Item - 2024.PB15.1

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 24 Mason Boulevard under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance for 24 Mason Boulevard (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 1 to the report (March 1, 2024) from the Acting 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.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 24 Mason Boulevard under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value according to the Statement of Significance which includes a description of Heritage Attributes found in Attachment 1.

Located southwest of the intersection at Yonge Street and York Mills Road / Wilson Avenue in North York, the property at 24 Mason Boulevard contains a late-19th-century vernacular Ontario farmhouse, known as the Denison / Mason Farmhouse. A Location Map and Current Photograph of the heritage property are found in Attachment 2.

As the oldest surviving structure within its immediate suburban context, the subject property is a vestige of a former 125-acre farm that was owned by members of the Denison family, of the Kensington Market neighbourhood, for about fifty-five years (from 1823 until 1879). The farm is located on Mason Boulevard, which is named after Henry Mason, a farmer who purchased the farm lot from the Denison family in 1879. The Denison / Mason Farmhouse (estimated date of construction between 1876-1882) remained in place as the farming and milling community of York Mills, North York, transitioned into suburban housing in the post-war period.

Staff have determined that the property at 24 Mason Boulevard has cultural heritage value and meets four of the Ontario Regulation 9/06 criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. 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 current property owners nominated the property at 24 Mason Boulevard for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. For the past thirty years, the current owners have maintained thoughtful stewardship over the almost 150-year-old building.