Duke Height BIA Radio Tower.

An old North York radio tower saved from demolition and recently turned into a landmark is the latest initiative by a local Business Improvement Area (BIA) to beautify and attract people to its neighbourhood.The 165-foot structure, located at the northeast corner of Finch Avenue and Alness Road, had been used as a two-way radio communications tower for police beginning in 1957 and was slated for demolition in 2018.DUKE Heights BIA chair Lew Pliamm said that after the BIA learned of the demolition plans, its board of directors sought to save the tower and revitalize its use as a landmark.“We took something that was going to be decommissioned and created something beautiful out of it, like public art,” he said, noting the project cost more than $300,000.“We’ve been working at it for over two years.”As part of the project, a 43.5-foot structure, dubbed DUKE Tower, was also constructed at the site. “DUKE Tower is a sole standing structure that wraps around the (radio) tower without touching the tower,” DUKE Heights BIA executive director Lia Martelluzzi said. “We wanted to preserve the integrity of the original structure but also revive it, and this was the creative thought process behind it.”