David Templeton wants to get into an old family business in a big way – as landlord of a new, #7.5 million office building proposed for downtown St. John’s.

Templeton has the plans and the site, and is awaiting approvals from city hall. Those plans call for a four-storey building where Templeton’s warehouse now sits at the corner of Bishop’s Cove and Harbour Drive.

“That’s a lot of money for a paint store, but that shows how much confidence we have in downtown St. John’s,” said Templeton, president of R.A. Templeton. “We’re living in the best place in Canada and we have the best site in this city.”

The plans have been submitted to city hall, and if all goes well Templeton expects the year-long construction project to start in early 2005. Class A office space overlooking the harbour would be ready in 2006, giving Templeton time to follow up on leads to sign up an anchor tenant.

“We’re of the opinion that good, Class A office space in St. John’s is actually fairly hard to find at this point in time,” said Phillip Pratt, architect with PHB Group Inc., who is designing the new building. “There’s little pockets of it, but there is the opportunity for more”.

Meanwhile, R.A. Templeton Ltd. isn’t abandoning the paint, wallpaper and flooring business that’s made it a fixture on Water Street. “Our wholesale and retail business is growing,” Templeton said. “The firm has always been in the real estate business to some extent our front has always been the paint and wallpaper business. “We’ve always enjoyed serving the public – it’s in our blood.”

Templeton also rents space to other businesses and the provincial department of Human Resources.

Along with the new building, the retail side of the business will get a facelift and an extra storey – bringing it up to the three-storey level of every other storefront on Water Street. “It’s not going to be an imitation old building,” Pratt said.

The first thing to go will be the Templeton’s dark aluminum siding on the second floor. The business will get a new warehouse in Donovan’s to replace the aging downtown warehouse that has survived more than one great fire.

With 16,000-18,000 square feet of space, each of the well-worn four storeys is accessible to the other via narrow gangplanks and a lot of crouching. It’s too small for storing some of the furniture Templeton’s now sells. Those living room chairs, chesterfields and kitchen chairs come from China, along with the floor coverings the company imports directly to cut out middlemen that can drive prices up.

The new building will offer about four times the space of the old warehouse. “I’m personally saddened to see the building go. I grew up there,” Templeton said. But he figures its day has come.

Pratt said the new office building taking its place will have an industrial appearance in keeping with the St. John’s waterfront.

Aside from large windows, the main materials will be an aluminum-zinc colored metal and brick. “The front is essentially brick with a bit of metal; the back is essentially metal with a bit of brick. But the same material are used,” Pratt said. “It’s important that Water Street feel like Water Street and the harbourside feel like the harbourside.”

Part of the renovations include expanding the existing 20 space parking garage to 50 spaces. The main entrance for the office building will be on Bishop’s Cove, leading into an atrium that connects the office section with the retail business.

Pratt has a history with the Templetons. PHB Group is located in the old United Can Factory on Plank Road, which was built in 1922 by Templeton’s grandfather. Pratt oversaw the renovations that turned the concrete canning plant into an office and art gallery.

M Baird. The Telegram. Wednesday, October 6, 2004