Item - 2025.TE24.20

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council refuse the demolition and new construction on the designated heritage properties at 445, 447, 449 and 451 Adelaide Street West in accordance with Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as found in the plans and drawings prepared by architects Alliance, dated April 24, 2025, and the Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by ERA Architects, dated April 23, 2025.

2. In the event of an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, City Council authorize the City Solicitor and the necessary City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing in opposition to the appeal.

This report recommends that City Council refuse the application under Part V, Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act to demolish and construct a new building on the designated heritage properties at 445, 447, 449, and 451 Adelaide Street West, in connection with the proposed development of the site. The proposal demolishes four designated contributing heritage properties to replace them with a new 17-storey building with hotel and restaurant uses. The heritage permit application reflects the incomplete application submitted through the associated Zoning By-law Amendment application (25 152956 STE 10 OZ). 

The proposed development site (the "Site") consists of four properties — 445, 447, 449, and 451 Adelaide Street West — identified as contributing residential properties within the in-effect King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District (KSHCD), designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). The Site is adjacent to the contributing residential property at 453 Adelaide Street West to the west, and to the north, adjacent to the St. Andrew's Playground — a significant historic public space within the KSHCD dating to the 1837 Hawkins Plan. Functionally, the properties at 447, 449, and 451 are comprised of the same building, including 453 Adelaide Street West, which is not incorporated into the Site.

Staff recommend refusal of the heritage permit application, as it does not demonstrate that the cultural heritage value and attributes of the King-Spadina HCD, as expressed through the contributing properties on, and adjacent to, the Site, will be conserved in a manner consistent with the heritage planning policy framework, including the KSHCD Plan. Nor does it demonstrate that the heritage impacts of the proposal would be appropriately mitigated.

The proposal would result in the permanent and irreversible loss of cultural heritage resources that form part of the KSHCD's heritage attributes, in direct conflict with the policies and objectives of the KSHCD Plan. The demolition of designated heritage properties, and negative impact on adjacent designated heritage properties, is not consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024), does not conform to the City of Toronto Official Plan, including the King-Spadina Secondary Plan and the Downtown Plan, and fails to meet or be consistent with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.

At its meeting on June 30, 2025 the Toronto Preservation Board considered Item PB33.8 and made recommendations to City Council.

Summary from the report (June 13, 2025) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning:

 
This report recommends that City Council refuse the application under Part V, Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act to demolish and construct a new building on the designated heritage properties at 445, 447, 449, and 451 Adelaide Street West, in connection with the proposed development of the site. The proposal demolishes four designated contributing heritage properties to replace them with a new 17-storey building with hotel and restaurant uses. The heritage permit application reflects the incomplete application submitted through the associated Zoning By-law Amendment application (25 152956 STE 10 OZ). 

The proposed development site (the "Site") consists of four properties — 445, 447, 449, and 451 Adelaide Street West — identified as contributing residential properties within the in-effect King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District (KSHCD), designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). The Site is adjacent to the contributing residential property at 453 Adelaide Street West to the west, and to the north, adjacent to the St. Andrew's Playground — a significant historic public space within the KSHCD dating to the 1837 Hawkins Plan. Functionally, the properties at 447, 449, and 451 are comprised of the same building, including 453 Adelaide Street West, which is not incorporated into the Site.

Staff recommend refusal of the heritage permit application, as it does not demonstrate that the cultural heritage value and attributes of the King-Spadina HCD, as expressed through the contributing properties on, and adjacent to, the Site, will be conserved in a manner consistent with the heritage planning policy framework, including the KSHCD Plan. Nor does it demonstrate that the heritage impacts of the proposal would be appropriately mitigated.

The proposal would result in the permanent and irreversible loss of cultural heritage resources that form part of the KSHCD's heritage attributes, in direct conflict with the policies and objectives of the KSHCD Plan. The demolition of designated heritage properties, and negative impact on adjacent designated heritage properties, is not consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024), does not conform to the City of Toronto Official Plan, including the King-Spadina Secondary Plan and the Downtown Plan, and fails to meet or be consistent with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.