Item - 2023.TE5.44

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council decline to designate or list 100 College Street under the Ontario Heritage Act.

2.  When a zoning application is received for 100 College Street, City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to secure the commitments set out in Attachment 1 to the revised letter (May 19, 2023) from Councillor Dianne Saxe, namely:

a.  a commemorative strategy for acknowledgement of the University of Toronto’s discoveries in life sciences including Banting and Best’s work on Insulin, Till and McCulloch’s discovery of stem cells, and its continued work in the area of regenerative medicine, at the time of development; and

b.  preservation of the current 100 College Street door while prioritizing option for its inclusion in an external display.

On August 7, 2020, the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning, recommended that City Council include the property at 100 College Street (the University of Toronto’s Banting Institute) on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register, and state its intention to designate the property at 100 College Street under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

On September 16, 2020, Toronto East York Community Council deferred consideration of this recommendation until consideration of a rezoning application for this address, or consideration of the University of Toronto Secondary Plan, whichever came first. Since that time, the city has approved the University of Toronto Secondary Plan. In accordance with the Plan, the University is now seeking a development partner to build a major, much-needed, new life sciences innovation centre at this address. This centre will be a major economic asset for the city, creating thousands of jobs, and attracting top talent from around the world.

The University of Toronto has satisfied me that it is not adviseable to designate 100 College Street under the Ontario Heritage Act, because designation would impede the financing and construction of this important new life sciences innovation centre.

In addition, ERA Architects have provided a persuasive case that the building itself does not merit designation under the Heritage Act in terms of the 9 criteria specified in Ont. Reg. 9/06 for heritage value assessment. ERA advises that this building does not meet any of the 9 criteria. In particular, it is not the building in which Banting and Best made their world-changing discoveries, it was simply built and named in Banting’s honour after the fact.

Commemorating Banting and Best’s discoveries is important, both to the city and to the University. Through the attached letter from President Gertler, the University has committed to work with the city on a commemoration plan that will highlight this legacy. To preserve a physical reminder of the imposing brick buildings that were built along this part of College Street in the 1930s, the University has also committed to incorporate the current 100 College St. door in an external display.

For these reasons I am recommending the following.