2111 Yonge Street - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act

Originally constructed for Charles Murphy to house his business, Charles Murphy & Sons Hardware, the building was constructed in two phases between 1906-1912 and 1924-1940, while the store operated at this location until 1940 in the Davisville neighbourhood. The brick clad building is topped by a decorative pressed metal cornice and parapet and has a modified two-storey commercial storefront with decorative pressed metal cornice which extends across the entirety of the Yonge Street (principal) elevation and wraps around the west corner of the Hillsdale Avenue East (north) elevation. The property at 2111 Yonge Street is in the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan Area and the Midtown in Focus planning study area. City Council included the subject property at 2111 Yonge Street on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register on October 2, 2017. Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 2111 Yonge Street and determined that the property meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under the categories of design/physical and contextual values. In September 2023, the City received Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications for the properties at 2079-2111 Yonge Street, 9-11, 21, 31 Hillsdale Avenue East and 12-18 Manor Road East. The applications propose a 29-storey mixed-use building. All of the properties within the development site are proposed to be demolished, except for the building at 2111 Yonge Street, which will be integrated into the base of the development. A Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by ERA Architects Inc, dated November 8, 2023, was submitted to the City on November 10, 2023. In June 2019, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 (Bill 108) received Royal Assent. Schedule 11 of this Act included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act. The Bill 108 Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to Planning Act applications that would trigger a Prescribed Event. Section 29(1.2) of the Ontario Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application. A Prescribed Event is a point of time when the application for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application has been deemed complete and the City Clerk provides notice of that complete application to the public in accordance with the Planning Act. A complete application notice has not been issued yet. If the City Clerk's notice is issued on November 24, 2023, Council must make a decision at its February 6-8, 2024 meeting to provide sufficient time for the City Clerk to issue a notice of intention to designate prior to February 16, 2024. On November 28, 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) received Royal Assent. Schedule 6 of the More Homes Built Faster Act which amended the Ontario Heritage Act and came into effect on January 1, 2023. As of January 1, 2023, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application that would trigger a Prescribed Event, the property must be listed in the heritage register prior to the Prescribed Event occurring to designate a property. This requirement does not apply to a Prescribed Event that has occurred prior to January 1, 2023. A property may be designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, if it meets two or more of the nine criteria. Designation enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.

2. If there are no objections to the designation, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the Bill in Council designating the property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.