Item - 2023.PB5.2

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

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 1313 Queen Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 1313 Queen Street West (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report (April 6, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. If there are no objections to the designation, 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.

Megan Albinger, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 1313 Queen Street West - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 1313 Queen Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

The property at 1313 Queen Street West is prominently situated on the southwest corner of Queen Street West and Cowan Avenue, where it is part of an important cluster of civic buildings in the Parkdale neighbourhood. The building was constructed as the former Police Station Number 6 in 1931-32 to the designs of the City Architect's Office led by City Architect J.J. Woolnough, Deputy City Architect K.S. Gillies and designer S.T.J. Fryer, and has a high degree of artistic merit, reflecting architectural detailing and principles from both the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles. It was decommissioned as a police station in 1965, but thereafter continued to fulfill an integral role in the Parkdale community as the site of emergency and low-income housing, and more recently as the Parkdale Arts and Cultural Centre. For all of these reasons, the property is a landmark within the Parkdale neighbourhood.

The property was listed on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register in 1983 and was identified in the Parkdale Main Street Heritage Conservation District Plan (currently under appeal) as a contributing property and a landmark building.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 1313 Queen Street West and determined that the property meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under design and physical, historical and associative, and contextual values. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

The property is one of several properties comprising the City-led Parkdale Hub project, a strategic city-building initiative that aims to revitalize and expand upon an existing cluster of City-owned facilities and community services located at Queen Street West and Cowan Avenue, including the Parkdale Library and the Masaryk-Cowan Community Recreation Centre. Heritage staff have been working closely with Parkdale Hub project team and in Q2 2023 the Parkdale Hub will be presented to City Council for inclusion in the Housing Now Initiative, supporting the proposed rental housing development that will form part of the project.

In December 2022, CreateTO prepared a Zoning By-law Amendment submission, as the City's agent, to facilitate the Parkdale Hub. The submission relates to the proposed redevelopment of the subject property, which is proposed to be the location of the future Toronto Public Library Parkdale branch. The Parkdale Hub proposal would retain a substantial portion of the Part IV designated property at 220 Cowan Avenue for the proposed renovation of the existing Masaryk-Cowan Community Recreation Centre, as well as a substantial portion of the subject property at 1313 Queen Street West (former Police Station Number 6) in situ. The proposed design would require the removal and/or relocation of the metal gate on the west side of the property, demolition of some exterior walls that do not face the public realm, and modifications to entrances to provide for universal accessibility for these publicly-owned buildings.

A Heritage Impact Assessment is required for all development applications that affect listed and designated properties and will be considered when determining how a heritage property is to be conserved. A Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report and Heritage Impact Assessment completed by ERA Architects Inc. and dated December 15, 2022 were included with the submission.

On November 28, 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) received Royal Assent. Schedule 6 of the More Homes Built Faster Act which amended the Ontario Heritage Act came into effect on January 1, 2023.  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. Designation also enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.