IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
31 SUSSEX AVENUE
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE
THE PROPERTY
TAKE NOTICE that Council for the
City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands, buildings
and structures thereon known municipally as 31 Sussex Avenue under Part IV,
Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as amended, as a
property of cultural heritage value or interest.
Reasons for Designation
Description
Located on the south side of Sussex Avenue
between Huron Street and Spadina Avenue, in the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood in
the northwest quadrant of the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, the
property at 31 Sussex Avenue contains a house-form building fashioned in the
Second Empire architectural style. With the neighbouring properties at 29 and
33 Sussex Avenue, it is part of a trio of originally identical properties that
were constructed in 1879. From the late-19th century, the houses have been associated
with the University of Toronto, as the homes of several generations of
professors and as student housing.
The property at 31 Sussex Avenue was included on
the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties (now known as the
Heritage Register) in 1973.
The property at 29 Sussex Avenue was listed on
the Heritage Register in November 2016 along with the property at 33 Sussex
Avenue.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property at 31 Sussex Avenue has design
value and is one of three properties which comprise a rare trio of house-form
buildings that are representative examples of the Second Empire style with
towers located within the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood. The style is evident in
the mansard roof, the tower, the polychromatic brick cladding and chaine
detailing in the tower, the decorative windows, the wood brackets and pierced
lintels. In its overall form and massing as well as in design elements, the
subject property also displays a high degree of craftsmanship.
The property has historical value as it
contributes to an understanding of the unique character of the late-19th
century Huron-Sussex neighbourhood within the University of Toronto St. George
campus, which is defined by its residential streetscapes and low-rise
collection of house-form buildings. Following the subdivision and sale of the
William Warren Baldwin and Robert Baldwin estates, the area was transformed
from market gardens to a residential enclave. The property at 31 Sussex Avenue,
along with the adjacent 29 and 33 Sussex Avenue properties, comprise the
earliest surviving houses on Sussex Avenue and survive today as a remnant of a
larger Victorian residential neighbourhood that spanned to the south and which
was redeveloped as part of the West Campus expansion by the University of
Toronto.
Contextually, the property at 31 Sussex Avenue
is important in defining and supporting the late-19th century residential scale
and character of the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood which is primarily comprised of
single-family houses of 2-3 stories, characterized by complex massing, varied
materials and richly detailed elements. The property is physically, visually
and historically linked to its surroundings, maintaining the integrity of the
historic neighbourhood streetscape while contributing to its variety as part of
a distinctive Second Empire style trio commonly referred to as the “Three
Sisters.”
Heritage Attributes
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 31 Sussex Avenue being one of three properties which
comprise a rare trio of house-form buildings that are representative examples
of the Second Empire style and displaying a high degree of
craftsmanship:
·
The materials
including polychromatic brick cladding, with red brick in the principal (north)
elevation and buff brick in the chaine detailing in the tower, and the
buff brick in the side (east and west) and rear (south) elevations
·
The wood lintels and
brackets and cast stone sills on the principal (north) elevation
·
The scale, form and
massing of the building which includes a two-storey rectangular building with a
two-storey tower
·
The mansard roof in
the principal (north) elevation
·
The principal (north)
and side (east and west) elevations of the tower
·
The decorative brick
detailing including the details known as chaine at the corners and sides
of the principal (north) and side (east and west) elevations of the tower and
the northwest corner of the house, and the brick details at the window
heads
·
The ornate decorative
detailing of the segmental arched openings for the windows in the principal
(north)
·
The decorative
detailing of the segmental arched opening for the windows in the side (east and
west) elevations
·
The paired brackets
at the eaves of the tower and the main roof
·
The front entrance
including the paneled door, decorative lintel and fanlight
Historical/Associative Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 31 Sussex Avenue yielding information that contributes to an
understanding of the unique character of the late-19th century Huron-Sussex
neighbourhood within the University of Toronto St. George Campus:
·
The materials
including polychromatic brick cladding, with red brick in the principal (north)
elevation and buff brick in the chaine detailing in the tower, and the
buff brick in the side (east and west) and rear (south) elevations
·
The wood lintels and
brackets and cast stone sills on the principal (north) elevation
·
The scale, form and
massing of the building which includes a two-storey rectangular building with a
two-storey tower
Contextual Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 31 Sussex Avenue defining, maintaining, and supporting the
character of the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood and being physically, functionally,
visually or historically linked to its surroundings:
·
The materials
including polychromatic brick cladding, with red brick in the principal (north)
elevation and buff brick in the chaine detailing in the tower, and the
buff brick in the side (east and west) and rear (south) elevations
·
The wood lintels and
brackets and cast stone sills on the principal (north) elevation
·
The scale, form and
massing of the building which includes a two-storey rectangular building with a
two-storey tower
·
The placement,
setback, and orientation on the south side of Sussex Avenue amongst a trio of
Second Empire house-form properties between Huron Street and Spadina Avenue
Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate
Notice of an objection to the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention:
Registrar Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor West,
100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty (30) days of February 7, 2025, which is March 10, 2025.
The notice of objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property
must set out the reason(s) for the objection and all relevant facts.
Getting Additional Information:
Further information in respect of the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.PH18.17.
Dated at the City of Toronto on February 7,
2025.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk