Item - 2022.PB37.2

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1.  City Council state its intention to designate the property at 625 Yonge Street (including active entrances at 621, 627, 629, 631, 633, 635, and 637 Yonge Street, and 1, 3, and 5 Isabella Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 625 Yonge Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3 to the report (July 14, 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 properties under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Tatum Taylor, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 625 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 property at 625 Yonge Street (including active entrances at 621, 627, 629, 631, 633, 635, and 637 Yonge Street, and 1, 3, and 5 Isabella Street) under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

The property at 625 Yonge Street comprises two adjoining buildings with respective entrance addresses of 625-629 Yonge Street and 631-637 Yonge Street/1-5 Isabella Street. City Council included the subject property on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register in 2016. It is also a contributing property within the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District (HCD), which was enacted by City Council in 2016 and is currently under appeal.

Architecturally and historically interrelated, the two buildings at 625 Yonge Street constitute a representative example of Edwardian Classicist-style commercial main street buildings. Part of Yonge Street's historic commercial streetscape since the early 20th century, the property maintained a long association with the automotive industry, beginning with its original use for Thomas Crow's carriage business. It then housed the Dominion Automobile Company's showroom, the second store location of Canadian Tire, and other automobile companies. From the late 1970s through the late 1990s, the property housed a series of clubs that served the LGBTQ2S+ community, notably including the Domino Club and Komrads.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 625 Yonge Street 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, on the basis of its design/physical, historical/associative, and contextual values. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

In November 2021, the City received an application for an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment to facilitate the redevelopment of the site for a 57-storey mixed-use building. The proposed development would include the demolition of the subject property at 625 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 for the Official Plan and Zoning

By-law Amendment on December 14, 2021. The property owner provided a waiver with a deadline of September 30, 2022 to extend the 90-day timeline so that this Notice of Intention to Designate report must be considered by City Council before that date.

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. An HIA for 619-637 Yonge Street and 7-9 Isabella Street, including the subject property at 625 Yonge Street, was prepared by Archaeological Research Associates Ltd. and submitted to the City in November 2021.

Designation also enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.