This little red-brick Victorian was built circa 1888-1890. The 1890 City Directory lists its first occupant as the Reverend William Moore, then pastor of the Bank Street Presbyterian Church (NW corner of Slater.)
The building was enlarged during the 20th Century, gaining an addition on the SE corner, a brick and (faux?) limestone verandah, and an external stairway ("278½") on its north side, set on a cinderblock base. The stairs would have been associated with the division of the house into apartments.
Renovation work seen in our photo includes the shoring of the addition's concrete foundation and the recent removal of the verandah. These activities have little to do with any grand restoration — rather, they're part of what is sometimes called a "facadectomy." The bulk of the house has in fact been destroyed, and will be replaced by a mid-rise apartment building. The south side of the new structure will attempt to hide behind 347 Gilmour (or at least a part thereof) visible in the background of the photo below.
See comments on facadism here and here.
Although "facadectomy" is a popular term, it seems to be an instance of poor usage — "-ectomy" properly indicates that which is being removed, as in an appendectomy. As you can see in the photo, everything has been removed but the facade.
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