Metropolitan Building/Rosati Group (Windsor)

The Metropolitan Building—historically the Guaranty Trust Building—at University and Victoria Avenue was completed in 1929 by prominent local architect James C. Pennington. This 10‑storey Art Deco landmark faced decades of core vacancy and environmental deterioration before a multi‑year rehabilitation project successfully concluded in December 2024.

Rosati Group led the comprehensive conservation effort, executing a meticulous plan to stabilize, restore, and modernize the aging tower. On the exterior, specialists used custom‑matched lime mortars to repair the building’s signature light‑buff face brick and hand‑restored weathered Art Deco stone reliefs, preserving the tower’s iconic vertical rhythm.

Inside, the team rejected a total‑demolition approach. They removed layers of modern alterations to uncover the original 1929 plaster crown molding, restored the vintage terrazzo flooring, and hand‑polished the historic brass elevator doors. The upper storeys were adaptively reused into modern mixed‑use spaces that proudly leave the original 1920s reinforced‑concrete pillars exposed. This project stands as a masterclass in large‑scale heritage conservation. By rescuing a vacant skyscraper and transforming it into a thriving core asset, Rosati Group preserved a piece of Windsor’s boom‑era history while demonstrating that historic high‑rises are vital to sustainable, dense urban renewal