A west end tower with recognized heritage features can be torn down to make way for an expanded affordable housing project, city council agreed during a special meeting on Tuesday.
In a motion approved 7-6, council abandoned a previous decision to seek designation of 50-60 Fife Rd. under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) and removed the property from the municipal registry of heritage sites.
This, explained Krista Walkey, the city’s general manager of planning and building services, essentially opens the way for demolition permits to be applied for.
“This does feel like heritage versus housing and I’m fine with that because I want the housing,” commented Mayor Cam Guthrie, who denies the property has any heritage value despite findings to the contrary from city heritage planning staff and consultants working for the proponent, UpBuilding! Non-Profit Homes. “I want the housing and I think we need to get going on the housing very, very quickly.”
In favour of abandoning the heritage designation effort were councillors Christine Billings, Rodrigo Goller, Mark MacKinnon, Dan Gibson, Dominique O’Rourke and Bob Bell, as well as Guthrie.
The plan, as previously explained by UpBuilding’s Howard Kennedy, is to demolish a three-storey tower and attached building which provides five affordable housing units in order to construct new buildings with 18 affordable housing units.
The tower and attached building used to be home for city mayor and county councillor, F.J. Chadwick (elected mayor in 1877), but has undergone a number of expansions and alterations through the years.
“Nobody wants to go into this place. They’re really a lousy place to live,” Kennedy told council of the building’s current condition, which has involved foundation leaks as well as the presence of rodents and mould.
Approved 11-2 this past July, council started the ball rolling on having “heritage attributes of the tower portion” of the building “retained and that partial demolition of the balance of the building be approved.”
A report to council at the time specifies the heritage attributes as the tower’s conical flat roof, slate shingles and wooden corbels. Staff found the site meets two of three criteria for designation under the OHA; only one is needed.
UpBuilding filed a notice of objection to that effort in September, setting up the requirement for council to confirm its intent to designate the site or axe that plan by Dec. 6, which led to Tuesday’s special council meeting being called.
Preserving the specified heritage features could add significantly to the cost of the project, Kennedy told council, though he acknowledged renovations to the building that would allow the heritage features to remain in place have not been costed out.
“We’re not making a decision here with full information,” commented Coun. Leanne Caron ahead of the vote, adding the need for affordable housing units had “clouded the discussion.”
“It would have been nice to have both heritage and housing,” she later noted. “I’m disappointed with the outcome.”
The heritage features may be commemorated with a plaque, photos and other display in the main lobby of the site, Kennedy said.
Walkey noted there’s no way to make that a condition of demolition, but said staff will work with UpBuilding on that idea.
