The Metalworks in Guelph, Ont. is a 350 million redevelopment that includes a heritage restoration and a five-phase, mixed-use community. Two condo buildings have been completed (10 and 11 storeys) and a third 12-storey tower is soon to be fully occupied, with two more to come before the development is completed.

While growing up in Guelph, Ont. Lee Piccoli was very familiar with the W.C. Wood fridge and freezer plant on the banks of the Speed River on the periphery of downtown.

“This site’s history mirrors the history of the city,” Piccoli explains. “It started as a grist mill, then was a distillery and then became a manufacturing facility. W.C. Wood was the largest employer in Guelph. The site has significance to the whole city.”