Item - 2024.PB18.2

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council refuse the issuance of an alteration permit for the heritage property at 1117 Queen Street West, in accordance with Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

2. If the owner appeals City Council’s decision to refuse the issuance of an alteration permit for the heritage property at 1117 Queen Street West under Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council direct the City Solicitor and the appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing to oppose the appeal.

3. City Council refuse the issuance of a demolition permit for the heritage attributes of the heritage property at 1117 Queen Street West, in accordance with Section 34(1)1 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

4. If the owner appeals City Council’s decision to refuse the issuance of a demolition permit for the heritage attributes for the property at 1117 Queen Street West under Section 34(1)1 of the Ontario Heritage Act , City Council direct the City Solicitor and the appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing to oppose the appeal.

This report recommends that City Council refuse applications under Sections 33 and 34 of the Ontario Heritage Act to alter and demolish heritage attributes of the property at 1117 Queen Street West.

The heritage permit applications reflect the proposal in the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications (23 210259 STE 09 OZ), which were refused by City Council on February 6, 2024, and for which an appeal has been filed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). The project would redevelop the subject property for the construction of a 29-storey mixed use building containing 272 condominium units and 919 square metres of community space, partially retaining the designated heritage property known as Postal Station 'C' at the base.

The property at 1117 Queen Street West is located on the south side of Queen Street West and is uniquely surrounded on all four sides by the public realm. The property contains Postal Station 'C', a two-storey building completed in 1903. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by the architecture branch of the federal Department of Public Works and is considered a landmark civic building within the West Queen West neighbourhood. The property is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, through designation by-law 961-2023.

Staff is recommending refusal of the applications as the applications have not demonstrated that the heritage impacts of the proposal are consistent with the heritage planning policy framework in conserving the heritage value of this property or that such impacts would be satisfactorily mitigated.