Washington Court has been empty since a devastating fire in 2018, but it might be returning to the market.
For eight years, the Washington Court apartment building on Thurlow has sat empty.
For more than 100 years, it was a residential complex at 998 Thurlow St. A fire forced residents to evacuate in October 2018, and it hasn’t been reoccupied since.
An application to repair the building (which has heritage status) and add a couple of floors was submitted to the city in 2023 and approved in 2025. Now a new application has been submitted with some more significant alterations.
Most obvious is the height.
The building stands five stories tall now, but the newly proposed top portion would double its current height, adding several floors of residential units.
While there were around 40 units in the building when the 2018 fire hit, the 2023 application bumped that up to 80. Now, the 2026 application brings that up to 109 units. Most will be studio (26) and one-bedroom units (42). But there will be some units for families, with 31 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom homes.
In drawings of the building, it appears the rooftop will have a park-like patio space with a fire pit, urban agriculture and a barbecue.
All units will be market rental dwellings.