A Brantford company will be the prime consultant and architects for a $200 million transformation of the historic Toronto Power Generating Station into a five-star hotel overlooking Niagara Falls.
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+VG Architects (The Ventin Group) was the design leader for the winning proposal submitted by Pearle Hospitality to Niagara Parks Commission for the restoration of the National Historic Site. Plans call for the restoration to include restaurants, multiple indoor and outdoor public viewing areas, a craft brewery, a wellness and social spa, theater, museum and art gallery and event space.
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“This is the most important commission in our firm’s 50-year history,” Paul Sapounzi, president and managing principal at +VG Architects, said. “Our next steps will be to complete the due diligence while starting a series of engagements with the authorities who have jurisdiction over the heritage designation and protection of the structure.
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“This is a Canadian national heritage site and, as such, our top priority will be to establish restoration measures that will protect it for generations to come, particularly in light of its pedigree as an iconic building by the great Canadian architect EJ Lennox.”
A Toronto-based architect, Lennox also designed Toronto Old City Hall and Casa Loma. Born in Toronto in 1854, Lennox died in 1933 at age 78.
The generating station opened in 1906 to provide hydroelectric power to Toronto. It has been dormant since 1974.
When completed, the powerhouse redevelopment is expected to provide world-class visitor experience including the first and only five-star hotel at Niagara Falls.
Founded in 1972, The Ventin Group Ltd. employs 75 people and has offices in Brantford, Toronto and Ottawa. The firm started in Simcoe and moved to downtown Brantford at 50 Dalhousie St. in 2008-2009.
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“Brantford is a great place for national and international business,” Sapounzi said. “We can work all over the world from here and bring the talent from Brantford to the world.
“This project, like the conversion of the federal building downtown into (Brantford) city hall, is our best way of going forward when it comes to creating sustainable places with low carbon footprints.”
Sapounzi said using existing buildings is the Number 1 thing that can be done to conserve energy and reduce the carbon footprint.
“The staff who worked on this project are Brantford people, born and raised here, and as a company, we’re quite proud of that,” Sapounzi said.
Over the years, the company has completed educational, heritage, institutional, cultural, residential and recreational projects throughout Ontario.
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The Ventin Group was the architect of record for a project that transformed a decommissioned generating plant into the Niagara Parks Power Station, an interactive museum that brings to life the magic of electricity and its history. This project won the 2021 Lt. Governor’s Award for Excellence in Conservation and the 2022 Niagara Biennial Design Awards Grand Prize.
Other projects completed by the firm include: the Huntsville Performing Arts Center; Milton Town Hall, Milton Library, Arts Center and Theatre; Meaford Museum and the Bridgepoint Hospital Heritage Restoration.
Sapounzi has won 44 design awards including the University of Waterloo Prix de Rome and the American Institute of Architects Graduate Award.
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