New protections are now in place for an historic building near downtown, though the owner sought to halt the heritage designation due to a number of financial and other concerns.
During its meeting on Tuesday, city council re-affirmed the designation of 22 James St. E. under the Ontario Heritage Act – something it initially approved in November, spurring an objection from the property owner.
Council’s affirmation came without discussion, following a staff report in response to the owner’s concerns.
“While designation provides council the ability to refuse demolition, it does not prevent or inhibit adaptive reuse of existing buildings into new developments,” reads the staff response. “This designation would not eliminate the property owner’s ability to add additional dwelling units.”
The matter may be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
The owner’s objection notice doesn’t suggest the property. isn’t worthy of heritage designation. Rather, it argued the designation should be called off because of concern about potential negative impacts to the property’s value and future development potential, as well as renovation restrictions and increased maintenance costs.
In the eyes of city heritage staff, the site meets five of nine designation criteria set by the province; only two are required for designation.
Bought in 1912, 22 James St. E. saw the creation of a transformer substation for the then-planned railway line between Toronto and Berlin (now Kitchener). When that plan was scaled back due to the Second World War, it was converted into a rail car barn. Sold in 1952, the building was converted into the apartments seen today.
"The property is a restrained and functional form of Beaux-Arts, namely characterized by the stylistic elements on the pilasters, the monumental windows, a highly visible central entrance, and the architectural symmetry," explains the staff report. "Beaux-Arts originated in the 1890s as a synthesis of Classical Greek and Roman styles with Italian and French Renaissance styles."
Heritage attributes identified by city staff include its two-storey nature with a rectangular footprint, hipped roof, symmetrical facade, exterior brick walls and sheet metal cornice surrounding the whole building, along with all original window and door openings.