Item - 2025.PB29.1

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1.  City Council state its intention to designate the property at 604 Bay Street (including entrance address at 610 Bay Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance for 604 Bay Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 1, to the report (March 7, 2025) from the 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.

Megan Albinger, Heritage Planner, Policy and Research, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 604 Bay Street - Notice of Intention to Designate a 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 604 Bay Street (including entrance address at 610 Bay Street) 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.

The subject property is located on the west side of Bay Street between Dundas Street West and Edward Street, in the Yonge-Bay Corridor. A location map and current photograph of the heritage property are found in Attachment 2.

The property contains the former Gray Coach Terminal, completed in 1931 to the designs of architect Charles Brammall Dolphin in an Art Deco style. His two most celebrated designs during this period include the Consumers’ Gas Showroom (1930) at 2532 Yonge Street (Figure 6), and the Postal Delivery Building (1939-40) at 40 Bay Street, both of which feature Canadian-inspired motifs incorporated into the buildings' decorative elements. The property is an early example of a modern motor coach terminal, among the first of its type to be designed and constructed for this purpose in Canada. The property is associated with the Toronto Transportation Commission (forerunner to today's Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)) and the development of Toronto's transportation services and networks.

The property was listed on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register on May 19, 1987.

Staff have determined that the property at 604 Bay Street (including entrance address at 610 Bay Street) has cultural heritage value and meets six 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 subject property and the adjacent parcel at 130 Elizabeth Street, collectively known as the Toronto Coach Terminal, were selected for redevelopment through the ModernTO program adopted by Toronto City Council in October 2019, and the property was decommissioned by the City in 2021.

On November 13 and 14, 2024, City Council adopted EX18.4 - ModernTO: Selection of Proponent for 610 Bay Street and 130 Elizabeth Street, approving the selection of a development proponent. The proposed redevelopment on the site would include affordable rental housing and a new Toronto Paramedic Services hub, while retaining the terminal building fronting Bay Street. The City has designated the project as a priority project for review through the Priority Development Review (PDR) stream.

The Official Plan requires that when a City-owned property on the Heritage Register is no longer required for its current use, the City will demonstrate excellence in the conservation, maintenance, and compatible adaptive reuse of the property.