Item - 2022.PB33.3

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1.  City Council state its intention to designate the properties at 1390, 1394, 1398, 1402, 1404 and 1406 Yonge Street (including entrance addresses at 1392, 1396, 1396A, 1398A, 1402A, 1404A and 1408 Yonge Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 1390-1406 Yonge Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report (March 20, 2022) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2.  City Council state its intention to designate the property at 1420 Yonge Street (including entrance addresses at 1418, 1422, 1424, 1426 and 1428 Yonge Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 1420 Yonge Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 4 to the report (March 20, 2022) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

3.  If there are no objections to the designation, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the Bill in Council designating the property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Adrian Gamble, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 1390-1406 Yonge Street and 1420 Yonge Street - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the properties at 1390-1406 Yonge Street and 1420 Yonge Street, under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under the following criteria: design, associative, and contextual value (1390-1406 Yonge Street); and design, associative, and contextual value (1420 Yonge Street).

Located on the west side of Yonge Street just south of St. Clair Avenue within the Deer Park neighbourhood, the properties at 1390-1406 Yonge Street contain six, 3-storey main street commercial row buildings constructed together in 1932 – originally as a collection of eleven which once spanned south to 1378 Yonge Street. The row was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and maintains several of its original details, the most prominent being its terracotta roof and yellow- and rug-brick facade.

To the immediate north of 1390-1406 Yonge Street, and separated by a driveway entry into St. Michael's Cemetery, the adjacent 1420 Yonge Street contains a complete block of four, 2-storey main street commercial row buildings constructed together in 1932. Commissioned and continuously owned by the Cira family until the property was sold in 2021, 1420 Yonge Street has been a presence within the Deer Park neighbourhood for nearly a century. The block was designed by architect Benjamin Swartz (1899-1961),

an architect of note within the Jewish community who designed several landmarks including the Kiever Synagogue (1923) in Kensington Market. Similar to a pair of 4-storey apartment blocks Swartz built for the Cira family on the south side of

St. Clair Avenue West (at Robina Avenue) in 1928, the commercial row at 1420 Yonge Street features a mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements.

The properties at 1390-1406 Yonge Street and 1420 Yonge Street contribute architecturally, historically, and contextually to the eclectic mix of early 20th-century main street commercial properties that characterize the historic midtown Toronto streetscape of Yonge Street.

Heritage Planning Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the properties at 1390-1406 Yonge Street and 1420 Yonge Street and determined that they meet Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under the following criteria: design, associative, and contextual value (1390-1406 Yonge Street); and design, associative, and contextual value (1420 Yonge Street). As such, the above properties represent a significant built heritage resource.

On July 16, 2021, an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment - 1406 Yonge Street was submitted to the City to permit a 40-storey mixed-use building with commercial at grade containing 406 dwellings. On October 7, 2021 a Site Plan Control application for a 39-storey mixed-use building having a non-residential gross floor area of 157.9 square metres, and a residential gross floor area of 28,287 square meters containing 406 residential dwellings came under review. The properties at 1406-1428 Yonge Street are included in the application. The proposal involves the removal of the northernmost, end-unit (1406) of the 3-storey mixed-use main street commercial row at 1390-1406 Yonge Street and demolition of the 2-storey mixed-use main street commercial row at 1420 Yonge Street.

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. The Bill 108 Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act 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 Ontario  Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

The City Clerk issued a complete application notice on September 24, 2021. On December 16, 2021, the applicant provided a waiver to City Planning extending the

90 day timeline until April 30, 2022. As such, the Notice of Intention to Designate report must be considered by City Council at its meeting on April 6/7, 2022.  As this is an urgent matter, the Chief Planner and Executive Director of City Planning Division will provide a staff report directly to City Council immediately following the Toronto Preservation Board meeting.

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. 

A HIA was provided with the development application. Staff have reviewed the HIA and will provide further comments to the applicant pending the outcome of Council’s decision.