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Toronto City Council · 2024-05-22 · 2024.CC18.17

The filed record

1420 Yonge Street - Demolition of Heritage Property - Refusal

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The decision

2024-05-22 · Toronto City Council · amended

As filed

City Council on May 22 and 23, 2024, adopted the following: 1. City Council approve the demolition of the designated building at 1420 Yonge Street (including entrance addresses at 1418, 1422, 1424, 1426 and 1428 Yonge Street) in accordance with Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as part of a reconstruction strategy for the site to allow for the construction of a 50-storey building at 1406-1428 Yonge Street, with such demolition and reconstruction being substantially in accordance with plans and drawings dated April 18, 2023, prepared by IBI Group and on file with the Acting Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, and the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1428 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd.

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Architects, dated February 9, 2023, and the Addendum to the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1420 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated December 19, 2023, and on file with the Acting Senior Manager, Heritage Planning. 2. City Council direct that its consent to the application to demolish the designated building 1420 Yonge Street, including entrance addresses at 1418, 1422, 1424, 1426 and 1428 Yonge Street, in accordance with Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act is also subject to the following conditions: a. that the related site specific Zoning By-law Amendment giving rise to the proposed demolition has been enacted by the City Council and have come into full force and effect in a form and with content acceptable to the City Council, as determined by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; b. prior to the introduction of the bills for such Zoning By-law Amendment to City Council, the owner shall provide a detailed Reconstruction Plan, prepared by a qualified heritage consultant that is substantially in accordance with the reconstruction strategy set out in the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1428 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated February 9, 2023, and the Addendum to the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1420 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated December 19, 2023, for the property at 1420 Yonge Street, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; c. that prior to the issuance of any permit for all or any part of the property at 1404-1428 Yonge Street, including a heritage permit or a building permit, but excluding interior alterations not impacting identified interior attributes, permits for repairs and maintenance and usual and minor works for the existing heritage building as are acceptable to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning the owner shall: 1. provide a Heritage Lighting Plan that describes how the exterior of the reconstructed building at 1420 Yonge Street will be sensitively illuminated to enhance its heritage character to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager Heritage Planning; 2. provide a detailed Landscape Plan for the subject property, satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; 3. provide an Interpretation Plan for the subject property, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; 4. submit a Signage Plan for the subject property to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; 5. provide building permit drawings, including notes and specifications for the reconstruction keyed to the approved Reconstruction Plan required in Part 2.b above, including a detailed description of materials and finishes, to be prepared by the project architect and a qualified heritage consultant to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; 6. provide a Letter of Credit, including provision for upwards indexing, in a form and amount and from a bank satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning to secure all the reconstruction and interpretation work included in the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1428 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated February 9, 2023 and the Addendum to the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1420 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated December 19, 2023; 7. provide full documentation of the existing heritage property at 1420 Yonge Street, including two (2) printed sets of archival quality 8 by 10 inch colour photographs with borders in a glossy or semi-gloss finish and one (1) digital set on a memory stick in tiff format and 600 dots per inch resolution keyed to a location map, elevations and measured drawings, and copies of all original drawings as may be available, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning; and d. that prior to the release of the Letter of Credit required in Part 2.c.6 above, the owner shall: 1. provide a letter of substantial completion prepared and signed by a qualified heritage consultant confirming that the required reconstruction work and the required interpretive work has been completed in accordance with the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1428 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated February 9, 2023, and the Addendum to the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1420 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects, dated December 19, 2023, and that an appropriate standard of reconstruction has been maintained, all to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

This report recommends that City Council refuse the application under S.34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act to demolish the designated heritage building at 1420 Yonge Street. The application is in conjunction with Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications that were approved by Council in 2022 for a 50-storey building at 1404-1420 Yonge Street. The subject property includes three designated buildings. Council granted approval in 2022 and 2023 to demolish two of the designated buildings (1404 and 1406 Yonge Street) to facilitate this development.

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The demolition of these buildings was considered acceptable from a heritage perspective within a framework that considered several city and area priorities for this site, including the conservation and restoration of the front of the heritage building at 1420 Yonge Street. The owner is now seeking approval to demolish the remaining designated building at 1420 Yonge Street. Demolition is being sought because having a façade retention frame that is needed to conserve the heritage building would mean the cycle tracks would be downgraded to a bike lane outside the subject property for a temporary period of three years. The bike lane would also need to be 1.2m wide. A bike lane width of 1.2m, although narrower than Ontario Traffic Manual Book 18 suggested minimum, is still allowable over very short distances in constrained areas or in complex circumstances. The Provincial Policy Statement, the Official Plan, and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada state that heritage resources are to be conserved and any new construction is to be designed to conserve the cultural heritage values, attributes, and character of that property, and to mitigate visual and physical impact on it. The proposals seek approval to demolish a designated heritage building. This does not comply with these policies and as such staff are recommending that this application be refused.

Staff recommended

The Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning recommends that: 1. City Council refuse the demolition of the designated heritage property at 1420 Yonge Street under Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act as outlined in the Addendum to the Heritage Impact Assessment for 1404-1420 Yonge Street, prepared by Goldsmith Borgal and Company Ltd. Architects, dated December 19, 2023 and filed with the Acting Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

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2. If the owner appeals City Council's decision to refuse the issuance of a demolition permit under Section 34(1)2 of the Ontario Heritage Act for the heritage property at 1420 Yonge Street, City Council authorize the City Solicitor and the necessary City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing in opposition to the appeal.

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