1. Speaker of Legislature Objects to Tower Proposal
Catherine Nasmith

The neighbours are mad. Over 300 people attended the public meeting on the proposed "twin towers" at 21 Avenue Road. The towers at 44 and 48 stories will be higher than anything around them.

But the most eloquent and powerful objection came from MPP Steve Peters, the Speaker of the Legislature, who attended along with several of his staff.  He expressed concern about the impacts that such a large development, directly north of the Legislature would have on the ceremonial approach to the Legislature up University Avenue, disrupting the silhouette of the building against the sky behind.

Preliminary work done by the City show that from Queen Street the tower will appear to be from two to three times as tall as the Legislature Buildings.

The Speaker is responsible for the Legislative Precinct. He has a residence in the Legislative Assembly building at Queen's Park, immediately above the Lieutenant Governor's Suite.

Peter Clewes, of Architect's Alliance the project architects, assured everyone there that the trees on University Avenue will obscure any view of the tower, but unfortunately his illustrations were too small for anyone in that huge hall to decide for themselves.

The existing policies in place set heights along Avenue Road to about the same  as the Hazelton Lanes project. Concessions were given for the existing hotel in the 1970's -- a mistake as the building is clearly visible above the Legislature, particularly at night.

The Speaker called for very careful study of the matter and for the City to put into place protection for these views. The City planners are also concerned with the potential impacts. Ottawa has had heights protection in place to guarantee the primacy of parliament on the Ottawa skyline for generations.

At the end of the meeting both local councillors Kyle Rae and Adam Vaughan spoke to the need for further work to deal with all of the issues raised.

This is not a place to let a mistake happen.

2. Sharon Temple Context Threatened by Development
Catherine Nasmith

More in next issue, but late breaking news from Sharon Temple Museum Society secretary, John Sewell is that the Temple Society is objecting to a proposed Official Plan amendment to allow development adjacent to the Sharon Temple grounds.

In my opinion the Sharon Temple is worthy of World Heritage Status, but any hope of that would be lost if the context is destroyed.

Watch this space.

3. Neptis: Shaping the Toronto Region, Past, Present, and Future

The Neptis Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a new study entitled Shaping the Toronto Region, Past, Present, and Future: An exploration of the potential effectiveness of changes to planning policies governing greenfield development in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, written by Zack Taylor with John van Nostrand.

Although urban growth management policies in the Toronto metropolitan region have become increasingly rigorous, there has been little research on the degree to which such prescriptions will achieve the desired result. The report looks at suburban growth in two ways. The first part contains a detailed analysis of existing areas in the Greater Toronto area, each about 400 hectares in size, and explores the relationships between density and housing types, mix of use, and green space. It also looks at the effect of density, different street layouts, and mix of use on the travel behaviour of residents.

The second part contains an analysis of 24 hypothetical development scenarios, and tests their effects on density measurements to determine how many people, jobs, and associated land uses a typical 400 hectare area of development could accommodate within the normal constraints on land use effective in the GTA.

The full study and Report Highlights are available on the NEPTIS website, as well as the spreadsheets used in the modelling exercise, so that they are available to other researchers and policy analysts.

INFORMATION | http://www.neptis.org/library/show.cfm?id=86&cat_id=11 <http://www.neptis.org/library/show.cfm?id=86&cat_id=11>

4. Globe and Mail: Preserving Don Mills
DAVE LEBLANC

The monsters are feasting in Don Mills

McMansions are slowly erasing the Don Mills that made history as one of Canada's first postwar planned communities

It's already too late for Norden Crescent.

Driving along its gentle asphalt arc, Jonathan Mousley and I are amazed at the number of "monster homes" that seem to have eaten the smaller, architect-designed Don Mills types. Do they taste better on this street?

Probably not, since the view driving down many streets in this once architecturally focused neighbourhood is getting increasingly blurry with all the teardowns.

"Some people are completely clueless about what fits and what doesn't and they don't frankly care," says Mr. Mousley, 40, vice-president of the 1,300-member ratepayers association, Don Mills Residents Inc. (DMRI). "They just see their own home; they don't see it as part of a neighbourhood, as part of the community, and that's unfortunate."

Unfortunate may be a gross understatement.

It's too late for Kirkdale Crescent, too; just behind the fences that line Leslie Street, north of Lawrence, the monsters crowd together, forming a beast with many backs. Banbury Road was devoured years ago. DMRI president Terry West says another street, Hurlingham Crescent, is "75 per cent gone."

Do the math: In five or 10 more years, these examples won't be the exceptions, they'll be the rule, and urban planner Macklin Hancock's dream of a garden city will be so trampled upon by these architectural Bigfoots, it'll be all but unrecognizable.

So what's so recognizable or special about Don Mills?

That's a question residents of this modernist mecca must ask themselves, and soon. If the answer is nothing, then nothing needs to be done, since construction of lot-hungry, faux-historic McMansions is completely within the legal rights of developers and individuals. But, if it's determined there is something special, and that something is based on original architecture, aesthetics and community, then there's only one weapon that works against the monsters, Mr. Mousley says.

A lifelong resident of Don Mills until five years ago, Mr. Mousley, with help from others, has just unleashed the city's newest heritage conservation district (HCD) in Riverdale, where he now resides with his wife and two children.

Click here for Link

5. Death of Author Patricia McHugh

Remembering Patricia McHugh

The staff of MAS lost a beloved colleague this week. Patricia “Pat” McHugh was chief librarian and archivist of the MAS Reference Library, incorporating the Greenacre Reference Resource. Although Pat volunteered her time to the MAS, she took her job as seriously as a full-time member of the staff, bringing to it tremendous creativity, energy and dedication. She was also ambitious. Three years ago, she initiated a project to catalog all MAS records of the past 30 years – a long-range initiative to preserve the scores of projects, achievements, and milestones of our organization’s history. She also managed a group of six volunteers who have been assisting with this effort.

Before focusing her energies on our library, Pat wrote the text for two major exhibitions at MAS: Steel, Stone and Backbone: New York Builds in Hard Times (1992), and The Triumph of Grand Central (1998). A stint as Public Information Officer at the Landmarks Preservation Commission followed her return to New York from Toronto, where she authored that city’s first architectural guidebook. ....

Click here for Link

6. Ottawa Citizen: A 1960s bungalow was an unusual flashpoint between heritage advocates and a developer
MARIA COOK

Home on Stanley Avenue in New Edinburgh is not a heritage building in itself, but has been saved because it is part of one of 16 designated heritage districts in the city.

Last December, when a developer announced plans to demolish a bungalow on Stanley Avenue in New Edinburgh and replace it with six townhouses, neighbours leapt into action. For eight months, they fought against a project they believed was too big for the neighbourhood, disruptive and out of character. Along the way, many came to believe that the system supposed to protect historic places is inadequate and that intensification trumps heritage. That's why the New Edinburgh Community Association is holding a public forum tonight. The collision between heritage and intensification; how neighbourhoods can organize; and how to influence city policies and practices will be the agenda.

Click here for Link

7. Waterloo Record: West Montrose may get historic protection
Terry Pender

The famous covered bridge over the rippling waters of the Grand River is at the heart of a proposed cultural heritage landscape. The designation would help protect the rural landscape and historic buildings around the West Montrose landmark known locally as "The Kissing Bridge." "If this isn't a candidate, then what else is? It is iconic," said Robert Shipley, head of the University of Waterloo Heritage Resources Centre.

Click here for Link

8. The Independent Online (Brighton): Arson charges laid in fire
Ray Yurkowski

After the fire marshal conducted its investigation on the blaze at the heritage home, the matter was turned over to Northumberland OPP.

Two men have been arrested in connection with a fire that ravaged a piece of Brighton history.Gerry Golloher, 44, owner of the house, at 2 Ontario St., and Joseph Kidman, 34, of Trent Hills, were charged with arson. Both are scheduled to appear at Brighton court on Nov. 5. It took 22 firefighters-14 from Brighton, eight from Cramahe - almost three hours to extinguish the blaze on the afternoon of Aug. 31 at the Georgian-style home.

Click here for Link

9. Hamilton Mountain News: Mountain Historical Society eyes former hospital buildings
Kevin Werner

The Hamilton Mountain Historical Society is asking the city's Heritage Committee to designate part of the former Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital as heritage sites. In a letter dated June 15, the society requested that the Gate House, Hickory House and Grove Hall be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The letter, which was presented to the Heritage Committee at its September meeting last week, stated it has "concerns" about the "endangered" status of the buildings because of "the current tenant's redevelopment plans." Pat Saunders, president of the Hamilton Mountain Heritage Society, said the society approved a motion to ask for the designation at its March meeting. "The vote wasn't unanimous,"she said. ";But a majority of (the members) wanted to designate them.'

Click here for Link

10. Windsor Star: City council meddling prompts heritage boss to resign
Dave Battagello,

The long-time chairman of the city's heritage committee has resigned, saying he's angry over how the Olde Sandwich Towne heritage study is being used as a weapon in council's fight to stop the Ambasador Bridge from building a twin span. "I have a grave concern about potential political influences tainting the outcome of this study which may jeopardize the heritage welfare of Sandwich," said Greg Heil in his resignation letter. "I'm also concerned about the likely vigourous litigious fallout to which I could find myself personally exposed if I participate." The committee did give approval to the study's final report this week - which included homes on the east side of Indian Road within the study's designated boundaries. The bridge company owns a majority of the homes on Indian and wants to rip them down to make way for its twin span.

Click here for Link

11. Windsor Star: SOS Eglise gets "A building for a buck"
Gary Rennie

Diocese abandons plan to demolish St. Joachim church

LAKESHORE -- Save Our Sanctuaries, the tenacious citizens' group that waged a seven-year battle to save historic St. Joachim Church from demolition, is celebrating a major victory that will be cheered by similar groups across Canada.

Mayor Tom Bain announced Monday the Roman Catholic Diocese of London has withdrawn its appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to overturn the town's historical designation for the 127-year-old-church. The diocese will also abandon its attempt to get a demolition permit, the mayor said.

Editor's Note:
Also, late breaking news is that Annociation in Pointe-aux-Roches is also included for another dollar. Representatives of SOS Eglise were at Heritage Canada conference, and needless to say overjoyed at this turn of events.

Click here for Link

12. TheRecord.com / Waterloo Record: Heritage sites can boost tourism, city told
Kevin Swayze

CAMBRIDGE - Treat the city's history as fuel for your economy, not a roadblock to the future, city council heard this week.Council unanimously endorsed a $100,000 heritage master plan Monday, but held off considering money to implement it until 2010."This is about opportunity," said Kathryn McGarry, a member of the city committee that helped create the master plan. She's also president of Heritage Cambridge.Celebrating old buildings and encouraging developers to reuse them makes the city more attractive to visitors with money to spend, she said.

Click here for Link

13. TheRecord.com / Waterloo Record: Cambridge leads in its heritage plan
Editorial

For too many years, the grand heritage buildings of Waterloo Region have been sitting targets for bulldozer drivers and wrecking ball operators. For too long, the area's proud past has been a disposable commodity. But fortunately that reckless attitude itself is becoming a relic of the past. The latest evidence for this trend came in Cambridge this week when city politicians voted to make their city, after Toronto and Niagara Falls, just the third in Ontario to adopt a heritage master plan. What this means is that Cambridge will, in the near future, do an inventory of its historic buildings. Then it can determine what in the entire community is most in need of preserving while planning how the city can grow and change yet conserve its past.

Click here for Link

14. St. Catherine's Standard: Councillor aims to preserve history
MARLENE BERGSMA

It's the ultimate form of recycling. Take a factory, a house or a church that no one wants anymore, and make it useful again. It's an idea that's endorsed by the province, makes attractive neighbourhoods and gives communities a sense of place. It saves resources and cuts down on the amount of junk going to the landfill. Problem is, St. Catharines isn't very good at it. Whole books have been written about the built heritage that St. Catharines has lost, St. Patrick's Coun. Heather Foss said.

Click here for Link

15. St. Catherine's Standard: Seniors' residence 'a real blessing' - 32-unit affordable housing project opens on Page Street
KARENA WALTER

All of the units in the 1895-era building have been rented out

Like many seniors struggling to make ends meet, widow Lorraine Aleo was faced with tough choices when her rent was due. "I was in a real mess. My pension was $1,000 a month and I was paying 700- something in rent plus hydro," she said Friday, adding that didn't include phone and cable bills. "I had nothing left to live on."

Click here for Link

16. Sault Star: Baptists work to keep crumbling 103-year-old church together
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

First pastor was a former slave

Centennial Baptist Church sits silently on a downtown street, its doors locked and window panes so clouded light has trouble getting in. The roof is sagging and some shingles are missing. The foundation has started to crack. A National Historic Landmark, the church was built by a black architect and was pastored by Rev. Elias Camp Morris, president from 1895 to 1922 of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., the largest historically African-American Baptist denomination in the country. Today, the original pews and the church pipe organ serve no heavenly purpose, and neither will get any use until the 103-year-old building itself can be restored and possibly turned into a cultural centre. Pigeons have replaced Protestants in the sanctuary. "It is on its last leg," says Henrietta Williams of Little Rock, president of the E. C. Morris Foundation and a former church member. "If we don't go on and move, it's going to continue to deteriorate. So we're at a crucial point." About $450,000 in private and state funds have been spent just to keep the building stable, and a restoration architect is working with the Morris Foundation. The federal government granted the project $300,000 in late 2006 toward renovating the exterior. But the grant was conditional upon the foundation getting matching funds. So far that has not happened.

Click here for Link

17. Children's museum in Philadelphia world's fair landmark
Associated Press / Canadian Press

PHILADELPHIA -; Memorial Hall, one of the jewels of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, had lost its lustre many years ago. Rain poured inside through the magnificent but neglected glass dome, soaking elaborate plasterwork and pooling on the marble floors where buckets failed to catch the water. The granite facade was damaged and covered with grime. The east gallery was turned into an indoor swimming pool and basketball courts were installed. A police station complete with jail cells took up residence. After decades of deterioration, the breathtaking Beaux Arts building is regaining its lustre in anticipation of a new role as home of the popular Please Touch Museum.

Click here for Link

18. GUELPH MERCURY: When Guelph's old city hall was new
Leanne Piper

One hundred and 52 years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1856, citizens of Guelph gathered at a vacant site at the corner of market square to lay the cornerstone of the present city hall.

Click here for Link

19. Owen Sound Times: St. Mary's to CRB Hearing
Denis Langlois, forwarded by Henry Simpson

St. Mary's designation hearing in the works Pre-hearing to find if objectors, city have common ground

A provincial hearing about the proposed historical designation of the 1891 section of St. Mary's High School is to begin within two
months.

Five objections have been filed against Owen Sound city council's move to protect the historic structure under the Ontario Heritage Act. The process now moves to an Ontario Conservation Review Board pre-hearing.

The pre-hearing determines if there is any common ground between the two sides. The city can withdraw its notice to designate during the
pre-hearing.

If consensus is not reached, the board decides whether to hold another pre-hearing or conduct a full-blown hearing.

The board will ultimately decide whether or not the building should be designated, based solely on its cultural heritage value or interest. The
board does not take into account the cost to repair the structure or demolition plans.

Council will then decide whether or not to adhere to the board's ruling.

If council decides to still proceed in designating the building, the objectors can
appeal the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board. ....




-

Click here for Link

20. HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD: Towers threaten Halifax Heritage
AMY PUGSLEY FRASER

Halifax heavies clash over heritage - Council meeting dominated by debate over office tower proposal

"This is facade-ism," said Peter Delefes of Heritage Canada. "It A public hearing for a new downtown office development atop a block of historic buildings brought the big guns to Halifax city hall Tuesday night. The list of the 35 people who spoke -another 30 will speak next Tuesday because council's three-hour time slot couldn't accommodate everyone - read like a who's who in the world of heritage versus development. Members of Nova Scotia Business Inc., the Greater Halifax Partnership, Downtown Halifax Business Commission and Fusion Halifax lined up on the pro side of the project while members of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, Heritage Canada Foundation and Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia were on the opposite side. The chairman of the Armour Group told council that his proposal, which would link existing buildings on the corner of Duke, Hollis and Lower Water streets with a six-storey glass tower above, is necessary to make the buildings viable.

Click here for Link

21. New York Magazine: The Glass Stampede
Justin Davidson

As this last great building boom winds down, our architecture critic asks: Does the new see-through city look better or worse than the one it replaced? A building-by-building survey.

Our city is molting. Bricks flake away. So do brittle fire escapes, terra-cotta encrustations, old paint, cracked stoops, faded awnings, sash windows, and stone laurels fashioned a century ago by Sicilian carvers. New York is shucking off its aging walk-ups, its small and mildewed structures, its drafty warehouses, cramped stores, and idle factories. In their place, the city is sprouting a hard, glistening new shell of glass and steel. Bright, seamless towers with fast elevators and provisional views spring up over a street-level layer of banks and drugstores. In some cities, a building retains the right to exist until it's proved irredeemable. Here, colossal towers are merely placeholders, temporary arrangements of future debris. New York lives by a philosophy of creative destruction. The only thing permanent about real estate is a measured patch of earth and the column of air above it. The rest is disposable. And the metamorphosis has sped up. In the past fifteen fat years, more than 76,000 new buildings have gone up, more than 44,000 were razed, another 83,000 were radically renovated—a rate of change that evokes those time-lapse nature films in which flowers spring up and wither in a matter of seconds. For more than a decade, we have awakened to jackhammers and threaded our way around orange plastic netting, calculating that, since our last haircut, workers have added six more stories to that high-rise down the block. Now that metamorphosis is slowing as the economy drags. Buildings are still going up, but the boom is winding down. Before the next one begins is a good time to ask, has this ferment improved New York or eaten away at the city's soul?