Item - 2021.PB28.3

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 141 Bathurst Street,(entrance address 581 Richmond Street West), under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 141 Bathurst Street, (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report, October 21, 2021, from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 579 Richmond Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 579 Richmond Street West (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 4 to the report, October 21, 2021, from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

3. If there are no objections to the designations, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the bills in Council designating the properties under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Toronto Preservation Board:

1. Requested the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning to review the Statement of Cultural Heritage Value and attributes for the property located at 141 Bathurst Street, including the description of the property and ownership of the adjacent laneway, and review the Statement of Cultural Heritage Value and attributes for the property located at 579 Richmond Street, especially the capped chimney, and prepare any revisions as may be necessary.

Marybeth McTeague, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 141 Bathurst Street and 579 Richmond Street West - Notice of Intention to Designate under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the listed heritage properties at 141 Bathurst Street, entrance address 581 Richmond Street West, and 579 Richmond Street West, under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The properties at 141 Bathurst Street and 579 Richmond Street West are located on

the south-east corner of the intersection of Bathurst Street and Richmond Street West.  The property at 141 Bathurst Street contains a two-storey, buff brick-clad factory building constructed in 1900 for E. C. Walker & Sons, Ltd., hat manufacturers, with a rare set-back from the adjacent streets within a rear yard. 579 Richmond Street West contains a four-and-a-half storey, red brick-clad factory building, constructed in 1913 for the Independent Cloak Co. according to the designs of the architect Isadore Feldman. These two early 20th-century factories exhibit an Industrial Classical style and, with their finely detailed and proportioned brick facades, contribute to the distinctive heritage character of the King-Spadina neighbourhood, which is grounded in its early-mid 20th-century transformation as the city's primary manufacturing hub and its fashion district identity. 

The properties at 141 Bathurst Street and 579 Richmond Street West were listed on the City's Heritage Register in 2017 and both properties were identified as contributing properties within the proposed King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District, adopted by City Council in 2017 and currently under appeal. Following additional research and evaluation under Ontario Regulation 9/06, the provincial criteria prescribed for municipal designation, it has been determined that the properties at 141 Bathurst Street and 579 Richmond Street West merit designation under Part IV Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for their design, associative and contextual value.

An application has been submitted to amend the zoning by-law to permit the redevelopment of the properties at 141-161 Bathurst Street and 579-591 Richmond Street West with a 12-storey non-residential building containing retail uses at the ground level and office uses above. This development proposal comprises Phase 1 of a larger development which also includes the sites at 555 Richmond Street West and 550 Adelaide Street West (Phase 2). The phase 1 and phase 2 development proposals are being reviewed concurrently.

The heritage buildings at 141 Bathurst Street and 579 Richmond Street West are proposed to be conserved while two listed house-form buildings at 159 and 161 Bathurst Street are proposed to be demolished.  Staff's further research and additional analysis determined these listed house-form buildings at 159 and 161 Bathurst Street do not meet the criteria under O. Reg. 9/06 required to merit designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.  

In June 2019, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 (Bill 108) received Royal Assent. Schedule 11 of this Act included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). The Bill 108 Amendments to the OHA came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to certain Planning Act applications. Section 29(1.2) of the OHA now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the OHA to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

The City Clerk issued a notice of complete application for the redevelopment of the properties on September 24, 2021. City Council must make a decision and issue a Notice of Intention to Designate the subject properties no later than December 23, 2021.

Designation enables City Council to review proposed alterations, enforce heritage property standards and maintenance, and refuse demolition.