Item - 2023.PB7.1

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

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 38 Walmer Road (including entrance address of 188 Lowther Avenue) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 38 Walmer Road (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3, to the report (May 31, 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.

Clint Robertson, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 38 Walmer Road - 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 38 Walmer Road (including the entrance address at 188 Lowther Avenue) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

The subject property located at 38 Walmer Road, Walmer Road Baptist Church, is located at the northwest corner of Walmer Road and Lowther Avenue, fronting Gwendolyn MacEwen Park. The property is valued for its historical association with the Walmer Road Baptist Church, an institution with a congregation established in 1889 which continues to be a place of worship, social and educational activity for its members as well as a place of community outreach for over 130 years. The property is valued for its design which consists of three connected buildings including an 1889 Sunday School (Queen Anne–revival style), 1892 Sanctuary (Romanesque style adapted incorporating a variety of Gothic-style references), and 1913 Memorial Building (Gothic Revival-style). The Sanctuary was designed by Langley and Burke architects, who also designed the earlier Sunday School Building. The property is valued for its historical association with Edmund Burke (1850-1919) and Henry Langley (1836-1907) who were prolific in designing many of the most important ecclesiastical works in Ontario during their 1873-1892 architectural practice together. The Sunday School and Sanctuary reflect the earliest development of the Annex neighbourhood in the 1880s when it acquired its characteristic urban pattern and architectural form. The Walmer Road Baptist Church's distinctive character of its architecture in combination with its prominent presence on Walmer Road and Gwendolyn MacEwan Park makes it a landmark in the Annex.

City Council listed the property on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register in 1986.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 38 Walmer Road 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/physical value, historical/associative value, and contextual value. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

In August 2022, the City received Site Plan Approval, Official Plan Amendment, and Zoning By-law Amendment applications related to proposed redevelopment of the subject property with a 20-storey mixed-use building, containing 162 dwelling units and 1950 square meters of non-residential GFA, including retail, community and a space for the Walmer Road Baptist Church congregation as a place of worship. The proposal includes inserting a floor level at the gallery to divide the interior of the sanctuary.

A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) completed by E.R.A. Architects Inc. and dated July 7, 2022 was submitted to support the application. An HIA 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.

The City Clerk issued a complete application notice on August 8, 2022. The property owner provided a waiver to extend the 90-day timeline established under Bill 108. Council must make a decision at its July 19-21, 2023 meeting to provide sufficient time for the City Clerk to issue a notice of intention to designate before the waiver expires on July 31, 2023.

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 and 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. The subject property meets six of the nine criteria.