Item - 2024.TE12.18

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council approve the demolition of the designated building on the lands known municipally in the year 2024 as 350 Bloor Street East in accordance with Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as part of a reconstruction strategy for the site with such demolition and reconstruction being substantially in accordance with plans and drawings prepared by Hariri Pontarini Architects dated September 29, 2023 and submitted in conjunction with the Heritage Impact Assessment, dated February 12, 2024, prepared by ERA Architects Inc., and on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, and subject to the following additional conditions:

a. the related site specific Zoning By-law Amendment giving rise to the proposed demolition has been enacted by the City Council and have come into full force and effect in a form and with content acceptable to the City Council, as determined by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

b. prior to the introduction of the Bills for such Zoning By-law Amendment by City Council, the owner shall:

1. provide a detailed Reconstruction Plan, prepared by a qualified heritage consultant that is substantially in accordance with the reconstruction strategy set out in the Heritage Impact Assessment dated February 12, 2024, prepared by ERA Architects Inc., for the property at 350 Bloor Street East, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

c. prior to Site Plan approval for the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment for the property at located at 350 Bloor Street East, the subject owner shall:

1. have obtained final approval for the necessary Zoning By-law Amendment required for the subject properties, such Zoning By-law Amendment to have come into full force and effect;

2. provide final site plan drawings substantially in accordance with the approved Heritage Impact Assessment, dated February 12, 2024 prepared by ERA Architects Inc. to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

3. provide a Heritage Lighting Plan that describes how the exterior of the heritage property will be sensitively illuminated to enhance its heritage character to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager Heritage Planning;

4. implement a Signage Plan that is substantially in accordance with the Signage Plan within the Heritage Impact Assessment, dated February 12, 2024 prepared by ERA Architects Inc., to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

5. provide a detailed landscape plan for the subject property, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; and

6. provide an Interpretation Plan for the subject property, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; 

d. prior to the issuance of any permit for all or any part of the property at 350 Bloor Street East, including a heritage permit or a building permit, but excluding interior alterations not impacting identified interior attributes, permits for repairs and maintenance and usual and minor works for the existing heritage building as are acceptable to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning the owner shall:

1. have obtained final approval for the necessary Zoning By-law Amendment required for the subject properties, such Amendment to have come into full force and effect;

2. provide building permit drawings, including notes and specifications for the reconstruction keyed to the approved Reconstruction Plan required in Recommendation 1.b.1. above, including a detailed description of materials and finishes, to be prepared by the project architect and a qualified heritage consultant to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

3. provide a Letter of Credit, including provision for upwards indexing, in a form and amount and from a bank satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning to secure all the reconstruction and interpretation work included in the approved Heritage Impact Assessment, dated February 12, 2024, prepared by ERA Architects Inc.; and

4. provide full documentation of the existing heritage property at 350 Bloor Street East, including two (2) printed sets of archival quality 8” x 10” colour photographs with borders in a glossy or semi-gloss finish and one (1) digital set on a memory stick in tiff format and 600 dpi resolution keyed to a location map, elevations and measured drawings, and copies of all original drawings as may be available, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; and

e. prior to the release of the Letter of Credit required in Recommendation 1.d.3. above, the owner shall:

1. provide a letter of substantial completion prepared and signed by a qualified heritage consultant confirming that the required reconstruction work and the required interpretive work has been completed in accordance with the Heritage Impact Assessment, dated February 12, 2024, prepared by ERA Architects Inc. and that an appropriate standard of conservation has been maintained, all to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

This report recommends that City Council approve the demolition of the designated heritage property at 350 Bloor Street East under Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act subject to conditions. The conditions are to ensure that the replacement structure appropriately commemorates the original building by being designed and constructed in accordance with the approved plans and drawings referenced in this report and by including the reinstatement of the precast concrete panels of the existing building on the podium of the new building.  

The existing 6-storey building at 350 Bloor Street East was built into the upper portion of the Rosedale Valley Ravine's south embankment in 1968-1970 to the designs of renowned Modernist architect, John C. Parkin. It is a significant representative example of architectural precast concrete in Toronto. It features an identical expression on its principal (south), west and north elevations with the precast concrete cladding creating wedge-shaped columns and deep inset window openings above a recessed, transparent base. The property is designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act and the precast concrete cladding panels are identified as heritage attributes of the building in the designation by-law 799-2023.

On August 30, 2022, the City received Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application related to the proposed redevelopment of the subject property (File No. 22 172660 STE 11 OZ). The proposal seeks to permit a 63-storey mixed-use building on the subject site containing 675 new dwelling units. The application proposes to demolish the historic Parkin building to facilitate this development. To mitigate the loss of this designated building the proposal includes a commemoration strategy that would include constructing the podium of the new building to replicate the appearance of the original building including the re-use of the original pre-cast concrete panels on its south, west and north facades.

The demolition of heritage buildings is not normally supported by staff. In this case options to conserve and incorporate parts of the original Parkin building in a new building on this site were sought. Structural issues and construction access constraints however prevented meaningful conservation of the existing building in a way that retained the integrity of the original building within a redeveloped site that included a tower to provide additional housing.  

The cultural heritage value and heritage attributes of this Parkin building are directly tied to the non-structural pre-cast cladding that is connected, with concealed anchors, to the building's perimeter beams. These panels are proposed to be disconnected, removed and later re-attached to the structural frame of the new building. This allows for the construction of a tower while commemorating historic Parkin building and re-using most of the original concrete cladding. This is commemoration not conservation; but the modular and repeatable aspect of the building's design would enable the new building to honour all the heritage values and attributes of the original Parkin building. It also supports the character and sense of place of this portion of Bloor Street East which includes many 20th-century commercial and office buildings of distinctive high-quality design including a number of mid-century modern buildings.

At its meeting on March 18, 2024 the Toronto Preservation Board considered Item PB15.5 and made recommendations to City Council.

Summary from the report (February 26, 2024) from the Acting Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning:

This report recommends that City Council approve the demolition of the designated heritage property at 350 Bloor Street East under Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act subject to conditions. The conditions are to ensure that the replacement structure appropriately commemorates the original building by being designed and constructed in accordance with the approved plans and drawings referenced in this report and by including the reinstatement of the precast concrete panels of the existing building on the podium of the new building.  

The existing 6-storey building at 350 Bloor Street East was built into the upper portion of the Rosedale Valley Ravine's south embankment in 1968-1970 to the designs of renowned Modernist architect, John C. Parkin. It is a significant representative example of architectural precast concrete in Toronto. It features an identical expression on its principal (south), west and north elevations with the precast concrete cladding creating wedge-shaped columns and deep inset window openings above a recessed, transparent base. The property is designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act and the precast concrete cladding panels are identified as heritage attributes of the building in the designation by-law 799-2023.

On August 30, 2022, the City received Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application related to the proposed redevelopment of the subject property (File Number 22 172660 STE 11 OZ). The proposal seeks to permit a 63-storey mixed-use building on the subject site containing 675 new dwelling units. The application proposes to demolish the historic Parkin building to facilitate this development. To mitigate the loss of this designated building the proposal includes a commemoration strategy that would include constructing the podium of the new building to replicate the appearance of the original building including the re-use of the original pre-cast concrete panels on its south, west and north facades.

The demolition of heritage buildings is not normally supported by staff. In this case options to conserve and incorporate parts of the original Parkin building in a new building on this site were sought. Structural issues and construction access constraints however prevented meaningful conservation of the existing building in a way that retained the integrity of the original building within a redeveloped site that included a tower to provide additional housing.

The cultural heritage value and heritage attributes of this Parkin building are directly tied to the non-structural pre-cast cladding that is connected, with concealed anchors, to the building's perimeter beams. These panels are proposed to be disconnected, removed and later re-attached to the structural frame of the new building. This allows for the construction of a tower while commemorating historic Parkin building and re-using most of the original concrete cladding. This is commemoration not conservation; but the modular and repeatable aspect of the building's design would enable the new building to honour all the heritage values and attributes of the original Parkin building. It also supports the character and sense of place of this portion of Bloor Street East which includes many 20th-century commercial and office buildings of distinctive high-quality design including a number of mid-century modern buildings.