1. After you Alphonse -- Who Protects Ontario's Heritage?
Catherine Nasmith

Brantford buildings

The reluctance of Ontario ministers to intervene in municipal decision making is quickly leading to yet two more heritage disasters in Ontario.

Two current struggles for the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO), the hope of stopping the demolition of 41 main street heritage buildings in Brantford, and the impact of a proposed high rise building on views of the silhouette of the Legislative Assembly in Toronto, are both caught in the same catch 22.

Even though both the Ontario Heritage Act and the Planning Act provide significant powers for ministers to step in when there is a provincial interest, in both of the above cases, provincial ministers have been hesitant to intervene either before or after a “duly elected” municipal council has made a decision. If the province will never step on municipal toes, then what is the point of the Provincial Policy Statement, which is supposed to control planning in Ontario? Can it be enforced in the face of such politesse?

In the case of Brantford, where 41 main street buildings on South Colborne Street, some pre-confederation, are to be demolished by the local council, the province‘s hesitation to get involved is akin to standing back and letting someone jump off a bridge. “You’re over 21- Go for it”. Wouldn’t any responsible bystander ask for a “time out” to be sure the person had considered all options? And wouldn’t the likely outcome of considering all options be a more positive alternative.

In the case of the views of the Legislative Assembly Councillor Kyle Rae persuaded Council to ignore staff advice and support a proposal from Menkes that offered less damage to the views than previous iterations. Councillor Rae argued that if the province feels views should be protected then the province should step forward. He was right that the City was in a weak position to ask for more without provincial support.

The ACO has written to Jim Bradley, Minister Of Municipal Affairs and Housing requesting declaration of a provincial interest.

The Legislative Assembly, a separate provincial entity from the Ministries, is requesting party status at the OMB. If party status is granted it will only give the right to make the case, nowhere near as binding as a declaration of a provincial interest by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The lack of response from the Minister of MMAH suggests the same hesitancy to interfere in a local decision is at work in the Queen’s Park views case, even though the provincial interest is plain to see. (no pun intended) We will know by February 19, the last day for the province to declare a provincial interest. In the meantime, there is lots of nail biting going on at the ACO office.

The current hesitancy is a relatively recent situation. Less than five years ago, the newly minted Minister of Culture, Caroline Di Cocco, made a brilliant move that saved the Lister Block in Hamilton. At that time, Hamilton City Council was about to agree to the demolition and reconstruction of the Lister Block, over the cries of local activists as well as the ACO. Things were boiling over, with lines everywhere in the sand. The minister called the mayor on the eve of the vote, reminded him that she had a newly minted power to stop the demolition if Council decided to permit it, and expressed her interest in finding a way to avoid the loss. Later, significant monies were put on the table to help. That funding kept people talking through several further twists and turns.

Today the Lister Block is being restored. Without actually putting the proverbial provincial fist down, Di Cocco succeeded in averting disaster. She also issued a stop order to save the John Moore house in Sparta during the election campaign.

Alas, shortly after that terrific early start as minister, Caroline Di Cocco lost her seat (over mismanaging of the local hospital construction by another minister). Her successor, Aileen Carroll did not have Di Cocco’s chutzpah. Carroll’s hands off approach, first seen in the abysmal solution to the John Moore house, and later in her failure to protect Alma College, seems to have become the party line among senior Ministry of Culture staff. When asked last week to intervene in Brantford, staff were hesitant to even put the ACO emergency request on the desk of the new minister, Michael Chan, without significant additional research. Interestingly, the only time Carroll ever issued a stop order was for 7 Austin Terrace, following a request from the Mayor of Toronto.

We don’t know what to expect from new minister Michael Chan, but he might want to give Caroline Di Cocco a call for some friendly advice.
 

Editor's Note:
I am Past President of ACO and co-ordinating ACO's efforts to protect the Queen's Park viewshed. President Lloyd Alter has been working closely with Brantford citizens to try to save their historic downtown.

2. 21 Avenue Road Project: Toronto Vote for and Against
Catherine Nasmith

Outraged citizen and lawyer, Michael Vaughan, took the trouble to search the voting record on proposal for 21 Avenue Road. This is the controversial project that will be seen far above the roof of the Legislature from just about anywhere on University Avenue, even within the "post card" view from north of College Street if the OMB gives permission for its construction. In supporting the project, 20-12 Toronto City Council voted against planning staff advice.

For citizens groups it is next to impossible to manage to see all 44 councillors between a vote at Community Council and Council. The project that was approved was unveiled after all deputations to Community, making it impossible for any community comment on the project.

Since then, the OMB has held a second pre-hearing. With ground shifting all around them, the ACO and the Speaker of the Legislature both requested to have their status at the hearing upgraded to party from participant, which would allow them to present expert witnesses and cross examine. At the previous pre-hearing City lawyers were preparing a case in opposition, but had not received final direction. It was also expected that there would be representatives from the province there in opposition.

Because it is by no means certain that party status will be granted to either,  evidence in favour of protecting the views of Queen's Park may never be presented, even though it was a very large part of the reason City staff recommended refusal of the project.

Notwithstanding that the Speaker wrote to the Mayor and Council asking them to refuse the project, one of the arguments in favour of the project was that the province had not declared an interest, and many councillors did not feel it was appropriate to defend the views if the province didn't care....

The Vote, Yes was in favour of the project, No against the project and in favour of protecting the heritage of Queen's Park.

YES, Ashton, Carroll, Cho, Davis, De Baermaeker, Di Giorgio, Grimes, Hall, Kelly, Lee, McConnell, Mihevc, Moeser, Ootes, Palacio, Pantalone, Perks, Perruzza, Rae, Shiner

NO, Ainslie, Bussin, Del Grande, Ford, Holyday, Jenkins, LIndsay Luby, Milczyn, Moscoe, Nunziata, Parker, Vaughan

Let your councillor know what you think of their vote on this matter.

3. Call for Abstracts: Heritage Canada Foundation

REVITALIZE! Economic Renewal. Quality of Life. Heritage Buildings.

September 30 - October 2, 2010
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland

Cultivating collaborative solutions for a vibrant future.
The 2010 Heritage Canada Foundation conference will examine how capitalizing on heritage buildings can play a leading role in revitalizing Canadian communities large and small, urban and rural. The focus will be on collaborative and innovative strategies to set heritage-centred renewal in motion and ensure its long-term sustainability.

The conference organizers are looking for cutting-edge approaches from across Canada and abroad: what works, what doesn't, and what are the promising new frontiers? What lessons can we draw from the experiences of communities with long histories of heritage management as well as those grappling with the potential of their heritage assets?

We look forward to generating debate and incorporating a broad range of perspectives: from heritage conservation and architecture, to social innovation and entrepreneurship, community greening and economic development, and arts and tourism.

Proposals for presentations and field sessions are invited on the following themes:

.    Community Engagement: expanding the support base for heritage building renewal; understanding and imaginatively leveraging a community's built and social assets; establishing inclusive visions and youth involvement; maintaining long-term momentum.

.    Economics and Marketing: innovative techniques; cooperative ventures; attracting investment and social enterprise.

.    Design and Adaptive Use: innovative adaptation - urban complexes, public buildings, industrial sites, and former places of worship; contemporary design and intensification in historic contexts.

.    Social and Environmental Sustainability: affordable housing; social justice and the built environment; district energy; greening older buildings.

Abstract submission:

This conference is designed to foster exchange and collaboration through panels consisting of a session leader and presenters. Each 20 minute presentation will use research results and case studies that offer principles and real solutions that others can apply in their communities. Please include with your submission:
.    Title and type of presentation proposed and 250-word (approx) summary.
.    Author's/authors' name(s), contact information and brief biographical statement(s).

Deadline for submissions: February 26, 2010
To submit your proposal, or for more information: conference@heritagecanada.org
http://www.heritagecanada.org/eng/conference.html Tel: 613-237-1066; Fax: 613-237-5987

Chosen presenters and session leaders will receive complimentary conference registration for the day they present.

4. HCF Accepting Nominations to the 2010 Top Ten Endangered Places List
Heritage Canada Foundation: Press Release

The Worst, and probably gone by the time nominations close

Submit your nominations to Canada’s TOP TEN Endangered Places List
by March 31, 2010
 
Ottawa, ON February 11, 2010 – The Heritage Canada Foundation is accepting nominations to Canada’s Top Ten Endangered Places List. The list is released annually to bring national attention to sites at risk due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development and weak legislation. It has become a powerful tool in the fight to make landmarks, not landfill.
 
HCF uses three primary criteria to determine the 10 final sites for inclusion on the list:

Significance of the site
Urgency of the threat
Community support for its preservation

If you know a site that should be included on our list, tell us about it today.
 
Click here for the 2010 Top Ten Endangered Places List Form.
 
Nominations should be received by Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The 2010 list will be announced in May.
 
Feel free to contact us if you’re considering a nomination or have any questions.
By email: heritagecanada@heritagecanada.org or phone: (613) 237-1066.
 
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5. Preventing Demolition by Neglect - A St.Thomas Discussion
Nancy Mayberry

After much discussion on how to prevent demolition by neglect, the general consensus at a recent St. Thomas discussion was that it well behooves municipal heritage committees to submit complaints when they believe there is evidence of neglect.

The Elgin St. Thomas chapter of the ACO had an extremely interesting panel of speakers followed by a lively discussion on how to prevent demolition by neglect.

The meeting was well attended by not only residents of St. Thomas and Elgin County, but from several areas outside the county including London and Ridgetown. City and municipal council members and members of municipal heritage committees also provided input.

A power point presentation designed by architect and former ACO president Catherine Nasmith and narrated by chapter treasurer Laurence Grant began the session.

Joseph Muller, cultural heritage planner for the City of Hamilton, pointed out similar mixed results with its heritage designations. The Tivoli Theatre was preserved, interior only, but the Lyric (now Century) Theatre has had an order to be demolished because of serious structural damage caused through neglect. There are presently two staffers responsible for all designation applications and permissions. The permissions take so long to administer that there have been no new designations in 2009. The city is now working on a Built Heritage Emergency Plan for situations such as the Lyric/Century where extraordinary action is needed if a building is clearly at risk due to neglect.

The last speaker was Wade Woznuk, a city of St. Thomas building inspector who explained the procedures and responsibilities of his office. Mr, Woznuk is relatively new to his position in St. Thomas and was not the building inspector at the time of the Alma College debacle. His office does more 900 inspections a year relating to health and safety concerns, as well as building maintenance. The process, as in Hamilton, is complaint driven. Mr.Woznuk admitted to a certain latitude when dealing with heritage buildings, such as the rules for railings heights on porches.

The discussion that followed the presentation was wide ranging. The situation of the remaining chapel of Alma College with the hole in the roof is "complicated" by the fact the owner has an OMB ruling to allow its demolition with the rebuilding of the façade of Alma College. Mr. Muller clarified the distinction between heritage easements on properties, and heritage designations. The former achieves the same ends as designations under the Ontario Heritage Act, but without the stigma sometimes attached to the latter.

Citizen complaints have limited effect insofar as the general public cannot climb on roofs, or even inspect interiors without the consent of the owner. Monetary incentives, such as tax breaks for owners of heritage properties to maintain their building, is also only a partial answer, since too many times the land beneath the property becomes more valuable than the building on it.

To this interested observer, there must be a change in the complaint based system of inspections. To be effective, heritage bylaws should specify regular inspections that are not dependent on complaints. Failure to comply with orders to repair within a reasonable amount of time should result in fines that are spelled out in the bylaws.

On the other hand, owners of heritage properties should have better access to grants or low interest loans, including education on their availability, and greater assistance in the writing of grants to fund expensive maintenance problems.

Unfortunately, none of these solutions have the complete answer, especially when heritage properties fall into the hands of those with little to no interest in history or heritage, but whose only interest is in the monetary value of their acquisition.
.
 

Editor's Note:
St. Thomas has more reason than most to find solutions to this problem. The Alma College loss was a disaster for them, and the province. Many main streets buildings are empty.

6. Building Storeys 2010: Extended showing until April 25th
Heritage Toronto

Due to popular demand, we have extended our annual photo exhibition to April 25th.

A collaborative effort by Heritage Toronto and members of Toronto's Shadow Collective and DK Photo Group, Building Storeys is a visual documentation and anecdotal exhibit of our city's historical industrial buildings and sites. Building Storeys changes the perception of industrial heritage in our city, by revealing the hidden beauty of these sites.

Building Storeys is open daily from 12-5pm at the Gladstone Hotel, 3rd and 4th floors. Admission is free.

Featured in this years free exhibit are 12 of Torontos notable  and in some cases closed to the public  industrial buildings and sites:

The John Street Roundhouse
R.L. Hearn Generating Station
R.L. Clark Water Treatment Plant
Commissioners Street Transfer Station
Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant/Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant Pumping Stations
CNR Eastern Lines Locomotive Shop, 85 Laird Drive
R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant
The Pease Foundry, 211 Laird Drive
Toronto Island Water Filtration Plant
North Toronto Wastewater Treatment Plant
Canada Linseed Oil Mills
Wellington Destructor

For more information, please visit:
www.heritagetoronto.org

7. New build assumptions are old school, says EH
From RIBA e bulletin, forwarded by Robert Allsopp

English Heritage stepped forward this week to lead a campaign against the unnecessary demolition of historic school buildings as the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme rolls across the country. New guidance on the refurbishment option, prepared with government support, has been published alongside a model brief designed to encourage local authorities to assess the case for retaining school buildings of architectural merit.

The agency backed up its campaign with survey results showing that two thirds of adults think that refurbishment and extension of old schools is a more environmentally friendly alternative to demolition and new build.

There were also reports that English Heritage will announce the listing of a further 16 schools within days to highlight their importance, though none of the schools are understood to be under threat.

The new guidance document, Refurbishing Historic School Buildings (see the English Heritage website), demonstrates the flexibility and re-modelled potential of traditional schools through case studies, and claims the support of the Department of Children, Schools and Families. It is hoped that local authorities will use the accompanying model brief to identify which buildings should be retained and handled with sensitivity before the BSF or planning process gets underway.

BSF delivery agency Partnerships for Schools lent its support to the new guidance, pointing out that the Lambeth's award-winning Elm Court School, one of the featured case studies, is a BSF project.

PfS has been accused of allowing the BSF programme to be skewed in favour of new builds, whether or not they are the most efficient solution. While the majority of first wave BSF projects were indeed new build, it is a charge PfS is now keen to challenge. Chief Executive Tim Byles said this week that over 50% of schools projects in the pipeline or currently planned involve refurbishment.

Architects involved with BSF have been suggesting for some months that any post-election government will ensure that the pendulum swings further towards the refurbishment option anyway as capital spending budgets come under increasing pressure.

8. Reprint: What Governs Conservation?
Ho-Yin Lee and Lynne DiStefano

What Governs Conservation?

Architectural Conservation Programme
Hong Kong University

A civil society is governed not only by penal laws that compel good behaviour but also by non-legal binding but nevertheless commonly recognized social ideals that oblige the same. In conservation work, while there may be legislated rules, there are also sets of internationally recognized ideals that can and should be voluntarily followed. These are charters, conventions and principles, which, together with legislation, form the basis of good governance in conservation.

While legislation can provide the controls through which consistency and quality in conservation can be maintained, charters (in the generic sense, i.e., including conventions and principles) set the moral ground upon which the good and the bad in conservation can be distinguished. In essence, legislation and charters provide the solid basis for setting policies, standards and guidelines, and thereby help in achieving excellence in conservation.

Without the order imposed by legislation and charters, conservation can be highly subjective, open to interpretation, and, basically, free for all. Operating in such disorder, any project can assume for publicity purposes the label of “conservation” when it is in fact a rebuilding of the demolished, a reconstruction of the past or an invention of the non-existent. What is conservation when there is neither rule of law nor common moral basis, such that it does not matter whether the old should be distinguished from the new, and the fake from the genuine?

Editor's Note:
Reprinted with permission of the authors. This was put in front of the Heritage Conservation Planning Course at U Vic last week by instructor Hal Kalman, partly in response to my question about how much do all the heritage charters govern when heritage matters are before planning tribunals or other planning processes such as the OMB in Ontario. It is a very useful argument to put forward in a legal forum, such as the Ontario Municipal Board, when explaining the background of a heritage professional's advice, or in determining if a given heritage professional is operating within the communally accepted professional standards of Heritage Conservation. In Canada the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals is becoming the recognized accreditation body.

9. Heritage Canada Call to Action: Save Brantford
Heritage Canada Press Release

Main Street to disappear

City of Brantford “Urban Renewal” to Demolish 41 Heritage Buildings with Federal Funding Support
 
Ottawa – February 12, 2010 – The City of Brantford, Ontario is determined to demolish 41 heritage buildings on Colborne Street—most dating from 1850-1870—in a move reminiscent of a 1960s-style “urban renewal” mass clearance project. With anticipated federal funding of $1.38 million, hoardings have been erected and demolition is set to begin in two weeks. The City has no firm plans to redevelop the site once the three downtown blocks of historic commercial buildings are bulldozed.
 
The Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF) has called upon Brantford Mayor and Council to suspend their demolition plans in order to conduct structural and heritage assessments, and to consult expertise in heritage-centred revitalization strategies.
 
Heritage advocates are urged to tell the Minister responsible for the Southern Ontario Development Program (SODP)—a federal agency charged with revitalizing communities by building on their assets and strengths—that federal funds must not be used to support a project that will send 41 viable heritage buildings to landfill. Click here to tell Minister Gary Goodyear to reallocate the funding for the rehabilitation of some or all of these historic structures.
 
Colborne Street represents a rare example of a mid-19th-century Ontario commercial district. Most of the threatened buildings are of heavy-timber and masonry construction, a building system with proven durability even in cases of prolonged neglect. There are many Canadian examples where historic properties were used as catalysts for downtown renewal: CentreBeam Place in Saint John; Red River College’s Princess Street Campus in Winnipeg; and the Meduse complex in Quebec City.
 
Read more news or join Facebook site at: http://www.heritagecanada.org/eng/main.html:
Carolyn Quinn, Director of Communications at cquinn@heritagecanada.org
Tel.: (613) 237-1066 ext 229; Cell (613) 797-7206
 
To be removed from the mailing list, send us an email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject box.

Editor's Note:
This situation is just appalling. The provincial Ministers won't interfere for fear of ruffling municipal political feathers.....it is like finding someone about to jump off a bridge and instead of asking them if they can help, just checking to see if they are over 21 and then saying "go for it".

10. Toronto Star: 40 Main Street Buildings to be demolished in Brantford
Denise Balkisoon

In Brantford: Heritage treasures or hopeless hovels?

Six councillors say Confederation-era buildings too decrepit to save, but the other five want to preserve history on a three-block stretch downtown

In Brantford: Heritage treasures or hopeless hovels?

BRANTFORD–When is a building a vital piece of history, and when is it just old? It's an urban debate now touching down in Brantford.

At issue is a three-block stretch of south Colborne St., a short walk south of City Hall, in Brantford's small downtown. Some of the buildings here are over 170 years old, while others have stately brick Victorian facades. Most of them are crumbling.

Six of the 11 members of Brantford's city council want to see the strip demolished this week, in favour of a slick facility for a growing university population. To them, the buildings are just old.

The other 45 per cent of the city's municipal government want the structures incorporated into a new complex. For them, these are Confederation-era pieces of history that belong in Brantford's future.

Editor's Note:
Ten or 15 years ago Toronto offered then derelict former Court House Building to any owner who would take over the building for an adaptive reuse and keep its heritage features. That was hugely successful, the first owners ran the Court House restaurant, now it is the wildly successful home of Terroni's.

Click here for Link

11. Toronto Star: Brantford demolition
Christopher Hume

Brantford will live to regret the tragedy of edifice wrecks

Given its troubled relationship with the past, Brantford's faith in the future is touching.

Even after nearly destroying its downtown through a series of nasty self-inflicted wounds, the city still believes it can build itself up by tearing itself down.

In a final act of civic mutilation, Brantford will demolish a row of 40 heritage buildings on Colborne St. in its historic core. After waiting 30 years, work crews will arrive sometime this week to destroy almost four blocks of 19th-century brick structures.

Though many of the postwar urban renewal interventions inflicted on this city of 96,000 have been abject failures, hope springs eternal in the Telephone City. One would have thought that with their record, Brantfordians might have wanted to try a different approach.

And to be fair, the city has supported – at times reluctantly – the creation of Wilfrid Laurier University's Brantford satellite. The school has refurbished (or rebuilt) 18 heritage buildings. Student enrolment is 2,600 and growing.

Just blocks away from the campus, on Colborne St., hoardings and traffic signs are going up in anticipation of the demolition of an intact row of 19th-century commercial buildings. In their own sad way, they symbolize the plight of small towns across Ontario.

Click here for Link

12. Hamilton Spectator: Brantford's choice: Wreckage or revitalization
Christopher Hume

Brantford council could demolish 41 heritage buildings lining one side of Colborne Street as early as this week.

To those in favour of tearing them down, the 41 heritage buildings on Colborne St. in Brantford are decaying relics of the past.

To those who would save them, they represent the future.

But if Brantford council gets its way, the structures will be destroyed anyway, perhaps as soon as this week.

The decision to demolish flies in the face of everything this community of 90,000 has gone through in the last decade. That's when Wilfrid Laurier University came to town and started buying and renovating old buildings throughout Brantford's much mutilated downtown. The estimated economic impact is somewhere between $20 million and $27 million annually.

Just as important, Brantford looks less like an elegant ghost town than it has in some time. Though the core remains empty by, say, Toronto standards, life can now be found along these newly refurbished arteries.

Click here for Link

13. Kitchener Waterloo Record: Book Review New Book on Brantford Renewal
Bob Gordon

How Brantford turned itself around: A University comes downtown book cover

Reinventing Brantford: A University Comes Downtown

In the late 19-century, Brantford was a larger city than Hamilton. It was the world’s leading community for the manufacturing of farm equipment and renowned worldwide for the stoves, bicycles and other goods produced by local firms.

A century later, the manufacturing sector had almost vanished and Brantford was best known for having the “worst downtown in Canada.”

Attempts at recovery only seemed to worsen the situation. The construction of a $24-million telecommunications museum failed miserably: No funds had been allocated for exhibits as it was presumed that telecommunication giants such as Nortel and Bell would donate them — a fantasy that an economic recession shattered.

(Dundurn Press, 304 pages, $30 softcover)

Editor's Note:
Students downtown....on foot....on bicycles......just the people to support new businesses on a revived Colborne Street if given the chance.....

Click here for Link

14. Brampton Guardian: Is a firebug targeting Brampton's heritage homes?
PAM DOUGLAS

There are 31 heritage buildings currently sitting vacant across the city. Owned mostly by developers, the buildings are in limbo while plans are prepared for their re-use and re-integration into future development.

The James Clark House was gutted by fire Saturday night. It was designated as a significant heritage building under the Ontario Heritage Act.

An upset Brampton politician was calling for a full and thorough investigation Sunday morning after yet another heritage home— this one designated for preservation under the Ontario Heritage Act— was destroyed by fire overnight.

“It’s a beautiful building,” Regional Councillor Paul Palleschi said on his way to the scene at 1930 Wanless Drive just east of Mississauga Road. “It’s one of the nicest ones we had in Brampton. It could have been beautifully preserved.”

“I’m really upset with this one,” he said.

It’s the third vacant heritage home destroyed by suspicious fires in recent weeks, and Palleschi said he is now worried there may be a firebug on the loose.

“All of a sudden all of these old homes are going up,” he said. “We’ve gotta do a full-scale investigation on this. I have no proof, but I think there might be a firebug out there trying to burn down all these old houses. I want it fully investigated so we can catch (the person).”

Brampton firefighters were called to the James Clark House at 11:12 p.m. Saturday. The boards securing the home had been pried off, and the house was fully engulfed.

All that remains now are the outer brick walls and, as sturdy as they are, the building will have to be torn down to make it safe for firefighters to search the rubble and ensure there were no casualties, according to firefighters.

Coincidentally, the house had been spared just two weeks ago (Jan. 14) when the developer-owners of the property were burning brush, with a permit, and the brush fire got out of hand.
The fire spread, but was doused by Brampton firefighters after a two-hour battle, but before it reached the house. And all were relieved the old building was saved.

“It was just a gorgeous house. It’s a real shame,” said area resident Bruce Reed who also went to the scene Sunday to survey the damage. “It’s unbelievable. After the Fraser House was destroyed we were talking that we had to do something to protect this house.”

The house’s heritage value had been recognized almost 30 years ago, when it was designated in 1983 under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Click here for Link

15. Brock Press: Fort George Restoration

An extensive restoration on Fort George started about four weeks ago.

Fort George is Niagara-on-the-Lake's most celebrated site and memorial for the War of 1812 and the now 80-year-old replica of the historic site is receiving $2.75 million renovations.

Six cannon platforms and sections of its decaying wooden fence are being replaced to secure the outer walls of the fort and stabilize the crumbling building.
More renovations will take place inside the building, where workers will replace some sections of the roof and walls that are falling apart.

The replica of Fort George was built in the 1930s and was conceptualized to look like the military hub established by the British to defend the border of Upper Canada against the Americans in 1802.

It was also designed to control and regulate supplies coming down the Niagara River.

Click here for Link

16. Centretown News (Multimedia): Historic St. Brigid's Catholic Church takes on a new life
Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco

In 2007, St. Brigid's Catholic Church was put up for sale. The building was a historic centre for Ottawa's Irish-Canadian community.

Click here for Link

17. CHATHAM DAILY NEWS: Heritage building gets new life
BOB BOUGHNER

The spotlight will shine Saturday night on a 105-year-old building in historic downtown Chatham.

Click here for Link

18. Daily Commercial News: Steel provides structure for historic hotel revival in Port Hope, Ontario
PETER KENTER

72 double-glazed wood frame windows designed to replicate the originals, thanks in part to a $40,000 grant by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

MICHAEL J. WALLACE/IMAGELINK.CA. The Hotel Walton, was a crumbling tavern before Ron Christopher decided to convert it into a boutique hotel in 2006.

The Hotel Walton is a firmly established feature of downtown Port Hope. Unfortunately the building itself, constructed circa 1870, wasn’t so firmly established.

Enter Ron Christopher, the force behind saving the hotel and reviving its structural integrity with a network of steel.

“In Port Hope, the historical buildings are finely tuned and preserved, and right on one of the four corners of downtown is this titanic and beautiful building, closed to business with the roof caving in,” says Christopher.

Operating as a tavern until 2005, the 22,000-square foot building sat neglected until Christopher purchased the property in 2006 with the intent of converting the building into a boutique hotel with a large food service component.

Click here for Link

19. Guelph Mercury: Maintaining old buildings is one of the greenest things we can do
Susan Ratcliffe

We've treated old buildings like we once treated plastic shopping bags, we haven't reused them, and when we've finished with them, we've tossed them out

Sustainability is the new watchword in our community — economic sustainability, social sustainability and, of course, environmental sustainability.

We pride ourselves on carrying cloth shopping bags, on buying milk in returnable glass bottles, in lugging our wine bottles to the beer store. City council boasts of our new city hall achieving the LEED silver standard, of our community energy plan, and of the planned organic waste treatment plant.

These individual and community efforts at sustainability are, indeed, commendable steps to dealing with climate change issues. But are they enough to maximize sustainability in Guelph?

“We’ve treated old buildings like we once treated plastic shopping bags—we haven’t reused them, and when we’ve finished with them, we’ve tossed them out,” says Diane Keaton. Besides being a well-known actor, Keaton is a former board member of the Los Angeles Conservancy and is currently a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Consider also this statement by Carl Elefante: “The greenest building is the one already built.”

Click here for Link

20. Artscape: Givens Shaw Street School Rebirth
Artscape Press Release

Artscape to Repurpose Historic Shaw Street School into 70,000 Square Foot Multi-Dimensional Centre

TORONTO, ON -- Artscape is thrilled to announce it has come to an agreement with Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC, as agent for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), to purchase the century-old inner city Shaw Street School and repurpose it as Artscape Shaw Street Centre, a centre for arts and community programming with a focus on youth. Artscape has signed a letter of intent with TLC, with an expected closing date of late Summer 2010. In early February 2010, Artscape will be issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest(REOI) for artists and non-profit arts and community organizations to identify their interest in purchase or rental opportunities at Artscape Shaw Street Centre.

The Shaw Street School was declared surplus to the educational needs of the Toronto District School Board in 2001. Located on Shaw Street north of Queen Street West, the building is in the heart of an area long associated with Toronto’s creative community and home to many artists.

Click here for Link

21. blogTO: ghost ship in Toronto's Portlands
Jonathan Castellino

Ghost ship in Toronto's Portlands

Click here for Link

22. National Post: Howard Cohen of Context
Peter Kuitebrouwer

Pioneer to the core

National Post Photo

Howard Cohen was building downtown before anyone else

There are those who have suggested, only half in jest, that Howard Cohen has never been north of Bloor Street. This is not true. Mr. Cohen, 66, now lives with his partner, architect and real-estate consultant Ron Soskolne, in a townhouse on Brunswick Street in the Annex. Context Developments, Mr. Cohen's development company, built the townhouse as part of a condominium project in the historic Loretto Abbey Day School. Thus, their home is exactly one block north of Bloor. So there.

Still, Mr. Cohen's tastes do tend to skew south (the couple's vacation home is in Miami). Here at home, The Loretto is the only project that Context, the company Mr. Cohen founded in 1997, has built north of Bloor. (He is trying to build townhouses in Leaside; we will get to that later). Mr. Cohen is a relentlessly downtown guy; he was doing buildings downtown before anybody else, and expresses surprise to see all the suburban developers flooding into downtown to put up condo towers, and disdain for some of the architecture.

"In the early 1990s, we were pioneers," Mr. Cohen said the other day when we met for lunch at The Senator. "We were pioneers at 20 Niagara St. Now every developer in the GTA is doing projects in the downtown."

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2559068&p=1#ixzz0fXmbgUvs
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Editor's Note:
Included towards the end of the piece are comments by ACO President Lloyd Alter on Howard Cohen's plans to demolish and redevelop the Talbot Apartments Site.

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23. newsdurhamregion.com: Former Oshawa underwear factory new home to university students
Melissa Mancini

The Alger Press building will house UOIT classrooms in September

RON PIETRONIRO / METROLAND. UOIT will be renovating and moving into the old Alger Press building at the corner of Charles and Athol streets

OSHAWA -- Its walls have seen headlines printed, underwear manufactured and fabrics for General Motors produced.

But now the Alger Press building, located across the street from the General Motors Centre, will be home to University of Ontario Institute of Technology classrooms.

For 17 years, the Alger Press building has sat vacant on the corner of Athol and Charles streets. In the past, it was home to a variety of industries, including a newspaper printing press, a company that made undergarments and the Oriental Textile Company which produced fabrics for GM until 1934.

On Monday, UOIT announced it has taken out a 30-year lease on the property, which is slated to be ready for occupancy in September. The building will feature classrooms, study space, student services, research space, a small cafe and 106 parking stalls.

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24. newsdurhamregion.com: Greenwood library in Pickering turning 150 this year
Kristen Calis

MP Mark Holland hopes for federal heritage designation

picnet.org. The Greenwood Branch opened June 1, 1980 in the refurbished S.S.# 9 (Greenwood) School House.

PICKERING -- The Greenwood library is about to experience a big birthday and Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland knows the perfect present.

"For the 150th anniversary of the building, it would be a great opportunity to get the house federally designated and recognized," he said in an interview.

During the Jan. 30 opening of the Durham West Arts Centre, currently based in the Greenwood library, Mr. Holland announced that he'll be initiating the process to designate the building as a national historic site of Canada. The designation proposal will be based on the building's age, architectural and local historical significance and its connections with prominent Canadians.

The Greenwood library, historically known as the Greenwood schoolhouse, is a great example of a Victorian-style one-room schoolhouse, Mr. Holland said.

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25. Niagara Advance: Town, school board at odds
Matt Day

Council votes to proceed with Laura Secord heritage designation despite school board objections.

Laura Secord students will attend St. Davids Public School next September. School board representatives and town council members don t agree on heritage designation for the historic building.

When Laura Secord students move from Queenston to St. Davids Public School at the end of the school year, the town wants the historic building to be preserved.

At last night's council meeting, it was decided to give the near-century old building a heritage designation, despite the District School Board of Niagara's (DSBN) efforts to stop it.

The DSBN is lobbying to prevent the designation from happening, fearing the property will be harder to sell with the restrictions designation will place on it.

DSBN Planning Supervisor Christine Thompson told councillors the board is "very concerned" with the potential heritage designation.

"A heritage designation would mean additional time being spent on getting permits for demolition and create additional requirements for prospective purchasers and for construction," she said.

In her short presentation to council, she asked councillors to not support the heritage committee's recommendation for designation.

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26. Ottawa Citizen: 96-year-old edifice has life yet: experts
Maria Cook

Lansdowne building could serve all kinds of purposes

Wikimedia Commons - Padraic Ryan. The horticulture building at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Canada. Designed by Francis Conroy Sullivan.

OTTAWA-Heritage experts who toured the Horticulture building at Lansdowne Park on Friday looked past the peeling paint, boarded windows and stored equipment and found a fine building with a future.

 “You could do a full restoration without any trouble,” said Ken Elder, a retired federal government heritage architect.

“It hasn’t been totally stripped. A lot of the original fabric is still here. That’s the important thing,” he said.

“The condition isn’t that worrying. It’s all reversible. It’s superficial. As long as the roof is maintained, the building will go on for another 100 years.”

Heritage Ottawa organized the visit to the building, which is not open to the public, for a group of about 20 people concerned about its fate under the Lansdowne redevelopment plan.

Lansdowne Live has proposed moving the building to the west side of Lansdowne for use by the Ottawa Farmers’ Market. City council has suggested only the facade need be retained.

Now, the City of Ottawa is conducting an international design competition for the public space at Lansdowne, including the Horticulture building and its neighbour, the Aberdeen Pavilion.
 

Editor's Note:
For more on this unique Prairie School building see, http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/designingottawa/archive/2010/01/25/inside-the-horticulture-building-at-lansdowne.aspx see also, http://www.friendsoflansdownepark.ca/

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27. Planetizen:Living in Mrs. Jacobs' Neighborhood
Michael Lewyn

A decade or so ago, after reading some of Jane Jacobs’ work, I became aware of the distinction between mixed-use and single-use neighborhoods. In those days, I imagined that in a well-functioning urban neighborhood, every non-polluting use would be mixed together, and the lion of housing would lay down with the lamb of commerce.

But for the past few months, I have lived just six blocks from Jacobs’ Toronto house, in the Annex neighborhood. And in the Annex, I have learned that the distinction between sprawl and walkable urbanism is a little more subtle than the bumper-sticker phrase “mixed-use” suggests.

In the Annex, as in conventional sprawl development (CSD), most businesses are on a few major streets, especially Bloor Street West between Spadina and Bathurst. Although Bloor has a few residences above shops, Bloor is primarily a commercial street.

So how is Bloor different from San Jose Boulevard (the sprawling commercial street of my former neighborhood in Jacksonville)? Bloor’s distinction rests less on diversity of uses than on street design.

San Jose has a wide variety of commercial activities near some residential blocks, but is as wide as eight lanes in some spots- too wide to be comfortable for pedestrians. Bloor is only four lanes wide, and is thus relatively easy for pedestrians to cross. And on Bloor, nearly every commercial building immediately adjoins the sidewalk, rather than being set back from the sidewalk by yards of parking.

As a result, pedestrians can easily access shops, rather than dodging cars on the way to their destination. And because the nearby residential blocks are part of a grid system, neighborhood residents don’t have to hop from cul-de-sac to cul-de-sac to reach Bloor’s businesses. In sum, Bloor is pedestrian-friendly less because of mixed use than because of pedestrian-friendly street design and compact development.

The Annex’s residential streets, like those in my old neighborhood in Jacksonville, are at least somewhat single-use: streets with large apartment complexes (St. George and Spadina near Bloor) have very few single-family structures, and other residential streets are dominated by houses and duplexes. So in a sense, the Annex’s streets are as single-use as a typical suburban subdivision- both types of streets are dominated by one type of structure.

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28. SooToday.com: Bishophurst registered as historical site
Carol Martin

after years of consultation with the Sault's municipal heritage committee, the diocese finally agreed to registration instead of its designation.

The Anglican bishop's 134-year-old residence in Sault Ste. Marie has been designated as a building of cultural heritage value or interest to the municipality.

City Council voted last night to designate the large, Neo-Georgian house at 134 Simpson Street under part IV section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The local municipal heritage committee initially approached the Anglican Diocese of Algoma with hopes of having the building designated under the act.

But the diocese resisted designation, fearing that its use of the building could be restricted as a result.

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29. Ottawa Citizen: Les Soeurs de la Visitation Convent at Risk
Ken Gray

Who will speak for the convent?

This could be the Lansdowne Park debate revisited, Champlain Bridge court case or Ontario Municipal Board hearing for the Westboro Loblaws.

Or it could be nothing. The future of Les Soeurs de la Visitation convent all depends on what the owner of the property, Ashcroft Homes, does.

It all starts with a bell. The bell is an institution in Westboro and area. It rings several times a day, perhaps calling the religious order to meals or prayers.

Its sound might be older than Canada, for Les Soeurs de la Visitation first settled on Richmond Road just west of Island Park Drive in 1864. Unlike the rich, ringing bell one would hear at an ornate cathedral, the convent example sounds like the clank of an old one-room school bell. And that is in keeping with the cloistered nature of the order, the sisters' adherence to silence and their poverty. The bell is not expensive.

But it is a valuable property. Purchased by Ashcroft Homes, it stretches all the way from Richmond Road almost to Byron Avenue. Huge stone walls block the view of Les Soeurs de la Visitation. Very few people outside the order know what is behind those walls.

I've talked to one person who visited the site and he says it is magnificent -- like stepping back into 19th-century Europe. A working island of nuns, who rarely have left the convent, communicating in French behind walls that have shielded it from one of the most English and fashionable areas in Ottawa. The sisters even grew their own food on the site. A larger juxtaposition of values you will rarely see. Waves of cultural change and mores occurred outside those walls with barely a ripple felt inside.

That will change soon. The sisters are expected to leave in September, with redevelopment to occur after. Ashcroft is doing all the right things so far by asking the community how it would like to see the construction unfold. There is talk of condo conversion, a town square, commercial space, a market. Community activists are watching events on the site like hawks. They are not people with whom to trifle. A Loblaws official once said to me that the fight to locate the Superstore in Westboro was the most difficult his company ever had. The convent project could be tougher.

That's because there is not just planning involved, but religion and heritage. Those are core values. As well, it's an election year. Voters will ask the mayoral and Kitchissippi ward candidates where they stand on the development. This will not be easy.

No matter what happens at the convent, it will be diminished with the loss of the sisters, yet the community, if the redevelopment is done well, could be stronger for it. For the first time in about a century-and-a-half, old west-enders will probably have access to the property (I have posted what few photographs the Citizen has of the convent on my blog, The Bulldog, at ottawacitizen.com/bulldog). Let's hope there is something left worth seeing when the walls are removed.

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30. Waterloo Record: Historic Kitchener smokestack to be preserved
Terry Pender

KITCHENER  The brick chimney off Joseph Street will be preserved as a reminder to this citys industrial past, as the old buildings around it are demolished to make way for a parking lot. The parking is needed to support the ambitious $30 million redevelopment of the historic Lang Tannery building, which contains 330,000-square-feet of leasable space. About half is already occupied and the developer, Toronto-based Cadan Inc., needs additional parking to support what it calls The Tannery District. We are very heritage conscious and heritage aware, Lana Sherman of Cadan Inc. said Tuesday. Sherman made her comments following a presentation to Heritage Kitchener on Tuesday. The old tannery building was not designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, but Cadan Inc. has redeveloped the property while preserving the historic features of the old industrial complex. The company has briefed Heritage Kitchener on every aspect of the redevelopment ahead of time. The smoke stack is a very unique structure that needs to be preserved, Zyg Janecki of Heritage Kitchener, said.

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31. Waterloo Record: Staying on the rails
Terry Pender

The University of Waterloo's proposed Stratford satellite campus should face heritage speed bump over former railway building, architectural advocates say

Robert Wilson, Record staff. For nearly 100 years the Grand Trunk Railway, and later Canadian National, repaired locomotives in what was called The Cooper Site. The City of Stratford will soon take possession of the sprawling industrial building.

STRATFORD — The University of Waterloo may find itself in the middle of a heritage battle as it proceeds with plans to establish a satellite campus here.

On Feb. 9, the City of Stratford takes possession of the 17-acre site and it will move immediately to deed 1.3 acres to the university's Stratford Institute for digital media research.

The city expropriated the site and agreed to pay $4.5 million, plus interest and legal fees.

Heritage advocates want the building, constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1908 for the maintenance and repair of locomotives, protected and reused.

But officials with the university and the municipality say not so fast.

Ian Wilson, the strategic adviser for the university's Stratford initiatives, said construction of the first campus building will take place on what is now a parking lot off St. Patrick Street, away from the old locomotive repair shops. “It will not in any sense interfere with the heritage value of the building,” Wilson said.

This construction approach gives the City of Stratford and the heritage community time to consider the future of the large building.

“Is it reusable? Is it feasible? At what cost?” Wilson said. “I think we have to look carefully at environmental cleanup issues.”

The Grand Trunk Railway became the Canadian National Railway in 1923 and took over the locomotive repair shops. The area is known as the Cooper Site and is bounded by David, Downie, St. Patrick and Wellington streets, adjacent to downtown Stratford. Some of the soil on the site is contaminated.

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32. Regina Leader-Post: Historic Sask. grain elevator destroyed by fire
Barb Pacholik

The elevator was the oldest remaining grain elevator on its original site in Canada. This fall, the preservation project was recognized by the Architectural Heritage Society of Saskatchewan.

REGINA — A piece of Canadian history went up in flames early Tuesday morning after fire levelled a more than century-old wooden grain elevator in Fleming, Sask.

The elevator, opened by Lake of the Woods Milling Co. in 1895, was destroyed in the blaze, which kept about 25 volunteer firefighters from Moosomin and Elkhorn, Man., busy for more than two hours.

Editor's Note:
For more on this lost treasure see, (i) page 3 at http://www.world-spectator.com/archives/0206s1.pdf (ii) and to put this small grain elevator in perspective, relative to other Canadian grain elevators, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grain_elevator

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33. Lake of the Woods Enterprise: Old fire hall redevelopment options hinged to heritage building status
Reg Clayton

In addition to the buildings exterior, heritage designation includes protection for some interior features as well

Kenora - The terms and conditions regarding the future use of Kenora Fire hall #1 are expected to be reviewed by the Property and Planning and committee Feb. 9. City council is moving to declare the red brick fire hall on Second Street South as surplus municipal property now that the new emergency service centre is under construction and scheduled to go into operation on Barsky's Hill in September.

Last month, the Planning and Property committee agreed to develop a Request for Proposals for the old fire hall following an Emergency Services committee recommendation that the building be sold and the proceeds reinvested into the city emergency services programs, facilities and equipment.

City administration and staff noted there is considerable interest in the fire hall and advised the committee to initiate the disposition process sooner rather than later.

In January, committee chair Coun. Wendy Cuthbert acknowledged the committee will determine the historical/heritage values and protections currently in place for the building which could factor in its sale and redevelopment.

Heritage Kenora chair Lori Nelson confirmed the Old Fire hall constructed in 1912 was designated a municipal heritage building under the Ontario Heritage Act in October 2008.

"When a property is designated certain heritage values are identified," Nelson commented, noting the municipal heritage advisory committee's evaluation includes a list of exterior as well as interior heritage attributes deemed worth conserving. "In terms of protection, it's these heritage attributes that are protected," she said.

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34. Montreal Gazette: Preserving old churches
HENRY AUBIN

The fire at the Franciscan was a tragedy that should not have been allowed to happen

A side wall, since knocked down, was all that remained of the Franciscan church after Saturday's fire.Photograph by: DAVE SIDAWAY, GAZETTE

Montreal firefighters have asked police to investigate whether someone set the fire that destroyed the abandoned Franciscan church over the weekend. But even if arson were the immediate cause of the blaze (and there is no indication it was), that should not distract us from the larger question: What can government do to preserve the city's increasing number of empty churches?

Recent years have seen official reports galore on this subject. They all agree that church buildings are useful as visually handsome reminders of the huge role that religious institutions have played in the evolution of Montreal society. They also agree that abandoned churches must be preserved. To that end, the Charest government several years ago started spending $10 million annually - one-eighth of the province's revenue from its tobacco tax - on the restoration of historic buildings, including religious structures, across the province.

But the church that burned down Saturday night, the 117-year-old Franciscan chapel on René Lévésque Blvd. just east of Atwater St., serves as a grim illustration of the limitation of such initiatives.

It didn't get any public money for repairs, even though the building had been abandoned three years ago.

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35. Telegraph-Journal: Testing confirms age of historic Acadian home
Benjamin Shingler

House represents Bathurst's unique 'unity of the cultures,' resident says

BATHURST - A scientific study on one of the oldest houses in Bathurst has confirmed remnants of an earlier, Acadian structure dating back to 1808.

Patsy Hennessy, whose Irish/Scottish family has lived in the home for nearly 100 years, says the study offers "compelling evidence" that the main foundation of the house was built by Acadian Charles Doucet, who received a land grant from King George III in 1807.

Hennessy and her cousin Melynda Jarratt say they always knew about the building's Acadian origins but, until now, were unable to pinpoint a date of construction.

Hennessy says the discovery sheds light on how Acadian, English and Irish settlers worked together to build the northern New Brunswick community.

"This shows that the unity of the cultures was very strong," she said in an interview Saturday.

Based on archival research, the cousins believed that the house at the top of St. Peter Avenue was built as early as the 1830s and added to over the years, but until now they didn't have the scientific evidence to prove it.

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36. VOCM.com [St. John's, NL] : Historic Trust Releases Report on Buildings at Risk
Staff

Trust director Deborah O'Rielly has written a report about the history of the buildings located at 151-167 Water Street.

The Newfoundland Historic Trust has released its list of Buildings at Risk in the province, and it includes the St. John's block of buildings that Fortis hopes to tear down and replace with a 15-story office tower. Some of the buildings on the list have fallen into disrepair and require significant restoration, others are slated for demolition, while at least one is now considered saved. The William Alexander House, also known as Bridge House in Bonavista, has been on the list for years. Other structures include the tiny Dove Brook Church in Sandwich Bay, Labrador, the Heyfield Memorial United Church in Heart's Content, Thimble Cottage on O'Brien's Farm in St. John's, the Newman Building on Water Street West, and the pretty little St. Philip's Anglican Church, famous on calendars and postcards, which has been issued a new lease on life after a request for demolition was temporarily withdrawn. Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church in Port au Port is included on the list, as is the derelict Ashbourne Premises in Twillingate. 151 to 167 Water Street are included, thanks to Fortis' proposal to demolish the buildings, and #3 Barnes Road is now considered saved after the stately home was recently purchased and renovations are now well underway.

Editor's Note:
To see the Buildings at Risk list and read the report, click here: http://www.historictrust.ca/

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