On Jan. 13, councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam put forth a motion to have the 114-year-old upscale men’s retail store Stollerys at Yonge Street and Bloor Street West preserved as a heritage site. Four days later, the councillor was surprised to receive calls from residents complaining that the building was being unceremoniously torn down.
According to Wong-Tam, developer Sam Mizrahi’s demolition permit was issued on Jan. 16, and the construction crew was on site the next day.
The Stollerys site was part of an area currently under study and review to become a Heritage Conservation District (HCD), along Historic Yonge Street, from College Street to Davenport Road — something Wong-Tam said was widely known. Designating and listing properties one by one has proved a challenging and time-consuming undertaking for City of Toronto staff — which is why HCDs are becoming the new ideal.
“We capture more properties in a shorter period of time [that way],” said Wong-Tam.
Toronto has an inventory of approximately 10,000 heritage properties listed, with two-thirds of those designated.
But with only 18 staffers and an insurmountable number of applications in the development pipeline, the city is experiencing a backlog.
Although four planners were recently added to the Heritage Preservation Services (HPS) department of City of Toronto, City Planning in March, Mary Macdonald, manager of HPS, said the added support went primarily to development review.
“Those people who want to see expansions to the inventory won’t necessarily see any change from this addition,” said Macdonald.
That is because HPS is largely reactive.
“We try to prioritize based on a kind of immediacy,” said Macdonald. So their primary focus is on properties targeted for redevelopment. This means less development-heavy parts of the city appear to go overlooked.
“Not enough consideration is given to properties north of the downtown core,” said Stacey Rodas of Heritage Toronto — a charitable arm’s-length agency of the city. Rodas also added that residents are calling for the city to widen its focus and look at properties from the mid-1900s (modernist architecture), commonly found in northern parts of Toronto. Community efforts along with help from ward councillors are essential in ensuring citywide conservation, said Macdonald.
“We all have to take responsibility for conservation. One small unit of city planning can’t be everywhere,” she added.
TEN ENDANGERED MIDTOWN HERITAGE PROPERTIES:
1. Building: York Square
Location: 33-45 Avenue Rd., 136-138 and 140-148 Yorkville Ave.
Heritage value: Seven Victorian houses renovated by Jack Diamond and Barton Myers in 1968
Threat: Empire Communities has proposed a 40-storey tower for the site, that would retain the front facades of only two houses
Status: A working group of local stakeholders has been assembled to negotiate
2. Building: Davisville’s first post office
Location: 1909 Yonge St.
Heritage Value: Davisville’s first general store and post office, run by John Davis in the 1840s
Threat: The building is listed, but not designated as a heritage property
Status: Councillor Josh Matlow is currently seeking its designation
3. Building: Consumers Gas Showroom
Location: 2532 Yonge St.
Heritage value: Built in 1931 by Charles Dolphin
Threat: It recently sold for over $9 million
Status: The property is designated, but what the new owners have planned for it is not yet known
4. Building: Ten quadraplexes
Location: 1747-1749 to 1783-1785 Bayview Ave.
Heritage value: Built by Howard Talbot, the former mayor of Leaside, in 1934
Threat: The concern is that they will be an appealing target for developers once the Eglinton Crosstown station is operational
Status: Geoff Kettel of the North York Community Preservation Panel has nominated them for designation
5. Building: The Arthur Edward Waine House
Location: 172 Finch Ave. W.
Heritage value: Built in 1923 by Arthur Edward Waine
Threat: A proposal to relocate the house for a six-story building was denied by city council
Status: The developer appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, with a hearing set for October 2015
6. Building: The Celestica property
Location: 1150 Eglinton Ave. E.
Heritage value: Built in 1965 by Parkin Partnership and Planners
Threat: An application to redesignate the site to allow for a mixed-use development with 3,000 residential units, office and retail space was submitted in May of 2014
Status: The property is not listed, and the application is under review
7. Building: The Charles Frogley Building Location: 850 Yonge St.
Heritage value: Built in 1851
Threat: A 58-storey mixed-use building is proposed for the site by Bazis & Plaza
Status: After many rounds of applications Coun. Wong-Tam believes it will retain most of the heritage value
8. Building: Former Tyndale University College and Seminary
Location: 25 Ballyconnor Crt. near Bayview Ave. and Steeles Ave. E.
Heritage value: Built in 1962 and designed by Peter Dickinson
Threat: Sold to Shining Hill Homes Inc. in 2012. A subdivision of 34 detached houses was proposed for the site in April 2014
Status: Currently under review
9. Building: Various properties on Parkhurst Boulevard
Heritage value: Built in the Tudor revival style by Howard Talbot in the 1930s
Threat: Demolition patterns happening in Leaside have residents concerned
Status: The area has been nominated for a HCD study and review
10. Building: De La Salle College
Location: 45 Oaklands Ave. and 131 Farnham Ave.
Heritage value: The Fieldhouse (built in 1924), the Macdonald House (1858), and the stone and wrought iron gates (1860) are designated
Threat: Treasure Hill Homes submitted an application in March to demolish the Fieldhouse and relocate the stone and wrought iron gates, to build 28 townhomes
Status: Currently under review
