This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of American Cemetery & Cremation, published by Kates-Boylston Publications,and is being shared with permission. Visit www.americancemetery.com to subscribe.

One of them is Prospect Cemetery in the heart of Toronto,which is owned by the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. Itopened in 1890 to serve the needs of the west end of the city. The105-acre cemetery includes options for ground burial, cremationdisposition and crypt entombment. It features a small hillsidemausoleum with exterior crypts; the Court Mausoleum (alsofeaturing exterior crypts) built in four phases during the 1980sand 1990s that Carrier Mausoleums Construction Inc. wasinvolved with; and two mausoleums with indoor cryptsconstructed between 2000 and 2010.

Facing continued demand for indoor crypt spaces from the localcommunity, MPGC was left with only one possible developmentoption – to build upward by adding a new floor to the existingCourt Mausoleum, a garden mausoleum complex comprised ofseveral courtyards exposed to the elements with ramps andbalconies connecting the various levels.

ProfileBy Richard Verrier andTheresa MacDonald

Prospect CemeteryGets New Wings

In recent years, it has become evidentthat cemetery space is becomingincreasingly limited. Cemeteries inurban settings especially facechallenges, including space limitationsand new development requirementsfrom municipalit ies. But somecemeteries are getting creative inorder to continue excelling at servingtheir communities.

Left: The new main entrance to the Mausoleum of the Last Supper, formerly the CourtMausoleum, at Prospect Cemetery in Toronto. The expansive three-story atrium in theMausoleum of the Last Supper was an exterior courtyard prior to construction.(Photos courtesy CMC – Carrier Mausoleums Construction Inc.)

CMC was retained by MPGC, alongtime client, in early 2011 toperform a feasibility study. The studyexamined if a mausoleum expansioncould complement the existing struc-tures and add indoor crypt spaceswhile adhering to the city’s definedstreetscape guidelines.

The eventual design involvedcutting and removing existingconcrete roofs, tying in the newstructure to the existing with struc-tural steel and concrete, constructingnew exit stairwells and installing anew elevator. Although a challengingdesign, CMC was confident that,with close collaboration withMPGC’s development team, it couldbe realized. As the leadingmausoleum builder in NorthAmerica, CMC was selected byMPGC to construct this expansiondue to its extensive experience inmausoleum design and construction.

This was not CMC’s first timeconstructing on top of an existingmausoleum in an urban setting.CMC strongly believes that there is a

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of American Cemetery & Cremation, published by Kates-Boylston Publications,and is being shared with permission. Visit www.americancemetery.com to subscribe.

need for this and that the expertise itpossesses with this type of devel-opment can truly help other cemeteryoperators in North America.

For Prospect Cemetery, the feasi-bility study began with aninvestigation of the existing concretestructure to determine if it couldsupport the additional weight of theproposed structures that would sit ontop of it. The existing mausoleumconsisted mostly of exterior cryptsand granite-front niches and a fewinterior areas, but the concept for theexpansion was to create new indoorcrypt inventory within a climate-controlled environment by buildingup and enclosing some of the exteriorcourtyards.

The original drawings andconstruction documentation for theexisting mausoleum phases weregathered and digitized, and a geotech-nical investigation was conducted toascertain the soil bearing capacity.The CMC design team then producedpreliminary concept drawings and afew options were contemplated to

ensure that the project would be bothstructurally and economically feasibleas well as beautiful. CMC providedrenderings to illustrate how thisendeavor would look both during andafter construction, and from theoptions proposed by CMC, cemeteryowners elected to enclose 60 percentof the original footprint by adding27,975 square feet in gross floor area,creating approximately 2,100 newcasket spaces. The next step was toseek approval from the city andMPGC’s existing clients who wouldbe affected by construction.

At the heart of MPGC’s corevalues is its dedication to families.For this reason, one of MPGC’s maingoals was to ensure that familiesunderstood the scope of the proposedconstruction and would be willing toaccept a significant alteration to theexisting building design. Earlycommunication was key, as theseexisting interment rights holderswould have to live through thedisturbance associated with 18months of construction activities

during the expansion. Letters weresent out to affected families, andnumerous public meetings were heldduring which the proposed projectwas explained at great length (inEnglish, Italian and Portuguese toreflect the diverse community servedby Prospect Cemetery). As largeportions of the existing outdoormausoleum were to become anindoor climate-controlled structure,existing families were informed thatall areas affected by the constructionwould become enclosed, adding bothheating and air conditioning to previ-ously exterior crypts, as well asadding new interior finishes,including new carpet, new lighting,and decorative features such asstatuary – at no cost to the existingfamilies. This communication processallowed MPGC to move confidentlyforward knowing it had the supportof its existing families.

After gaining support from itsexisting rights holders, MPGCnegotiated a full design andconstruction contract with CMC.

Opposite page: (Top) The concretepour for the new second floor cryptsduring the winter of 2014. (Middle)Exterior wall formwork for the newthird floor was done during thesummer of 2015. (Bottom) A view ofthe interior formwork that became thenew three-story atrium, conducted insuch a way as to minimize the impacton visitors to the mausoleum complex.Above: The marble-front crypt bank onthe third floor. (Photo courtesy CMC –Carrier Mausoleums Construction Inc.)

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of American Cemetery & Cremation, published by Kates-Boylston Publications,and is being shared with permission. Visit www.americancemetery.com to subscribe.

The feasibility study and designcoordination took about two years tocomplete, and toward the end of2013, CMC was ready to take on thechallenges of obtaining the necessarybuilding permits from Toronto. Asthere was no space for a constructionstaging area, CMC was required toapply for street occupancy permits,tower crane permits and sidewalkhoarding permits.

After three years of planning,design and the negotiations withmunicipal authorities, CMC brokeground in August 2014 and erectedits tower crane a month later. CMC’sconstruction personnel always keptthe day-to-day operation of theexisting mausoleum and cemetery intheir minds; the ability to continuewith entombments and publicvisitation to existing crypts wasmaintained throughout construction.As areas of the mausoleum wererequired to be temporarily restrictedto the public due to ongoingdemolition and construction activ-ities, temporary signage was installedand updated on a daily basis. Onoccasion, CMC constructedtemporary platforms to allow for thesafe use of the casket lift by ProspectCemetery’s personnel to performcrypt entombments. Close coordi-nation between MPGC’s and CMC’steams of dedicated staff at all levels

was vital to the successful completionof this intricate project.

To give some perspective, thethird-story addition over the existingtwo-story structure required approxi-mately 3,662 cubic yards of cast-inplace concrete – all while maintainingaccess for the public to the existingcrypts throughout the project.Concrete work lasted approximately12 months.

The overall result of this collabo-rative undertaking by MPGC andCMC was 2,107 new casket spacesand 574 urn spaces of various sizesthrough installation of CMC’s glass-front niches, adding choice to amausoleum that previously onlyoffered granite front niches.

Toward the end of construction,MPGC revealed its new branding forthe Court Mausoleum, which is nowknown as the Mausoleum of the LastSupper. Upon entering the complex,visitors are welcomed by animpressive bronze Last Supper statueon top of a granite base. The mainentrance features a 20-foot highgranite cross, and the expansive three-story atrium features a hand-painted10-foot Risen Christ statue suspendedfrom the second-floor balcony.

Some new crypts feature polishedpink vermillion granite shuttersmatching the existing building cryptfronts, but most of the new crypts

feature polished White Carreramarble shutters. The building’sexterior was constructed using Bereasandstone to match the existingstone, new acrylic stucco and massiveprecast concrete window surrounds.

This was one of the most complexmausoleum projects completed, andMPGC and CMC are extremelyproud of what was accomplishedafter five years of planning,designing, and construction. The endresult is breathtaking and will allowProspect Cemetery to keep servingclients for years to come.

“This was a truly collaborativeeffort, from design to completion.CMC’s ability to work with MPGCto construct such a complicatedproject, while allowing us tomaintain access for our existingfamilies, was key to the project’ssuccess,” Jeff Dennis, MPGC’sdirector of development said. “Inthe end, the expanded building notonly provides MPGC with therequired crypts to meet our family’songoing needs, but the constructionbeautifully blends the existing andnew, making it difficult for thosenot familiar with the project to tellthe difference. We are alreadyreceiving great feedback on thebuilding from both our new andexisting customers who love thefinished product.” •

(Photo courtesy CMC – CarrierMausoleums Construction Inc.)