Item - 2025.PB30.1

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1.  City Council state its intention to designate the property at 450 Rustic Road under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 450 Rustic Road (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 1 to the report (March 12, 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.

Elaine Eigl, Heritage Planner, Policy and Research, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 450 Rustic Road - 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 450 Rustic Road 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 at 450 Rustic Road is located on the north side of Rustic Road, south of Highway 401, and west of Keele Street. A location map and current photographs of the heritage property are found in Attachment 2.

The property at 450 Rustic Road contains a rare Pre-Confederation houseform building composed of two sections, the original circa 1843 modest-sized rural dwelling with Georgian styling and a circa 1855 expansion that evolved the dwelling into a grand farmhouse into the more ornate Italianate architectural style.

The building was associated with the Bull family for over 83 years. The house was constructed for John Perkins Bull (1822-1902), a local Justice of the Peace and a Deputy Reeve for York Township, as his residence. While the subject property that contains the house was sold in 1886, it was not until 1913 that the Bull family sold the remaining six acres of the 200-acre property, which Bartholomew Bull (1791-1879) purchased in 1830, from the estate of Robert J.D. Gray, the Crown Grantee. Known as "Downs View House", the historic structure is oriented eastwards towards Keele Street, which was the property's original entry point. The community of Downsview was named after this landmark property.

Since the 1960s, the subject property operated as a nursing home. The property contains a late-20th century, one-and two-storey institutional building, which extends north on the property from the north elevation of the c.1843 wing. The North Park Nursing Home facility closed in 2024, and the property is vacant and currently for sale.

The subject property was recognized for its architectural and historical significance by the former municipality of North York in 1977 with its inclusion on the heritage inventory and, following amalgamation, it was listed on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register on September 27, 2006, for its cultural heritage value or interest.

Bill 23 of the Ontario Heritage Act requires listed properties either be designated by a municipality or be removed from a Heritage Register by January 1, 2027.

The local Councillor requested Heritage Planning in June 2024 to research and evaluate the property due to concerns surrounding the closure of the nursing home and the expiration of the property's listing originally scheduled for January 1, 2025.

As of January 1, 2023, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, properties must be listed on the heritage register prior to Part IV designation and before the occurrence of a prescribed event. A prescribed event is a point of time when the application for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application has been deemed complete and the City Clerk provides notice of that complete application to the public in accordance with the Planning Act. 

Staff have determined that the property at 450 Rustic Road has cultural heritage value and meets five 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.

Designation enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance. Designation also gives property owners access to City of Toronto heritage incentive programs.