Toronto Star

Through a fine mist of snow, the structure doesn't look like much. A 10-storey monolith in a derelict industrial complex south of the Junction. It would be dwarfed by any new downtown condo building. But walk along Sterling Rd. from Bloor St. toward Dundas St. W. and around the S bend that it makes halfway, and the finer points begin to show through: The brickwork, the roof detailing ... this is "a jewel" of industrial architecture and listed for preservation, says developer Alfredo Romano. A building with a history and a future. Opened in 1919 by the Northern Aluminum Co. – later the Aluminum Co. of Canada and then Alcan – it may have been Canada's tallest building until the Royal York Hotel opened in 1929. A second contender is a 12-storey tower built at King and Yonge Sts. in 1913 and now part of the 1 King West high-rise.