Toronto was founded in 1793 when a small palisaded garrison was constructed by John Simcoe at Fort York to protect the entrance to Toronto Bay.  Twenty years later, during the War of 1812, Fort York was the scene of the bloody Battle of York in which the famous American explorer and general, Zebulon Pike, was killed leading U.S. forces against the Fort’s outnumbered Canadian, British and Native defenders.  The Americans won this battle—their first major victory of the war—and burned down the province’s Parliament House during the six-day occupation of the town.  A year later, British forces retaliated by capturing Washington and burning down its public buildings, including the White House.  Fort York itself was rebuilt, and drove off another American attack in 1814.

We have successfully completed five separate projects at Fort York with Quadrangle  Architects and Philip Goldsmith and Company.  We were initially hired as Construction Managers for the Fort and then awarded the contract to restore the South Soldiers Barracks.  Since then, we have completed work to the East Block House and the Centre Blockhouse.  Our largest single project involved a million dollar power based communication system installation. This work required 6’ to 8’ deep service trenches to each building on the site and installation of service panels within the buildings.

All the work at the Fort has been completed while the facilities were open to the public. Our forces and subtrades have maintained the high levels of security and safety required to complete the work without a major incident.  These buildings are some of the oldest in the City and additional care is required to ensure minimal intervention.  The Fort is also used for special events which helps to pay for upkeep and maintenance.