Item - 2025.PB26.7

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council consent to the application to alter the designated properties at 508 and 510 Church Street, with conditions, under Part IV, Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act to allow for the construction of a new mixed use building with the alterations to the designated heritage properties being substantially in accordance with the plans and drawings dated September 27, 2024 prepared by Diamond Schmitt Architects on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning and the Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by ERA Architects Inc. dated December 21, 2021 and Heritage Impact Assessment Addendum prepared by ERA Architects Inc. dated November 7, 2024 and on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning all subject to and in accordance with the Conservation Plan satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. City Council direct that its consent to the application to alter the designated properties at 508 and 510 Church Street under Part IV, Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage is also subject to the following conditions:

a. that the related Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment requiring the proposed alterations and proposed removal of the heritage attributes has been enacted by City Council and has come into full force and effect;

b. that the owner shall:

1. amend the existing Heritage Easement Agreement for the properties at 508 and 510 Church Street in accordance with the plans and drawings dated September 27, 2024, prepared by Diamond Schmitt Architects, and on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning and subject to and in accordance with the Conservation Plan required in Recommendation 2.b.2 below, all to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning including registration of such amending agreement to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; 

2. provide a detailed Conservation Plan, prepared by a qualified heritage consultant, that is consistent with the conservation strategy set out in the Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by ERA Architects Inc. dated December 21, 2021 and Heritage Impact Assessment Addendum prepared by ERA Architects Inc. dated November 7, 2024 for the properties at 508 and 510 Church Street, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning;

c. that prior to final Site Plan approval for the proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment by City Council, for the properties located at 508 and 510 Church Street the owner shall:

1. provide final site plan drawings substantially in accordance with the approved Conservation Plan required in Recommendation 2.b.2 above to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning;

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

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

4. provide a detailed landscape plan for the subject properties, satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning;

5. provide an Interpretation Plan for the subject properties, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning; 

6. submit a Signage Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning; and

d. that prior to the issuance of any permit for all or any part of the properties at 508 and 510 Church Street, including a heritage permit or a building permit, but excluding permits for repairs and maintenance and usual and minor works for the existing heritage building as are acceptable to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City 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 conservation and protective measures keyed to the approved Conservation Plan required in Recommendation 2.b.2 above, including a 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, Urban Design, City 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, Urban Design, City Planning to secure all work included in the approved Conservation Plan, Lighting Plan, and Interpretation Plan; 

4. provide full documentation of the existing Crews and Tangos building and coach house, 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 flash drive in tiff format and 600 dpi resolution keyed to a location map, elevations and measured drawings, and copies of all existing interior floor plans and original drawings as may be available, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning; and

e. that 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 conservation work and the required interpretive work has been completed in accordance with the Conservation Plan and Interpretation Plan and that an appropriate standard of conservation has been maintained, all to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning; and

2. provide replacement Heritage Easement Agreement photographs to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

Kristen Flood, Senior Heritage Planner, Development Review, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 508 and 510 Church Street - Alterations to Heritage Properties and Authority to Amend a Heritage Easement Agreement.

This report recommends that City Council approve the alterations proposed for the heritage properties at 508 and 510 Church Street (designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act) in connection with the development of the subject site.

The development site at 506-516 Church Street contains the Crews and Tangos building at 508 and 510 Church Street, which comprises two adjoining structures, originally constructed as part of a row of six residences in c.1856-1858, along with a surviving nineteenth-century coach house to the rear. The primary structures are a unique example of semi-detached house-form buildings from the mid-nineteenth century that have evolved for commercial use. Since 1994 they have been the home of Crews, later Crews and Tangos, a storied venue for drag performances and queer gatherings. The building is notable for its asymmetrical configuration and details that demonstrate the influence of the Romanesque Revival style. The properties are a cultural landmark within the Church and Wellesley Village and for Toronto's broader 2SLGBTQ+ community.

The development application proposes a 48-storey mixed-use building, the retention of a portion of the existing Crews and Tangos building at 508 and 510 Church Street and the demolition of the coach house to the rear. A previous development application for a 14-storey building with a similar conservation strategy was approved by City Council at its meeting of July 19, 20, 21 and 22, 2022. In both this proposal and the previous proposal, the retained portion of the heritage building is to be restored with minor modifications to support ground floor retail uses. The existing World Pride Mural will be removed to allow for masonry restoration, and it will be commemorated through documentation and two new murals.

The most significant change from the previously approved application is the increase in tower height from 14-storeys to 48-storeys and the reduction in the tower stepback from the east property line from 15.77 metres to 6.5 metres, with balconies encroaching into the stepback. Although staff acknowledge that the reduction in the tower stepback, combined with the increase in the tower height, negatively impacts the heritage building’s scale, form and massing, these impacts will be mitigated through the overall conservation strategy.