Item - 2026.PB41.2

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council refuse the application to alter the designated heritage property/properties at 699 and 707 Yonge Street under Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act to allow for the construction of a 64-storey (217 metres, including mechanical penthouse) mixed-use building, in accordance with the plans and drawings dated September 15, 2022 prepared by DIALOG on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and the Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by ERA Architects Inc. dated September 15, 2022 and on file with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

2. If the owner appeals City Council’s decision to refuse the application for alterations to the heritage property at 699 and 707 Yonge Street under Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act, Council authorize the City Solicitor and the necessary City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing in opposition to the appeal.

Kristen Flood, Senior Heritage Planner, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 699 and 707 Yonge Street - Alterations to a Designated Heritage Property under Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act - Refusal.

This report recommends that City Council refuse alterations to the property at 699 and 707 Yonge Street under Part IV, Section 33 of the Ontario Heritage Act, in connection with the proposed redevelopment of the site.

The property at 699 and 707 Yonge Street contains a 3-storey brick row building constructed in 1887. The Brass Rail Tavern has operated at 699 Yonge Street since 1948. Both halves of the commercial row at 699 and 707 Yonge Street have been over-clad, obscuring the original brick walls underneath.

In conjunction with an Official Plan and Zoning Amendment application, the redevelopment proposes a 64-storey plus mechanical penthouse mixed-use building, which retains the façade of the heritage building and incorporates it into the three-storey base of the tower, with a stepback depth of 3 metres from the heritage façade on the Yonge Street (west) elevation.

The proposed 3-metre tower stepback from Yonge Street above the heritage building and the proposed treatment of the front elevation at the ground floor do not adequately conserve the property's cultural heritage values and attributes. Therefore, the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment does not conform with the policies of the Official Plan and does not conserve the cultural heritage values and attributes of the property at 699 and 707 Yonge Street.