Paul Oberman Memorial

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? Continue reading →

The Heritage Toronto Special Achievement Award is not presented every year.  It is reserved for honouring individuals who have made a significant contribution to our city and to the goals of Heritage Toronto.  We are privileged this evening to present it in honour of Paul Oberman, who was lost to our community in a tragic accident last spring.

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. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

The man who helped bring Toronto’s past to life should be remembered with one of the city’s most historic streets, says architect Michael Taylor.

He’d like to see Market St., on the west side of the St. Lawrence Market, renamed for a man he calls a “champion of the city”: developer Paul Oberman, who was 53 when he died in a plane crash in March.

Oberman was a rare developer who bought and restored iconic properties such as the Flatiron building and Summerhill Station before renting them out to tenants such as the LCBO.

“We really lost someone in his prime,” Taylor says. “He was just getting going, and one can only dream of what he would have achieved through his life.” Continue reading →

Back in March, the Toronto building, architecture and heritage communities suffered a tragic loss with the passing of Woodcliffe Poperties President Paul Oberman. UrbanToronto reported it here.

Now, Toronto’s architectural community, along with Paul Oberman’s family — his widow Eve Lewis and six children — have launched a campaign to rename Market Street (in the city’s historic St Lawrence Market neighbourhood) to Oberman Way. A petition has been launched to collect names in support of the project.
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Winners of the 2011 Pug Awards were announced Monday, naming the city’s best new buildings. The seventh annual online competition invited Torontonians to vote on nominated residential and commercial buildings, and introduced an award in memory of Paul Oberman, a noted real estate developer and preserver of heritage buildings who was killed in a plane crash in March. This year’s rankings, based on a percentage of positive votes, favoured sky-high condos and the home of the Toronto International Film Festival. The winners:

Original Article Link

Posted by Derek Flack / JUNE 21, 2011

As many of you are aware, Paul Oberman, a member of the Pug Awards advisory board, died tragically in a plane crash on March 7 2011, leaving behind his parents Mickey and Helen, brother Jeff, wife Eve Lewis, their six children, and as was evident at the funeral, hundreds of friends and admiring colleagues.

Paul was a loving family man, a gifted community leader, a successful and talented real estate developer, and a friend and generous supporter of the Pug Awards and Design Exchange.    Those who knew Paul well would agree that he possessed a rare ability to dream and to then to follow through on his grand vision with painstaking detail and precise execution.  A perfectionist by nature, a man of impeccable taste and refined sensibility, Paul’s qualities were instilled into the very buildings he brought back to life.  Continue reading →

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