A Lifetime Achievement Award for a dynamic duo

On Friday, we shared with you the nominees in 13 award categories for the 2019 ACO Heritage Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award is the only one whose recipients are being announced in advance this year (you’ll have to wait for awards night on October 3 to learn who the other recipients are). We’re very pleased to introduce you to this dynamic duo who have done so much to preserve and invigorate their city, while inspiring many others to restore heritage buildings and follow in their footsteps.

Introducing Robert Eisenberg + Michael Cruickshank of York Heritage Properties, recipients of the 2019 Eric Arthur Lifetime Achievement Award

For more than forty years, Robert (Bobby) Eisenberg and Michael Cruickshank of York Heritage Properties (YHP) have exhibited an enthusiasm for and commitment to the preservation of Toronto’s rich architectural heritage. These near octogenarians (78 and 79) have remained true to their original vision of giving heritage buildings new life through their rehabilitation and restoration, all the while creating vibrant communities. They call their particular brand of adaptive reuse ‘invisible mending,’ a term that captures the essence of their careful and thoughtful approach to each project. They continue to take on new projects that innovate and break barriers, and they have mentored and consulted to so many. They are generous with their ideas and talents and know that the time spent helping others to do this type of work will benefit the whole community. Through York Heritage Properties, they have proved the viability of heritage restoration in the private sector and created an appetite for investment in heritage buildings. This is a vitally important achievement, if we hope to retain more old buildings.  Their work has provided precious models and their reach has gone far beyond their own work.