Spruce Court co-op hits a century mark

Eric Morse –

Spruce Court co-op, at the corner of Spruce and Sumach streets in Cabbagetown, will be 100 years old in September.

To mark the occasion, the co-op will dedicate of a Heritage Toronto commemorative plaque at 1 p.m. on Sept. 8, followed by a talk by Spruce Court resident historian Paul Mackey on the architectural history of the site.

Spruce Court and its sister project, the Bain Apartments co-op in Riverdale, represent the first deliberate attempt to create low-income public housing in Canada. According to Spruce Court president James Edwards, they were intended to alleviate poor living conditions and expensive rents for the workers of the districts.

The developments were undertaken following the passage of the Ontario Housing Act in 1913, which gave Ontario municipalities the power to guarantee bonds for housing companies of up to 85% of their working capital as long as the remaining 15% was directly invested by the public.

Spruce Court converted to a resident-owned housing co-operative in 1978.

Both Spruce Court and Bain were built in the Arts and Crafts architectural style by popular Toronto architect Eden Smith (1858–1949). Spruce Court, which now consists of 78 apartments in 2- and 3-storey buildings, was built in two stages. The first stage, the Sumach St. courtyard, was built in 1913. The Spruce Street courtyard followed in 1926.

“We’re celebrating the heritage of our buildings,” Edwards told The Bulletin. “We want to give back to the local community, and at the same time demonstrate what a successful and vibrant co-op can contribute to the life of the neighbourhood.”