Recently, we made a trip up to Woodbridge to check out the construction progress at Wycliffe Homes’ Fairground Lofts. We met with Wycliffe Homes’ VP Development Jared Bensky, as well as the Construction Manager Robert Tozzi, who has been working with Wycliffe for over 36 years.

Construction at Fairground Lofts

The first thing we did was head into the historic McGillivray-Shore House, which is one of two heritage homes that Wycliffe transported to kick-off construction work on the Fairground site. Tozzi explained that the process of moving the two homes took over a year and a half, but the actual moving of the homes only took about eight hours.

Wycliffe has been involved in the Woodbridge community for decades, so even though moving the heritage homes was quite time consuming, they knew that it was the right thing to do. When building a community of this scale in an established neighbourhood, it’s always necessary to preserve the area’s rich history. Bensky mentioned that these homes were actually the first two to sell.

Tozzi continued, explaining that the back three levels (basement, first, and second floors) of the home are extensions, so the new version of the home is larger. The most interesting part of the process to us is the interior. Tozzi showed us the old structure, which is still intact, that was built using a method called “balloon framing.” Because the home is so old, they basically built a new frame within it, so as not to compromise its structural integrity. It was very impressive, to say the least.

We then left the McGillivray-Shore House and headed out to where all the action was happening. “We have five blocks here, a total of 65 units. The first two at the front are Blocks D and E. They’ll be done by March or April,” said Tozzi. “This is a nice project, well designed. There’s lots of parking, a beautiful courtyard, it’s heavily treed. It’s all protected. There won’t be anymore removal of trees - more are going to be planted.”

The three other blocks feature 16, 16, and 20 units. Tozzi explained that they are currently at the first partition on one of the blocks, and the other two are a step behind it, with waterproofing underway. The first partition is essentially the base of the first floor, and it takes a little more time than other sections because the workers are “squaring off the unit.” All those corners need to be square in order to build the other floors on top.

Blocks D and E already have wood frames going up, and Tozzi said that it only took four days to get that far with the wood construction. So, the remaining blocks will be taking shape very soon!

Learn more about Fairground Lofts

Bensky mentioned that Fairground Lofts is 80% sold, which means that there are only around 13 units available!

If you’re on the hunt for a new home in Woodbridge, then we highly recommend visiting the Fairground Lofts Sales Office at 177 Woodbridge Avenue, or call 905-605-5900 for more information.

We thank Jared Bensky and Robert Tozzi for the tour, and we’re looking forward to our next visit to the exciting Fairground Lofts site.