120 Bloor Street East and 1286 Bloor Street West - Inclusion on the Heritage Register

The subject property at 120 Bloor Street East contains a 7-storey Modern Classicism style building with a 2-storey mechanical penthouse, constructed for the Crown Life Insurance Company in 1954. A location map and current photograph of the heritage property are found in Attachment 1. The subject property at 1286 Bloor Street West is located on the north side of Bloor Street West between St. Clarens Avenue and Lansdowne Avenue in the Junction-Wallace Emerson neighbourhood. The building once contained a purpose-built movie theatre (Academy Theatre), designed by architects George Redmond and Neil Beggs constructed in 1913. A location map and current photograph of the heritage property are found in Attachment 2. The properties recommended for inclusion on the City's Heritage Register have been researched and evaluated by staff using the criteria prescribed in Ontario Regulation 9/06 and meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest and are believed to be of cultural heritage value or interest. On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) came into effect. Under the Act, as amended, a municipal heritage register may include properties that have not been designated but Council believes to be of "cultural heritage value or interest", and that meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining whether they are of cultural heritage value or interest. The Act now also limits listing to a period of two years. 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, properties must be listed on the heritage register prior to Part IV designation and before the occurrence of a prescribed event. 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. The listing of non-designated properties on the municipal heritage register under the Act also extends interim protection from demolition and provides an opportunity for City Council to determine whether the property warrants conservation through designation under the Act should a development or demolition application be submitted. Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan Heritage Policies. Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development applications that affect listed properties.

City of Toronto's Heritage Register in accordance with the Listing Statement (Reasons for Inclusion) attached as Attachment 2 to the report (August 29, 2025) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.