IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
53 STRACHAN AVENUE
(ENTRANCE ADDRESSES 715, 801,
805, 805A AND
805B WELLINGTON STREET WEST)
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 53 Strachan Avenue (entrance
addresses 715, 801, 805, 805A and 805B Wellington Street West) 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
The property at 53 Strachan Avenue is worthy of
designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its
cultural heritage value, and meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the provincial
criteria prescribed for municipal designation, under the categories of
design/physical, historical/associative, and contextual value.
Description
The subject property at 53 Strachan Avenue is
located at the southern edge of the West Queen West neighbourhood on the
southeast corner of Wellington Street West and Strachan Avenue, directly north
of the Metrolinx West Subdivision rail corridor. The property contains Strachan
House, a large scale, brick, 3-storey factory building constructed in 1888 and
enlarged between 1899 and 1901; the Maple Green Building, a 2-storey brick
stable constructed in 1901; and the South Stanley Extension Park.
The subject property at 53 Strachan Avenue was
identified as having potential heritage value as part of a heritage survey
conducted through the South Niagara Planning Strategy which was adopted by
Council in August 2014 and was included on the City of Toronto's Heritage
Register on December 17, 2024.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
Strachan House has design and physical value as
a representative example of a late-19th century factory building. The
property's large scale, organized into 21 bays along Wellington Street West and
5 bays along Strachan Avenue, heavy rectangular massing, and thick
masonry walls featuring brick piers and segmental arched openings, are
characteristic of this typology. Constructed in 1888, it is one of the earliest
examples of this typology in the area. Along with the Wellington Destructor at
677 Wellington Street West and the Part IV designated National Casket Company
Factories at 89-109 Niagara Street to the east, Strachan House is one of the
few remaining large scale industrial buildings that once lined the railway
corridor between Bathurst Street and Dufferin Street.
Strachan House has historical value for its
direct association with the development of the area between Bathurst Street and
Dufferin Street along the railway corridors into one of Toronto's most
significant industrial areas from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries. This is
reflected in its large scale, heavy 3-storey massing, and large
scale painted signage reflecting its use as the John B. Smith & Sons
planing mill and offices from 1888 until 1967.
The property has historical value as it yields
information about the land and its relationship to Fort York along the western
side of Garrison Creek, a portion of the Ordinance Reserve, and the conveyance
of the property to the City of Toronto in 1858.
Strachan House also has historical value as it
yields information about the industrial development of the surrounding area.
Along with the Wellington Destructor at 677 Wellington Street West and the Part
IV designated National Casket Company Factories at 89-109 Niagara Street to the
east, and Liberty Village to the south, the property formed part of one of
Toronto's most significant industrial areas.
Strachan House has further value for its direct
association with Homes First (formerly Homes First Society), which has been
providing supportive housing to vulnerable people in Toronto since 1983. After
leasing the former John B. Smith & Sons planing mill in 1989, Homes First
converted the building into Strachan House in 1996. Representing an innovative
approach to the creation of supportive housing pioneered in its earlier
StreetCity project, the design of Strachan House involved the collaboration and
direct participation of individuals experiencing homelessness.
Strachan House also has value for its
association with Levitt Goodman Architects (now LGA Architectural Partners).
Founded in 1989 by Janna Levitt and Dean Goodman, LGA Architectural Partners is
widely recognized for its community-minded approach to design. This is
evidenced in Strachan House's adaptive reuse, which was designed in
collaboration with residents, incorporating interior features such as a town
square and main street. Along with the Governor General’s Award for Excellence
in Architecture for Strachan House (1999), the practice has also been awarded
the RAIC Award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture for 25 Leonard
Avenue (2007), a social housing building; and the OAA Design Excellence Awards
for the Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre Branch (2016) and Eva's
Phoenix (2017), which provides long-term shelter, education and skills training
to youth aged 16-24.
The property has contextual value because it is
physically, functionally and historically linked to its surroundings. Strachan
House was constructed between 1888 and 1901 as a planing mill for the John B.
Smith & Sons where its location alongside the rail corridor provided access
to the company's sawmill and timber rights in northern Ontario.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the design and physical value of Strachan House:
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the structure with its rectangular plan, three-storey height and
flat roof.
·
The brick and beam
construction featuring heavy timber floor and roof framing.
·
The structures
situation at the southeast corner of Wellington Street West and Strachan
Avenue.
·
The principal (north
and west) elevations, organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings
with brick voussoirs framed by full height brick piers terminating at a stepped
brick parapet with brick corbelling.
·
The projecting
three-sided bay windows the first storey on the westernmost bay of the north
elevation and northernmost bay of the west elevation.
·
The east elevation,
organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings with brick voussoirs
framed by full height brick piers.
·
The north elevation's
painted signs for “blinds”, “boxes”, “flooring” and other goods between the
first and second storeys.
·
The south elevation's
painted signs, including “John B. Smith & Sons” lettering in both black and
white, that extend across the entire elevation between the second and third
storeys.
Historical and Associative
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the historical and associative value of Strachan House:
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the structure with its rectangular plan, three-storey height and
flat roof.
·
The brick and beam
construction featuring heavy timber floor and roof framing.
·
The structures
situation at the southeast corner of Wellington Street West and Strachan
Avenue.
·
The principal (north
and west) elevations, organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings
with brick voussoirs framed by full height brick piers terminating at a stepped
brick parapet with brick corbelling.
·
The projecting
three-sided bay windows the first storey on the westernmost bay of the north
elevation and northernmost bay of the west elevation.
·
The east elevation,
organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings with brick voussoirs
framed by full height brick piers.
·
The north elevation's
painted signs for “blinds”, “boxes”, “flooring” and other goods between the
first and second storeys.
·
The south elevation's
painted signs, including “John B. Smith & Sons” lettering in both black and
white, that extend across the entire elevation between the second and third
storeys.
·
The interior 'Town
Square' with its full height interior atrium with staircase, balconies and 1888
brick smokestack with iron doors.
Contextual
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the contextual value of Strachan House:
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the structure with its rectangular plan, three-storey height and
flat roof.
·
The brick and beam
construction featuring heavy timber floor and roof framing.
·
The structures
situation at the southeast corner of Wellington Street West and Strachan
Avenue.
·
The principal (north
and west) elevations, organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings
with brick voussoirs framed by full height brick piers terminating at a stepped
brick parapet with brick corbelling.
·
The projecting
three-sided bay windows the first storey on the westernmost bay of the north
elevation and northernmost bay of the west elevation.
·
The east elevation,
organized into bays featuring segmental arch openings with brick voussoirs
framed by full height brick piers.
·
The north elevation's
painted signs for “blinds”, “boxes”, “flooring” and other goods between the
first and second storeys.
·
The south elevation's
painted signs, including “John B. Smith & Sons” lettering in both black and
white, that extend across the entire elevation between the second and third
storeys.
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 March 31, 2026, which is April 30, 2026. 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=2026.PH28.11.
Dated at the City of Toronto on March 31, 2026.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk