ACO’s 19th annual heritage awards celebrate major achievements in conservation

Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) recently celebrated its 19th annual heritage awards with a vast array of winners, from individuals to unique projects that are preserving history while celebrating design. Over the course of the awards ceremony, numerous achievements in heritage conservation were honoured from six communities across the province.

Over a decade, Giannone Petricone Associates (GPA) worked with its client to revive and transform the dilapidated 1881 Victorian railway hotel in Picton into an exemplary community landmark. GPA’s aim was to create lasting, impactful change by elevating Main Street’s most prominent building, via a surgical process of restoration and character recovery. In collaboration with heritage specialists ERA Architects, the architects successfully breathed new life into the 1881 structure, to endure another 150 years.

Boarded up since 2008, the clients acquired the structure in 2013 with the goal to protect it from a fate of demolition and to return it to the community as a landmark gathering place. Their extraordinary commitment supported GPA’s approach to conserve as much of the building’s original character as was salvageable, beyond restoration of the heritage protected top two floors of the front façade.

A key challenge was restoring the lost lustre of the 31,000-square-foot hotel, while also elevating it to a contemporary version of itself. When the project started, the building was in a state of ruin: staircases were waterlogged, floors were lined with thick green moss and just as construction was to begin, the roof caved in. Within the building’s three salvageable brick walls the team established a new 28-room hotel, with programming intended for the local community as well as hotel guests, including a cafe, three bars, a fine-dining restaurant, a spa, gym, and outdoor porch and garden. 

A catalyst for change, The Royal Hotel has sparked the restoration of additional properties in Picton and serves as a benchmark for future heritage conservation efforts in the area as well as in the larger context of small-town Ontario.

The Richmond Hill City Council has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the rehabilitation and conservation of the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) in Richmond Hill. With Council’s efforts, the DDO’s doors have been opened to the public so that anyone can be a student of the stars. Established in 1935 by the University of Toronto, the DDO is a 40-hectare site which includes an Observatory and Administration Building. 

When the DDO was sold to a developer in 2008, residents and astronomy advocates feared that the Observatory would be destroyed and the property converted to housing. In 2009, the site was even named one of Heritage Canada’s Top 10 Endangered Sites. 

However, after an Ontario Municipal Board hearing and negotiations between resident groups, the City, and other parties, a large portion of the lands were given to the City in 2017. The City is transforming the DDO to a destination park that will serve the residents of Richmond Hill and attract visitors from across the GTA.

However, major work was required to restore the buildings to public use, and Council took steps to ensure this. Through a Conservation Management Plan and a Master Plan, the long-term vision for the property was established. In 2021, the Observatory and Administration Building were restored to their former glory. Further repairs were made in 2024 and 2025 to the Observatory dome’s interior. Today, the DDO is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and as a National Historic Site for its contributions to astronomical research. This project is an example for other communities who are facing large and daunting restoration projects.

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