely go to the Shops of Summerhill (a project with the late developer’s fingerprints all over it) — I’m less confident in my ability to predict which nominees will take home the People’s Choice awards this year. Certainly the above mentioned buildings will be in the running, as will projects like the PwC Tower and the Centre for Green Cities at the Brick Works.

In the ugly department, I suspect the unnamed building at the southwest corner of Queen and Portland will attract its fair share of “hate it” votes — though the mucus-coloured Roncesvalles Lofts might also get some attention in the residential department. For all the mediocre buildings to go up this year, there aren’t, however, too many that you could call outright eyesores.

That’s something, isn’t it?

Photos from the PUG website

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Plans to update and improve Market Street — the thoroughfare that connects Front and The Esplanade on the south side of the St. Lawrence Market — continue to trudge on, though it sounds like a year-round pedestrian-only space isn’t in the cards.

When plans were first announced in 2010, it seemed as though private developer Woodcliffe Properties was working towards creating a space that would be free from vehicular traffic. Paul Oberman was the president of Woodcliffe at the time, a man well-known for his revitalization projects throughout Toronto, including the old North Toronto CPR Station / LCBO flagship store. Oberman died tragically in a plane crash in March 2011, and a movement later spawned to rename Market Street in his honour.

While the name issue still appears to be in question, Oberman’s wife, Eve Lewis, recently told Yonge Street Media that, “Everything is going according to Paul’s original design.”

“We have gotten the approval for the sidewalk widening,” she added, “which is the first private initiative [like that] that’s ever been done in the city.”

According to Councillor Pam McConnell’s winter newsletter, however, Market Street may not take shapeexactly as first hoped. She notes that plans include bollards to divide the sidewalk from street parking, which means despite the widened sidewalks (which will taper down to the street, eliminating a curb), cars will still be able to navigate the block.

The newsletter also outlines other Market Street revitalization details, which include Woodcliffe’s restoration of the LBCO, construction of new office spaces, and renovations to introduce restaurants at street level. The Market is also planning for an enclosed retail space on the east side. Construction will likely start this spring.

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Award to be presented posthumously to Paul Oberman

Heritage Toronto is pleased to announce the 2011 Heritage Toronto Special Achievement Award Recipient, which will be presented Tuesday, October 4th at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall. The Award will be given to the late Paul Oberman, a developer and friend to the heritage community who had a passion for restoring and managing heritage properties.

Mr. Oberman was active in Canada’s real estate industry for almost three decades. A visionary with a passion for architecture, urban design and business, he owned and operated Equifund Corporation from 1983 to 1996, and subsequently was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Woodcliffe Landmark Properties until his passing in March of 2011. Under his direction and commitment, these companies became recognized as industry leaders in the areas of architectural merit and heritage preservation.

Paul Oberman believed that neighbourhoods thrive when architectural heritage is preserved and re-purposed as a backdrop for healthy community interaction. Heritage properties, he advocated, could be developed in harmony with cutting edge modern design to yield financial prosperity while contributing to the vibrancy of the city. This led him to focus on the adaptive reuse of many historically significant buildings, repurposing these structures and incorporating them into the fabric of 21st century Toronto.

His many successful projects include the North Toronto Station, King James Place, and most recently the Shops of Summerhill and the ongoing redevelopment on Market Street. Mr. Oberman also acquired the Gooderham Flatiron Building in 2005 and, through his passion and expertise, this iconic landmark building has been preserved for generations to enjoy.

His projects have been widely published and have received numerous awards, including Canada’s highest architectural honour, the Governor General’s Award for Architecture, and recognition by Heritage Canada for outstanding stewardship of Canada’s architectural heritage.

Mr. Oberman was also a generous supporter of many heritage organizations and a vocal supporter and ally when heritage buildings were threatened. He attempted to save the Downsview Hangars, which were demolished in 2010, and continued to work closely with the heritage community to help preserve our architectural record.

“Thank you, Heritage Toronto, for recognizing the lifetime of contributions that Paul made to Toronto through his dedication to heritage preservation and community building. It is an honour for me and our family to receive this award on Paul’s behalf,” says Eve Lewis, Mr. Oberman’s wife and President and CEO of Woodcliffe.

The 2011 Heritage Toronto Awards celebrate outstanding contributions – by professionals and volunteers – in the promotion and conservation of Toronto’s history and heritage landmarks. Nominations for the full list of Awards will be announced on September 22nd.

The Special Achievement Award will be presented in conjunction with the William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture and Awards. Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival (©TIFF) will deliver this year’s Lecture, “Toronto in Focus: A City of Festivals”. The Lecture will discuss how the “Festival of Festivals” – the Toronto International Film Festival – has paved the way for a cultural boom of film and other festivals in this city over the past 30 years.

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The Flatiron Building in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood in Toronto

The Flatiron building has sold for $15.3 million to the Toronto-based Commercial Realty Group. “I’m eager to preserve [the Flatiron’s] beautiful, historic warmth and to blend it with all the modern comforts and amenities,” said Commercial Realty Group head Clayton Smith in a Wednesday release. The building will be the “flagship” of the group’s “portfolio of heritage buildings,” added the release.

The final price for the red brick five-storey averaged out to $797 per square foot.

Built in 1892 by distillery tycoon George Gooderham the Flatiron is reportedly being one of the most photographed buildings in Toronto — and one of the most expensive in which to rent space. Empty except for a pub, Commercial Realty Group will be touring prospective tenants through the building in January, with offers due by Feb. 8.

Somewhat derelict in the mid-20th century, the building was carefully restored in the 1990s by Paul Oberman, a prominent Toronto real estate developer who specialized in the area of heritage restoration. Mr. Oberman died in March in a small place crash in Maine.

“Historic buildings integrating old and new are, for me, the lifeblood of a city,” he wrote in an essay shortly before his death.

“As a result of Mr. Oberman’s care and dedication, the Flatiron Building has maintained many of its historic features, keeping it one of Canada’s most well preserved architectural icons,” wrote the Commerical Realty Group.

Tristin Hopper, National Post

The Story of The Blue Tree: Rosedale’s gorgeous symbol of the holidays lights up this Saturday

Situated alongside the CP Rail tracks, on the overpass at Yonge north of Rosedale, The Blue Tree is arguably the most gorgeous symbol of the holidays in Toronto. Whether you are driving southbound, heading uptown or just strolling around Scrivener Square, it is a view that immediately captures attention and, with glistening blue lights, radiates a glowing feeling of comfort and joy. But what is the story behind The Blue Tree?

Seven years ago, the late Paul Oberman, former President and CEO of Woodcliffe Corporation who died last spring, initiated the now iconic decorative landmark through the Rosedale Main Street BIA (Business Improvement Area.) Paul, along with business owners on the stretch of Yonge St between Ramsden Park and Woodlawn, wanted something truly special to light up the neighbourhood in a tasteful and delightful way. Wanting to distinguish themselves from neighbouring Yorkville and Bloor West, Paul suggested a great tree be erected for all to see and he thought blue lights would be more inclusive and unique than the typical green and red colours of Christmas.

Paul’s wife, Eve Lewis and the Rosedale BIA have ensured that The Blue Tree tradition continues; it is truly a beautiful sight that has become a much loved symbol of hope, peace and happiness.  Ms. Lewis will participate in this year’s lighting ceremony this Saturday, November 26 which will also launch the much anticipated Calvacade of Lights. Local businesses, on this elegant strip of Yonge Street, will take part in the festivities and all are welcome to this magical event that will officially kick off the holidays.

Beyond the lighting of The Blue Tree, Scrivener Square will come alive with carolers, ice sculptors, delicious food samples from some of the city’s finest specialty food shops and craft stations for creative little elves. We also hear that Santa will be in attendance along with Puss In Boots to greet children.

Funded by the Rosedale BIA, The Blue Tree will remain brightly lit from November 26 until mid-January. A beautiful tradition lives on!

~ Jen McNeely, Writer, The Chestnut Park Blog, Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage

Paul would normally have been on the stage tonight, addressing you and helping in the presentation of the awards.  He has been on this stage many times because his company – Woodcliffe Landmark Properties – has, for many years, been our leading sponsor.  Paul not only knew and embraced the work that Heritage Toronto was doing, he also understood clearly that our organization could not carry on without support from our corporate sponsors.  When we needed him, Paul never said no – and we never had to ask him twice.

If Heritage Toronto had set out to define the attributes of an ideal supporter, we could readily make a list, but we would be hugely ambitious to think that any one person could fill even some of the attributes.  We would look for a person:

• who would publicly speak to, and write about, the principles of why heritage preservation matters;
• who carried through in their actions and business interests in keeping with these preservation principles;
• who set an example as a developer with the purchase, restoration, redevelopment and ongoing operations of significant heritage properties – buildings which have been successfully adapted and become iconic landmarks, and which in turn help to revitalize their neighbourhoods;
• who insisted that this work set standards for design excellence and act as an exemplary models for architectural and urban design;
• who would not hesitate to provide financial support and sponsorship when asked, not only to heritage organizations, but to many other academic and community interests;
• who would do all this in a dedicated and modest way, not a single time, but on an ongoing basis, in fact over the course of a career.

An organization would be naïve to imagine that an individual could meet all of these attributes.  It would seem almost easier to invent this person than to readily find them and depend on their agreement and support.  That list describes Paul, but it is incomplete.  To his family, friends and as a citizen, Paul was much more.

Many of you knew Paul Oberman, or you knew of the work he has done.  Please look to the screen to see a special tribute.

A special thanks to Isaac Cravit, the film maker who put that together and to Bruce Kuwabara who wrote the tribute for the Program.  Thanks also to the Honourable David Crombie, who has coined the description of one of Paul’s best known projects as ‘the Taj Mahal of booze.’

Those who appeared in the video spoke eloquently of Paul Oberman as a man, of his passion, his imagination, his obsession with quality and, as Richard Sommers said, his understanding that the built form of cities are an embodiment of our values.  He was a city builder, in the fullest sense of the word.

We will miss his leadership, his support and his vision.  Of course Paul did not do all of this on his own.  He was assisted by financial partners, planners, architects, consultants, lawyers and the staff of Woodcliffe – many of whom are here tonight.  It is a well known phenomenon, that behind many successful men is an equally dedicated and capable woman.  So it will probably come as no surprise, to many people in the audience tonight, that the work Paul did was most ably supported by the person who shared office space and worked together with him for almost 20 years.  I am referring to his wife – Eve Lewis.  We are all fortunate that Eve Lewis has stepped in as President and CEO of Woodcliffe, and that she and her colleagues in that organization are proceeding with the work on their current projects, on managing the existing properties and on carrying forth with the vision that Paul worked so hard to establish.

The accident last March took Paul away from his family and friends, but also denied Paul the opportunity to continue his work and realize new visions.  We are blessed that those projects he completed are with us, and that we can benefit from enjoying them for many years to come.  That is his real legacy.

Please join with me in welcoming Eve Lewis to the stage, to accept, on behalf of all of us, this award in honour of Paul Oberman.

Speech by Peter Ortved

Paul Oberman, the former president of Woodcliffe Landmark Properties who died in a plane crash earlier this year, was one of Toronto’s leading lights when it came to the redevelopment and restoration of heritage properties. Not everyone will be familiar with his name, but through his work on places like the Gooderham Flatiron Building, King James Place, and the still-stunning Summerhill LCBO, many have enjoyed the fruits of his labour. His is an important legacy in a city that has often struggled to find novel ways to preserve its heritage structures.

As a way to honour Oberman’s contributions to the city and the work that he was engaged in prior to his death, a movement has formed to rename Market Street between Front and the Esplanade as Oberman Way and to make the area a pedestrian only zone and flower market, which the late developer hoped he could one day make happen.

Both suggestions will surely inspire some controversy. The creation of a pedestrian-only won’t please those who think the street provides useful parking in a neighbourhood where spots can be hard to come by during peak hours. And that’s not even to mention that the city’s political climate isn’t exactly pedestrian zone-friendly right now.

Others will note that Market Street has been around long enough that it doesn’t make sense to honour a heritage-supporter’s memory by renaming it. But, as the Globe’s Dave LeBlanc noted recently, “those with a fondness for the Market Street name will take comfort in the knowledge that it will still exist south of The Esplanade.” That’s a good point, but I wonder if it’ll be enough to satisfy those who prefer that existing street names remain in place.

This plan could be an excellent way to bring the past and present together with a user-friendly vision for one of Toronto’s oldest and most important areas. But it’ll involve making some tough decisions. What do you think?

Those interested in signing a petition in favour of the creation of Oberman Way can do so here. Lead image depicts a rendering of what the pedestrian space might look like.

Original Article

Left to right, Frank Pal, Eve Lewis, David Henderson at the site of the planned Paul Oberman Way. Photo by Dave LeBlanc for The Globe and Mail

How can a city thank someone for making it a better place?

Name a place after that person, so he or she becomes part of the city fabric. With that name forever on resident’s lips, the debt is repaid; better yet, in a hundred years, history buffs will want to know who and why, and a whole new generation will learn.

A school is good, a park even better, but, in my opinion, a street is best.

When Paul Oberman, president of Woodcliffe Landmark Properties, died tragically in a plane crash at the age of 53 this past March, it wasn’t long before those who worked closely with him decided to see if such an honour was feasible.

Unlike ordinary developers, Mr. Oberman didn’t shy away from the difficulties and costs associated with the restoration of heritage properties. In fact, he embraced them: “He sort of set the standard for us to think beyond our buildings, to think about the larger precincts and context within which our buildings were,” said architect Bruce Kuwabara on a local television call-in program this past May, “and if you look at the buildings he’s actually worked on, they weren’t just any old heritage buildings.”

I’ll say. Mr. Oberman was a champion of adaptive reuse with a keen eye for places that enriched city living. That’s evident in his works, starting in the late 1980s with the magnificent King James Place – which Mr. Kuwabara’s KPMB worked on for Woodcliffe, the Gooderham Flatiron building, the North Toronto Station (now the Summerhill LCBO) and the recently completed retail strip across the street from the old station known affectionately as the Five Thieves. What’s less known is the amount of personal time he gave to fight the good fight: in late 2009, Mr. Oberman fought – though he ultimately lost – for the retention of the Second World War-era hangars at Downsview Airport.

And he didn’t stop at Toronto, with projects in Montreal and Ottawa. But his heart, and his best work, is here, including the short city block of Market Street from Front to The Esplanade. Opposite the St. Lawrence Market, Mr. Oberman assembled three heritage properties – one dating as early as 1858 – and a small automotive garage (demolished in 2010) and enlisted Taylor Smyth architects to envision a tourist-friendly concentration of restaurants contained within them, along with the design of a new two-storey marquee restaurant at the corner of Market and The Esplanade (currently under construction). Tucked into what is currently a dark, dead zone below the market’s east side deck, a European-style flower market could spill onto the street in summer and shelter behind glass doors in winter.

“It just makes the street more animated,” says Eve Lewis, Mr. Oberman’s widow, a veteran real estate professional and the new president of Woodcliffe. “And I think, when people go shopping for food, flowers are part of it.”

A new street name could be a part of it, too.

Shortly after Mr. Oberman’s passing, architect Michael Taylor floated the idea of having the block renamed “Oberman Way.” Employees at Woodcliffe got behind this, as did the Oberman family, and a website was created last month, www.pauloberman.ca. Visitors can sign an online petition in support of the re-naming and, if they’d like to carry it a step further, the creation of a pedestrian-only zone from Front to The Esplanade as well as the flower market idea – both things about which Mr. Oberman felt strongly – can be clicked as well.

Once the petition reaches 5,000 names, Woodcliffe will file an application with the city for the street name change. In addition, they’ll be able to make a stronger case for the pedestrian zone and the flower market when those items come up for debate. And they most certainly will: Naysayers will lament of the loss of parking along that stretch of Market Street, and others will argue that the changing of a long-standing street name is no way to honour a heritage-loving developer.

Hopefully, cooler heads will remind them that when the new St. Lawrence Market North Building is completed a few years from now, those parking spaces will be replaced … along with dozens and dozens more, and those with a fondness for the Market Street name will take comfort in the knowledge that it will still exist south of The Esplanade. The fiscal-minded will understand that the more people-friendly places Toronto has, the better it is for the economy.

“Pedestrian-only is not just for the restaurants, it’s for the Market, it’s for people to go outside,” offers Ms. Lewis. “This is one of those unique opportunities, and they don’t come very often –most people aren’t crazy enough to assemble a whole street,” she laughs.

But Paul Oberman was “a dreamer” says Mr. Kuwabara. When I dream about a restaurant/heritage district with that je ne sais quoi that comes with “café society” (to borrow Ms. Lewis’s term) and a new pedestrian corridor that will connect the Novotel and condominiums along The Esplanade to the market, up to architect Jerome Markson’s award-winning Market Square building and then to King Street and beyond, I get chills.

Ted Rogers got his Way. Let’s thank another of our modern city-building heroes the same way.

Original Article