Heritage window retrofit on Canada's most iconic adaptive reuse project.
The problem we were solving
A 120-year-old power station had to meet modern thermal and weather performance standards without losing the Romanesque character that earned it heritage protection.
In 2017, Niagara Parks began a multi-year effort to bring the decommissioned Canadian Niagara Power Company station back to life. Built in 1905 and operational for over a century, the station is now a public attraction featuring interactive exhibits, a nighttime multimedia experience, and access to a 2,200-foot tunnel beneath the building. Phase 1 construction ran from 2018 to 2021 and involved 75 contractors and more than 400 workers.
Stolk Construction was responsible for the heritage window retrofit, a complex scope where every opening required custom-fabricated units that matched the original rusticated stone facade, coordinated alongside the dozens of other trades working on site.
Challenges & Solutions
Modern performance inside a heritage envelope.
No two openings in a 1905 building are identical. Every window was measured and custom-fabricated rather than ordered from stock, so each unit sat correctly in its original opening.
Heritage designation governs what can change. Profiles, sightlines and finishes were detailed to preserve the Romanesque character while the units themselves met current thermal and weather standards.
Seventy-five contractors and more than 400 workers were on site through Phase 1. Our scope was sequenced around the other trades so the envelope closed in step with the wider schedule.
Key Takeaways
What this project proved.
Heritage work is a measuring and fabrication discipline before it is an installation one.
Modern performance and conservation requirements can be met together when the detailing is right.
Working cleanly among dozens of other trades is what keeps a multi-year restoration on schedule.
Heritage conservation on a national landmark.
This project shows Stolk delivering a specialist heritage scope on the only fully intact, decommissioned hydroelectric power plant of its era in the world.
The restoration earned the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation, and reinforces our experience on designated properties where the building itself is the client's most valuable asset.
