Item - 2023.PB11.2

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends to the Planning and Housing Committee that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 119 Church Street

under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 119 Church Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report (October 23, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.
 

2. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 127 Church Street (including entrance addresses 121 and 123 Church Street, but excluding 125 Church Street) (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 4 to the report (October 23, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

3. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 89 Queen Street East (including entrance address 85 Queen Street East) (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 5 to the report (October 23, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

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

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the properties at 119 Church Street, 127 Church Street (including entrance addresses 121 and 123 Church Street), and 89 Queen Street East (including entrance address 85 Queen Street East) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for their cultural heritage value.

The subject properties at 119 Church Street, 127 Church Street, and 89 Queen Street East are located on the east side of Church Street and along the south side of Queen Street East, diagonally across from the Metropolitan United Church (1870-71) and share the same block along Queen Street as the historic Robertson Brothers Confectioners industrial complex (99-123 Queen Street East). Constructed between circa 1887 and circa 1910, the largely intact collection of late-Victorian and Edwardian Classicist buildings reflect the evolution of the area's development, comprising a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial building typologies that are characterized by their consistent materiality, low-rise scale, massing, setback, and range of architectural styles that support and maintain the historic fine-grained, main street character of both Church Street and Queen Street East in the Garden District neighbourhood to the north. For almost 50 years, Henry's Camera operated at 119 Church Street, expanding its growing business into 127 Church Street and the storefronts at 89 Queen Street East.

The property at 89 Queen Street East, known as the Metropolitan Flats (1909), has design value as a representative example of the apartment building typology that emerged in Canada in the early-20th century and is associated with Toronto architect Frederick Henry Herbert (1866-1942).

The property at 119 Church was designed in 1909 by a leading Toronto architect, J. Francis Brown (1866-1942), and noting the 4th-storey addition by J. Francis Brown & Son Architects. 

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the properties at 119 Church Street, 127 Church Street (including entrance addresses 121 and 123 Church Street), and 89 Queen Street East (including entrance address 85 Queen Street East) and determined that the subject properties meet Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under the criteria categories of design / physical, historical / associative, and contextual values. A property may be designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, if it meets two or more of the nine criteria.

On August 4, 2022, the City received Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control applications related to the proposed redevelopment of the subject properties. On June 30, 2023, the City received a resubmission for a 61-storey mixed-use building with 691 dwelling units and 464 square metres of retail / commercial space at grade. The proposal includes the integration of the front elevation at the base podium of the buildings at 89 Queen Street East, entrance addresses 121 Church Street and 123 Church Street at 127 Church Street, along with the panelization and reconstruction of 119 Church Street and a portion of its return wall. The building located at entrance address 125 Church Street is proposed to be demolished.

The City Clerk issued a complete application notice on September 9, 2022. The property owner has provided a waiver to extend the 90-day timeline to December 31, 2023. Council must make a decision at its December 13, 2023 meeting to provide sufficient time for the City Clerk to issue a notice of intention to designate before the waiver expires.

As of January 1, 2023, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and / or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, the property must be listed on the heritage register prior to the Prescribed Event occurring in order for the City to designate the property under Section 29(1.2)1 of the Ontario Heritage Act. This requirement does not apply to a Prescribed Event that has occurred prior to January 1, 2023.

Designation enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.