Item - 2021.PB25.2

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends to the Scarborough Community Council that:  

1. City Council include the property at 19 Parkcrest Drive on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register in accordance with the Listing Statement (Reasons for Inclusion), attached as Attachment 3 to the report (May 25, 2021) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. City Council state its intention to designate the property at under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 19 Parkcrest Drive (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report, June 9, 2021, from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

3. If there are no objections to the designation in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the necessary bill in Council.

4. If there are objections in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council direct the City Clerk to refer the proposed designation to the Conservation Review Board.

5. If the designation is referred to the Conservation Review Board, City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate staff to attend any hearing held by the Conservation Review Board in support of Council's decision to designate the property.

Marybeth McTeague, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on Inclusion on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register - 19 Parkcrest Drive.

This report recommends that City Council include the property at 19 Parkcrest Drive on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register for its cultural heritage value.

The subject property is situated on the east side of Parkcrest Drive, south and west of Kingston Road and Markham Road in the Scarborough Village neighbourhood.  The property contains a one-and-a-half storey Craftsman Bungalow style house-form building constructed by Frederick J. Cornell c.1916-1917 which is distinguished by its rustic cladding of pebbles collected from the Scarborough Bluffs shoreline. 

The Frederick J. Cornell house is one of the earliest houses built in the Park Hill subdivision following the 1905-6 construction of the radial street car line on the Kingston Road which resulted in the historical transformation of southern Scarborough from a 19th century settlement of farms with a cluster villages to a series of planned communities along the lakefront and the Scarborough Bluffs.  First occupied by descendants of the earliest Scarborough settler families, the Cornell's and Glendinning's, from 1970-75, the property was owned by Stephen Lewis, the Canadian politician, ambassador to the United Nations and broadcaster, and Michele Landsberg, best-selling author, journalist and activist, both of whom have been recognized with honours through the Order of Canada. 

A nomination to evaluate the property was submitted by the Scarborough Community Preservation Panel in 2012. On April 25, 2021, the Panel contacted Heritage Planning requesting evaluation of the property as a priority as it had been recently sold.

Following research and evaluation, it has been determined that the property at 19 Parkcrest Drive meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, which the City of Toronto also applies when evaluating properties for its Heritage Register.

Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan Heritage Policies.

The purpose of this report is to recommend that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 19 Parkcrest Drive (Frederick J. Cornell house) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.  The report is supplementary to the report, May 25, 2021, from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning recommending the inclusion of this property on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register. Upon further review and evaluation, staff have determined that the property meets the criteria for designation. 

The subject property is situated on the east side of Parkcrest Drive, south and west of Kingston Road and Markham Road in the Scarborough Village neighbourhood.  The property contains the Frederick J. Cornell house, a one-and-a-half storey Craftsman Bungalow style, house-form building constructed c.1916-1917 which is distinguished by its rustic cladding of pebbles collected from the Scarborough Bluffs shoreline. 

The Frederick J. Cornell house is one of the earliest houses built in the Park Hill subdivision following the 1905-6 construction of the radial, street-car line on the Kingston Road which resulted in the historical transformation of southern Scarborough from a 19th-century settlement of farms with a cluster villages to a series of planned communities along the lakefront and the Scarborough Bluffs.  First occupied by descendants of the earliest Scarborough settler families, the Cornell's and Glendinning's, from 1970-75, the property was owned by Stephen Lewis, CC, the Canadian politician, ambassador to the United Nations and broadcaster, and his wife, Michele Landsberg, OC, best-selling author, journalist and activist. Both Mr. Lewis and Ms. Landsberg have been recognized with honours through the Order of Canada. 

A nomination to evaluate the property was submitted by the Scarborough Community Preservation Panel in 2012. On April 25, 2021, the Panel contacted Heritage Planning requesting evaluation of the property as a priority as it had been recently sold.

Heritage Planning staff have undertaken further research and evaluation and determined that the heritage property at 19 Parkcrest Drive meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under all three categories of design, associative and contextual values. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

Designation enables City Council to review proposed alterations for the property, enforce heritage property standards and maintenance, and refuse demolition.