Item - 2021.PB29.4

The Toronto Preservation Board deferred consideration of the Item until its meeting on April 5, 2022.

This report recommends that City Council to state its intention to designate the four properties at 148 and 156-158 Avenue Road and 224 Davenport Road under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for their cultural heritage value.

The subject properties are situated at the northwest corner of Avenue Road and Davenport Road. 148 and 156-158 Avenue Road contain three-storey, late Victorian-era, red brick residential and commercial buildings constructed together in 1891-1892 and representing the earliest period in the historical built evolution of Avenue Road.

The adjacent property at 224 Davenport Road contains the former head office of Canada's largest bakery, the Canada Bread Company.  Developed at the crossroads of two of the City's earliest annexed neighbourhoods, the Canada Bread Building, along with the house-form buildings at 156-158 Avenue Road are valued as a collection of historically associated residential and commercial properties with historic, physical and visual links to their surroundings since the late-19th and early 20th century.

Heritage Planning staff have undertaken research and evaluation and determined that the four subject properties meet 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 properties are significant built heritage resources.

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 (OHA). The Bill 108 Amendments to the OHA came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to certain Planning Act applications. Section 29(1.2) of the OHA now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the OHA to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

On July 5, 2021 an Official Plan and Zoning By-Law Amendment application (21 178720 STE 11 OZ) was submitted to the City to permit a 35-storey mixed-use building, atop a 3-storey podium on the site including the properties at 148-158 Avenue Road and 220-234 Davenport Road. The existing building facade at 224 Davenport Road is proposed to be maintained. Demolition is proposed for the existing buildings at 148, 152 and 156-158 Avenue Road and 224-234 Davenport Road. A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) was submitted as part of this application and it is currently being reviewed by staff. The impact of the proposed development proposal would have on the heritage values and attributes identified within a Notice of Intention to Designate will be considered by staff as part of the review of the development application.

The development application currently under review was deemed complete following the new legislation coming into force. This Notice of Intention to Designate report must be considered by City Council before February 10, 2022.

A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is required for all development applications that affect listed and designated properties and will be considered when determining how a heritage property is to be conserved. Designation also enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.