Across from Trinity Bellwoods Park, in a neighbourhood that has an established sense of authenticity, you will find the Chocolate Company Lofts. The Chocolate Company Lofts are located at 955 Queen Street West, a traditional looking building in Queen Street West, between Crawford and Massey Streets. The current structure both links and complements two existing historic buildings, though you would almost never recognize them now.

The most original part of the Chocolate Company Lofts

The building was not a chocolate factory per se, but was home to the Patterson Candy Company, who was known for their chocolates. Since the Candy Factory Lofts name had been taken a few years earlier, Plazacorp had to play with the name a bit. John Patterson and Robert Wilson launched the Boston Candy Company as a retail store on Yonge Street in 1888. Soon after Wilson’s retirement in 1891, Patterson bestowed his name on the company and expanded into manufacturing with a successive series of plants along Queen Street West.

The alley behind the Chocolate Company Lofts, running west from Massey Street

Among the company’s claims was the opening of Canada’s largest soda fountain on Yonge Street in 1911, which promised patrons “the most delightful cooling drinks you’ve ever tasted.” After Patterson’s death in 1921, his sons William and Christopher took full control of the company. They sold the business to Jenny Lind Candy Shops owner Ernest Robinson in 1947, who maintained the Patterson brand for at least another decade.

One of the Patterson Candy Co.’s yummy products

At the time of Robinson’s purchase, it was noted that many of the employees had long tenures with the company, possibly due to benefits like a cafeteria, music during working working hours (not specified if it was live or piped in), paid holidays, and a generous health plan. Judging by the number of Patterson-sponsored athletic teams mentioned in the sports sections of local newspapers, and sizable donations given to the YMCA, it appears that the company was very interested in the physical health of their employees or wanted to prevent them from suffering the ill-effects of overindulgence on the production line.

An old ad for Patterson’s chocolates, the genesis of the Chocolate Company Lofts’ name

The most enduring legacy of Patterson Candy is the plant it built at the corner of Queen Street West and Massey Street in 1912. After an expansion in 1928, the five-storey plant included a printing plant and paper box manufacturing equipment amid its 60,000 square feet of air-conditioned work space. Full O’ Cream and Wildfire bars may be long gone, but you can live sweetly in the old Patterson premises in its current incarnation as the Chocolate Company Lofts.

Lower level Chocolate Company Loft unit with private entrance

The suites are simply breathtaking. Consisting of a mix of vintage loft architecture and modern loft design, the units offer loft living at its finest. Among their features are wood slate ceilings, steel beams, exposed duct work, hardwood floors, wooden pillar and column style construction, beautiful exposed brick walls, very large windows, and high ceilings. The suites also boast french balconies and a few private entrances. Some of the units are 2-story penthouses with private terraces that allow for spectacular views of the city.

Chocolate Company Loft bedroom with lovely brick and wood details

The experience of building the Chocolate Company Lofts on Queen Street West was not exactly sweet. It was a daunting design task and incredible engineering feat. The design and construction teams took two early 20th-century buildings and added a third brand new building along Queen Street West to link and extend them.

Chocolate Company Lofts have nice neighbourhood views along Queen West

The problem was that the two older structures were built about 25 years apart, so there was no correlation between them in terms of ceiling heights or anything. It was incredibly challenging. The result is a mixture of old and new. There are units with wooden beams and exposed brick, some with exposed concrete walls and ceilings, and others with large windows and Juliet balconies.

Warehouse windows let lots of light into the Chocolate Company Lofts

The Chocolate Company Lofts, formerly the Paterson Chocolate factory was converted in 2004 by Plazacorp. The building houses 144 lofts and is situated opposite the lovely Trinity Bellwoods park in the design district. It is arguable the best location of any Toronto loft development in the city. The building has both hard and soft lofts. The old chocolate factory to the east of the building offers gorgeous yellow brick, timber posts and 12 ft wood ceilings. The soft loft units have very functional layouts with 10.5 ft concrete ceilings. All units have exposed duct work, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The building offers a 24hr concierge, cool party room and a basic exercise room.

Make sure to check out the Chocolate Company Lofts for yourself

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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