Item - 2026.PB39.5

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council not approve the alterations to the designated heritage property at 353-355 Sherbourne Street and 157 Carlton Street.

Jennifer Guerin, Heritage Planner, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 353-355 Sherbourne Street and 157 Carlton Street - Alterations to a Designated Heritage Property under Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act and Authority to Enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement.

This report recommends that City Council approve the alterations proposed for the property known as St. Luke's United Church at 353-355 Sherbourne Street and 157 Carlton Street, designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, in connection with an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application on the subject property, and that Council grant authority for the City to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement with the owner.

The subject property is located within the Cabbagetown Northwest Heritage Conservation District (HCD) and contains the St. Luke's United Church complex. The property is identified in the HCD Plan as a significant building that contributes to the heritage character of the primarily residential district.

The church, designed by Canadian architects Langley and Burke in 1887 as the Sherbourne Street Methodist Church has undergone a series of alterations and additions over the years. In 1912, a Sunday school, also designed by Langley and Burke, was added to the northeast corner. A narthex, designed by Toronto architects Wickson and Gregg, was added to the front of the church in 1929 and a gymnasium was constructed in 1962 in the south portion of the site to the design of Toronto architects Parrott, Tambling and Witmer.

In 2022 City Council approved alterations to this property under Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act in connection with an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment to allow for the construction of a 12-storey “U-shaped” mixed-use building that would contain affordable housing. This scheme included extensive changes to the subject property that included the removal of the narthex, the gymnasium and portions of the Sunday School Building.

The current application includes a similar conservation strategy to the previously approved scheme, however the development now proposes a 48-storey mixed-use building that no longer has a “U-shaped” form. It includes a 4-storey podium that is higher and stepped back further than the podium that was approved in 2022. The new building would contain approximately 440 residential dwelling units (including a minimum of 30% affordable dwelling units).