Heritage board directs city solicitor on Liberty Street tower appeal at Ontario tribunal

development

Heritage board directs city solicitor on Liberty Street tower appeal at Ontario tribunal

The Preservation Board approved staff recommendations to guide the City Solicitor's defence of heritage denials in a nine-day Ontario Land Tribunal hearing starting November 30, 2026. The hearing will decide whether a 55-storey mixed-use tower can proceed atop heritage-listed buildings at 54-68 Fraser and 147-151 Liberty after City Council refused demolition permits.

adoptedToronto Preservation Board · Thu, Jul 23Court rulingClosed doors

From the floor

“Would anybody like to hold this item?”An accountability officer

“I have a staff report with recommendations before me. Would anybody like to move the recommendations in the report?”An accountability officer

Also in this item

• Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on 147 Liberty Street / 54-68 Fraser mixed-use tower begins November 30, 2026 and runs nine days, concluding before the next Council meeting. City's heritage defence will be shaped by today's confidential directions.

The journey

Thu, Jul 23 · Toronto Preservation Board · adopted

Decision

The board voted unanimously (9-0) to adopt staff recommendations directing the City Solicitor's position and strategy for the OLT hearing. The specific recommendations were not stated on the open record due to confidential attachments; the vote proceeded on the staff report without debate or public disclosure of the directions.

On video

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Why is this story here?

Big deal at city hallThe OLT hearing will decide whether a 55-storey development proceeds atop designated heritage properties after City Council refused demolition permits. The outcome constrains what the City can enforce on heritage protection at this site and sets precedent for future contested heritage appeals. The hearing is imminent and determinative, making this direction-setting decision hard to reverse once litigation is underway.Touches a narrow groupHeritage preservation and development policy matter broadly, but this item's effect is confined to a single site and is expressed entirely as legal strategy. No resident's week changes based on staff receiving confidential directions; the actual decision (whether the tower is built and heritage attributes demolished) happens at the OLT hearing, not here. The City Solicitor's playbook is not a public effect.

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Official title: 54 to 66 Fraser Avenue and 68 Fraser Avenue (147 Liberty Street) - Alterations to a Designated Heritage Property, Demolition of Heritage Attributes and the Demolition of a Building under Sections 33, 34(1)(1) and 34(1)(2) of the Ontario Heritage Act - Request for Directions · meeting video