The renovation of the Coppley Building brings new life to one of Hamilton's most important cultural assets. Comprised of an 1856 pre-Confederate limestone building and an adjacent 1911 red brick industrial building at 56 York Boulevard, the limestone block is Hamilton's largest surviving commercial building of its time, long associated with the clothing production of Coppley Apparel. Core Urban Inc. acquired the property from a group led by Toronto-based TAS, which had initiated a community hub vision with the Hamilton Community Foundation.
Looking northwest at the Coppley Building renovated by Core Urban
In collaboration with Lintack Architects, Core Urban is advancing a restoration that includes a boutique hotel in the stone building, commercial and community spaces on the ground floor, an atrium in the courtyard and rental apartments in the brick building, both connected by a new multi-story bridge structure. The renovation will also reintegrate the site's two courtyards, with one becoming a glass-roofed atrium serving the hotel lobby and the other becoming a landscaped lounge for residents.
Looking northeast across York Boulevard in October 2025, we see the stone cornices and steep mansard roofline of the limestone building with slate shingles and copper sheets. A telescopic handler carries wood into the interior of the 60-suite hotel. The window openings will remain unglazed and will be fitted with new aluminium-clad, double-hung thermocouples. To the left behind the low loader is the metal-clad passage that will be replaced.
Looking northeast from York Boulevard toward the limestone East Building, image by UrbanToronto Forum staff insertnamehere
Looking north toward the west building, the now partially cleaned adobe walls reveal newly exposed rough openings in which the windows on the second through fourth floors have been removed. The open bays showcase interior conversions for 36 rental units on the upper floors, while the ground floor is used for community and commercial uses, including the Hamilton Community Foundation offices. The envelope will feature an Edwardian-style timber cornice and improved roofing.
Looking north at the red brick West Building, image by Vistaway, UrbanToronto Forum contributor
In November 2025, a boom lift will be positioned on the upper floors of the limestone east building while crews carry out detailed restoration work along the cornice line. The cornices will be cleaned, repaired and prepared for new waterproofing systems to accompany the restored slate roof and copper ridge flashing. There are still aging frames in the window openings. Above the parapet, a temporary timber frame indicates ongoing work at roof level, where the dormers will receive new metal cap flashings and slate shingles.
Close-up of the cornice restoration work for the upper floors of the limestone building, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Vistaway
The limestone building's new mansard roof structure wraps around the block on the north facade and takes shape. The truss frame outlines the fourth-floor addition, which will include slate shingles, copper ridge surrounds and aluminum-framed skylights. On the right side of the brick building, the new concrete elevator core can be seen extending to the third floor, with formwork in place to continue upwards.
North elevations of both buildings, looking southwest, showing mansard roof frame (left) and elevator core structure (right), image by Vistaway, an UrbanToronto Forum contributor
Looking northwest again, scaffolding wraps the southern facade and extends partially along the eastern facade of the limestone building. At the center of the east façade, the wooden doors of the future lobby entrance will be restored and opened before an aluminum entrance grille and a molded copper canopy are installed. A temporary stair tower rises within the scaffolding to make access easier for workers.
Looking west at scaffolding installed along the south and east facades of the limestone building, image by Vistaway, a contributor to the UrbanToronto Forum
This month, new windows with dark frames and clear glazing will be installed in the brick building. In the center of the picture, a steel frame marks the location of the new bridge connection that will connect the two historic structures. This structure is enclosed by a four-story aluminum and glass curtain wall system with tapered mullions. Finally, on the ground floor there will be a copper-clad entrance canopy leading into a shared lobby, while above, a barrel-vaulted glass roof will span the courtyard.
Looking northwest at the emerging atrium structure between the buildings, image by Sunnyside, UrbanToronto Forum contributor
The buildings are scheduled to open in mid-2026.
Looking north-east towards Core Urban's redevelopment of Coppley Builing
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more in our database file linked below. If you'd like, you can join the discussion in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.
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