Item - 2022.PB34.1

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 462 Wellington Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 462 Wellington Street West (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3, to the report, April 13, 2022, from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. 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.

This reports recommends that the City of Toronto state its intention to designate the property at 462 Wellington Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The property at 462 Wellington Street West is situated on the north side of Wellington Street West between Portland Street and Spadina Avenue in the King-Spadina neighbourhood. It contains the Northrop & Lyman Co. Building, a five-storey factory/warehouse type building that was constructed in 1917 for Northrop & Lyman Co. Ltd, one of the largest dealers in patent medicines in the country, according to the designs of Leon S. Yolles and Chapman & McGiffenn, the latter who designed such notable buildings as Knox College at the University of Toronto. The property is fashioned in the Edwardian Classical style. The property was occupied by the company for the greater portion of the 20th century and now serves as an office building. The property continues to contribute to the distinctive heritage character of the King-Spadina neighbourhood, which is grounded in its early-mid-20th century transformation as the city's primary manufacturing hub and its fashion district identity. 

The property at 462 Wellington Street West was included on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register on November 21 and 23, 1973. At the time, the property was known as the Houlding Knitwear Building as Houlding Knitwear was a later occupant.[1] The property is located within the proposed King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District, adopted by City Council in 2017 and currently under appeal.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 462 Wellington Street West and determined that the property meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act under design and physical, historical and associative, and contextual values. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

In 2019, a Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted to the City that proposes to amend the zoning by-law to permit a 15-storey (50 metres) mixed-use building with office, retail and senior's retirement residential uses, including a total of 134 independent, assisted living and memory-care dwelling units and suites. The proposal includes a total of 23,053 square metres of gross floor area, of which 7,850 square metres is proposed for non-residential uses. The existing heritage building is situated on the west portion of the site and is currently occupied with office uses. The heritage building is proposed to be conserved and re-used for office purposes with retail uses at grade. A Privately-Owned and Publicly-Accessible Open Space (POPS) is proposed at the north end of the site. 

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 application currently under review was deemed complete prior to the new legislation coming into force.

A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) prepared by Philip Goldsmith Architects on December 14, 2021 has been reviewed and the proposed conservation strategy is currently to the satisfaction of Heritage Planning. Should City Council support the designation of the subject property the proposed alterations and conditions will require the approval of City Council and a separate report will be forthcoming.

[1] The Houlding Knitwear Company did not move into the property at 462 Wellington Street West until the latter half of the 20th century and were therefore not the original occupants. For the purpose of this report, the subject property will be referred to as the Northrop & Lyman Co. Building for whom the property was built.