1. Follow Built Heritage News on Twitter and Facebook
Catherine Nasmith

Subscribers may notice that Built Heritage News has been published less frequently, but in between I regularly post to the ACO Facebook Page, as well as Built Heritage News Facebook and Twitter streams. Recently a Facebook Post reached 20,000 people, quite a reach. You may want to follow:

FACEBOOK   https://www.facebook.com/pg/builtheritagenews/posts/

TWITTER  https://twitter.com/BHN_cn

Here are instructions on how to follow a twitter feed - https://support.twitter.com/articles/162981

2. Modernist Architectural Heritage at Risk as a result of Decision not to Follow through on Preservation Board Recommendations
Geoff Kettel

A hilltop fortress for IBM

Toronto Preservation Board (TPB) advises Toronto City Council with recommendations for heritage listing and designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. But what if its recommendations get waylaid and dont actually reach City Council?

This happened recently with recommendations adopted by the TPB for designation of 844 Don Mills Road (Celestica HQ), and listing and designation of 1150 Eglinton Ave. East (Celestica West). At its October 13, 2016 meeting, North York Community Council referred the Heritage staff report back to City Planning to allow any recommendations with respect to cultural heritage to be made in tandem with recommendations on the comprehensive development framework and the final report on the planning application for the lands. This had the effect of diverting the report from going to City Council, the regular trajectory for this type of report, so that there could be discussion on the floor of Council, and receiving City Council approval for legal protection of the properties.

844 Don Mills Road and 1150 Eglinton Ave. East are adjoining properties on the north west of the Don MiIls and Eglinton intersection in North York, but are physically separate and architecturally distinct from each other. The property at 844 Don Mills Road contains the former IBM head office and factory, designed by Clare G. MacLean and completed in 1951 with an extension in 1954. The adjacent property to the west, 1150 Eglinton Avenue East contains the IBM headquarters building designed by John B. Parkin Associates in 1966-67.

Recognition of the heritage values of these properties is not new. Neither are failed efforts to protect them.

Both properties were included in the 1997 North York Inventory of Modernist Architecture. The IBM/Celestica property at 844 Don Mills Road was included in the Citys Inventory of Heritage Properties in 2006, but not 1150 Eglinton East.

The North York Community Preservation Panel (NYCPPP) submitted a heritage nomination for 1150 Eglinton Ave. East to the Toronto Preservation Board (Board) in 2010 and it was referred to staff for assessment.

In 2014 a development application was submitted to the City and on August 7, 2014 Planning and Growth Management Committee considered a Preliminary staff report and as a result:

1. Requested staff to evaluate the property at 1150 Eglinton Avenue East for potential listing on the City's Inventory of Heritage Properties and report to the Toronto Preservation Board, North York Community Council and City Council in early 2015.

2. Requested staff to evaluate the heritage listed property at 844 Don Mills Road for potential designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, and report to the Toronto Preservation Board, North York Community Council and City Council in early 2015.

These reports were not forthcoming.

Fast forward to 2016, plans for the properties have proceeded, and HPS prepared and brought forward a heritage assessment report for the properties. The staff report recommended designation of the 844 Don Mills Road property, and listing and designation of the 1150 Eglinton Ave. East property. Toronto Preservation Board adopted the HPS report (844 Don Mills Road and 1150 Eglinton Ave. East) on September 28, 2016. The as noted earlier North York Community Council at its Oct.13 meeting, referred the Heritage staff report back to City Planning.

On January 11, 2017 the North York Community Preservation Panel requested Planning and Growth Management Committee that the heritage assessment of the properties proceed to City Council as recommended by staff. .- This request went unaddressed however.

So today 1150 Eglinton Ave east is STILL not included in the Citys Inventory of Heritage Properties and neither properties are legally protected.

Finally a quote from A Hilltop Fortress for IBM, (Toronto Modern, 2009) gives a sense of the important landscape and built form values of 1150 Eglinton Ave. East:

From Eglinton Avenue, the IBM building reads as a sprawling, ground-hugging megastructure of Louis Kahn-ish cubic modules, overlapping and interlocking as they step down the hillside. The influences of Kahn and Alvar Aalto are also apparent in the walls of solid brick, a sharp divergence from Parkins glassy transparency of a few years earlier; the fortress-like impenetrability is only partially relieved by narrow vertical strips of bronze-toned glass in black anodized frames. Most interior spaces are oriented to the southern light, a benefit in Torontos often grey and wintry environment, and to views over the ravine&

Editor's Note:
The situation is the same misguided strategy that kept the Davisville School from designation....Even though Toronto Preservation Board reports to Toronto City Council, the messages are being blocked by the Community Councils

3. Landmark North Toronto Bank Building Demolished
Geoff Kettel

The Bank of Montreal building at 2444 Yonge Street was demolished on January 21st, just three days after a demolition permit was issued by Toronto Buildings.

The 110 year old building is one of the last beaux arts architecture examples of Bank of Montreal buildings in North Toronto and had been identified as a heritage site in the Yonge Eglinton Secondary Plan. No replacement building has been approved for this site although a development application for a five storey building preserving the iconic façade on the same site had been submitted in 2014, followed by a Preliminary Report and Community Meeting in 2015. It was later reported that the applicant had withdrawn the application and the City had closed the file. But the owner apparently submitted a demolition permit which was processed and issued January 18th. In the case of a commercial building a demolition permit can be issued without a replacement commercial building approval. 

This serious threat to heritage in Toronto was identified in 2012 following the issuance of a demolition permit for 81 Wellesley Street and its demolition. At the time City Council approved a Member Motion, spearheaded by Councillor Kristin Wong-Tam, to strengthen the protection of properties that are not officially identified in the Citys heritage inventory, and to implement a process to review demolition applications that does not vary according to property type.

However this reform has not happened and another piece of North Torontos built heritage goes to landfill.

4. ROM Opens Gallery of Modern Design
ROM Press Release

http://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/roms-new-gallery-highlights-its-renowned-collection-of-20th-century

5. Toronto Star: Tax disaster looming at 401 Richmond Street
Murray Whyte

401 Richmond arts haven facing huge tax hike

401 Richmond, a long-standing downtown haven for dozens of non-profit arts and culture organizations, is grappling with a property tax increase in January likely to cripple the many tenants it has long sheltered from skyrocketing market rents. 

In a matter of weeks, tenants will see their property tax bill, which they pay to the city separately from their rent to building owner Urbanspace, jump by about 85 per cent. By the end of the current assessment period in 2020, taxes will have nearly tripled from today, threatening the heritage building’s status as a vital cultural hub. 

“There are those who would look at a company like Urbanspace, which believes in the creative community and has actively supported it for 23 years, and think maybe they deserve some kind of break,” says David Plant, executive director of Trinity Square Video, one of many non-profit artist-run centres in 401 Richmond, a former factory at the corner of Richmond St. and Spadina Ave. 

“But the message here is, ‘No, sorry — we don’t care.’ That really speaks to the issue: What do we want the downtown core to become?”

Editor's Note:
I should also declare that Urbanspace Properties are a client, Catherine Nasmith Architect is assisting with applications to the City of Toronto's Heritage Property Tax Rebate Program for exterior conservation projects. Margie Zeidler is a member of the ACO President's Circle. Last February, Margie, Michael Vaughan and I we met with staff in the Premier's office regarding the tax issue, asking for a separate tax class for designated property.

Click here for Link

6. Toronto Star: The Importance of Everyday Old Buildings
Christopher Hume

City

955 Queen Street, former Chocolate Factory, now Lofts

Older buildings — especially the ground-floor retail space — adapt easily to a neighbourhood’s changing needs; newer creations, not so much, writes Christopher Hume.

Even the newest city needs a supply of old buildings. In Toronto, which seems to remake itself every few years, that supply is running out.

Though few will lament the passing of the often mundane two- and three-storey brick boxes that line so many streets in this city, they play an essential role in the complex processes of civic vitality. Because they are simple structures built decades ago, their mortgages paid off long ago, they are cheap and endlessly adaptable. They change occupants and uses regularly, which allows them to keep up with the times and remain forever relevant.

This point was not lost on Jane Jacobs, pioneering urbanist and author of the seminal study, The Death and Life of Great American Cities: “Cities need old buildings so badly,” she wrote in her 1961 book, “it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow up without them.”

As Jacobs goes on say, by old buildings, she doesn’t mean heritage landmarks, but “plain, ordinary, low-value old buildings, including some rundown old buildings.”

Editor's Note:
If you are interested in this idea, invite me to talk about Main Street as Old Growth Forest.....what Hume is saying is critically important on Main Street

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7. CBC News: City council freezes 'wild west demolition' of downtown buildings
Kate McGillivray

City council freezes 'wild west demolition' of downtown buildings

More than 300 buildings in King and Spadina area protected for one year under new motion

Two addresses on Adelaide Street West are among the 303 buildings that will be protected from demolition under a new motion passed by city council Wednesday.

Hundreds of buildings will be temporarily protected from demolition in the King Street West and Spadina Avenue area under a new motion passed by city council on Wednesday.

Joe Cressy, city councillor for Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina, said the one-year freeze on demolition of potentially historic addresses will buy time while a new heritage district plan is put in place.

Downtown condo proposal draws protests
City needs to solve King Street congestion, councillors say

"What we're trying to do is, as we grow, ensure that the growth and development reflects the unique character of King and Spadina," said Cressy on CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

The 303 buildings identified in the motion are primarily on main arteries like Richmond Street West, King Street West, and Adelaide Street West.
Joe Cressy in his ward

'If we grow as a city without reflecting or honouring our past, we lose something about us,' said Coun. Joe Cressy. (Kate McGillivray/CBC)
Not a development freeze, says Cressy

Cressy said that the freeze does not mean a moratorium on development.

"If you have a development application, you can still do a partial demolition or a full demolition if you get the city's permission," he said.

And if you don't get the city's permission?

"We would prosecute it as hard as we can," said Cressy. "Good luck building something there afterwards with city approval."

The motion was not in the agenda for Thursday's city council meeting, a tactic he said was deliberate.

"We walked it onto the floor by stealth to ensure that people did not go out and demolish," said Cressy.
Learning from the past

The King and Spadina area is the fastest-growing in Toronto, with a red-hot surge in development that Cressy said is taking its toll on the area.

"We've had a rash of demolitions, and we were aware of a number more that were coming," he said, adding that the new law will "stop that wild west demolition practice that we saw at Stollerys at Yonge and Bloor."

Stollerys demolition raises questions about city heritage rules
City loses 'race against time' to save historic Mimico factory

Stollerys, an apparel store that stood on the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets for more than a century, was demolished in a hurry last year, causing an outcry from architects and city planners.
Stollery.Workers

Demolition on the Stollerys building in winter 2015. At the time, the city's chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat said that she thought the developer rushed the demolition to sidestep the possibility that the building would be protected for its heritage value. (CBC)

Demolition practices in Toronto made the news again in September when a developer razed a 1917 factory in Mimico that was weeks away from obtaining heritage status.

Examples like that serve as a caution to Cressy, who said he hopes that the motion will stop his area from losing buildings "we can never get back again."

Click here for Link

8. BlogTO: End of Tax Subsidy for Empty Shops in Toronto
Amy Grief

Toronto just did something that will give empty storefronts new life

Boarded up Shops on Yonge Street, waiting for redevelopment

There are lots of storefronts sitting empty in Toronto, including many in the downtown core - just take a walk along Queen Street, east of Spadina and see for yourself.

Since the early 2000s, the city's been handing out property tax rebates to those who own vacant commercial and industrial properties. Apparently, Toronto's spent $367 million on this initiative between 2001 and 2013. 

But today, Mayor John Tory announced that he wants to scrap these rebates. "We are subsidizing people to keep space empty that is increasing, almost hourly, in value," said Mayor Tory at a press conference today, as CBC News reports. 

The city hopes to save $22 million a year by doing away with this program, but it needs approval from the provincial government before it goes through with the plan.

Beyond the savings affiliated with eliminating the pay out, landlords will now have greater incentive to lease their storefront spaces as quickly as possible. That could mean less vacant spots along busy corridors. 

Click here for Link

9. CBC.ca-Analysis of why Toronto is Losing its Older Building Stock
Lauren Pelley

Why are beloved Toronto buildings torn down

A recent dramatic loss, Stollery's at Yonge and Bloor

Earlier this month, the unexpected teardown of a midtown Bank of Montreal building — a 110-year-old, beaux arts-style neighbourhood fixture — was met with outcry from heritage preservation supporters.

It's the most recent example of a piece of Toronto's architectural history being demolished, even in the face of opposition from city councillors, heritage supporters and members of the public.

Councillor, residents frustrated at demolition of 110-year-old building
Tenants fighting to save 140-year-old home being demolished 'piecemeal'
There was also the Victorian mansion on Wellesley Street — knocked down to make room for a condo in 2012, just a month after a city councillor pushed for a heritage designation.

The Stollerys building, a century-old landmark at Yonge and Bloor Streets with stone carvings on its facade — was suddenly torn down two years ago this month.

And the historic Mimico factory built back in 1917, just weeks away from potentially getting a heritage designation — was demolished last September.

Why, in the face of public outcry, do these demolitions keep happening?

Editor's Note:
An article drawn from many sources, Lauren Pelley analyses why Toronto is losing so many buildings. I couldn't quite get the message through that demolition represents environmental as well as cultural damage - and that the problem cannot be dealt with by the Heritage Act alone. Buildings are not Garbage, buildings are resources to be repaired and recycled.

Click here for Link

10. CBC.ca-Another race between Wrecker's Ball and Heritage Preservation in Toronto
Alexandra Sienkiewicz

Tenants fighting to save 140-year-old home being demolished 'piecemeal'

1973 Photo of 15 Glen Morris Street.

A tiny little gingerbread house, snuggled amongst multi-storey concrete buildings stands out — even if you didn't know the home at 15 Glen Morris St. was more than 140 years old.

But you may not be able to see it for much longer.

The tenants living in the South Annex home say they've received eviction notices Friday, which said the building was slated for demolition and they must get out by the end of May.

The original pillars and gingerbread trim on the house were removed. The city issued an order to stop work on the property until permits were obtained. (Adam Wynne)

Despite its age and unique look, the house does not have heritage status — which means it isn't protected from renovations and doesn't need to go through city council approval for major changes.

Tenant Adam Wynne has been working towards getting the home a heritage designation since the ownership change and Toronto-East York community council recently approved a heritage assessment for the property.

Click here for Link

11. Globe and Mail: Stealth Demolitions in Toronto
Jill Mahoney

Toronto developers accused of carrying out stealth demolitions amid heritage-designation backlog

Linda McCarthy thought she had plenty of time to finish an application to protect a stately old bank building in North Toronto. But after the developer that owns the site quietly obtained a demolition permit, she soon found herself standing on the sidewalk crying as she gazed at a pile of rubble.

“Our history is ending up in the landfill and the developers have literally taken over, taken control. I don’t know whose fault it is but it needs to change,” said Ms. McCarthy, a director of the Lytton Park Residents’ Organization. “Developers just think they can come in and do what they want and they’re getting away with it everywhere.”

The demolition of the former Bank of Montreal building at 2444 Yonge Street, north of Eglinton Avenue, on Saturday has sparked an outcry from local residents, heritage-preservation advocates, city councillors and senior city staff while highlighting faults in the heritage-designation process.

“Developers are definitely taking advantage of this gigantic loophole. And when they say that they’ve done nothing wrong, yes by the letter of the law, they did nothing wrong. But I think property owners and developers have a moral obligation to the community they want to build in and that means operating in good faith,” said Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who sits on the Toronto Preservation Board.

The 110-year-old building, which was one of the city’s few remaining old Beaux Arts banks, had been recognized by the city as having historical value but had not yet been listed as a heritage site. Ms. McCarthy was in the process of completing the application. When buildings are designated as heritage sites, city council has the authority to refuse alterations or demolitions.

The developer that owns the property, Main and Main, did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The company applied for a City of Toronto permit to demolish the building on Dec. 16. The permit was granted on Jan. 18, according to the city. Depending on the type of building, such permits must be issued within 10 to 30 days under Ontario rules, a provincial spokesman said.

Editor's Note:
It is impossible to stay ahead of demolitions using the Heritage Act alone, demolition is an environmental problem. Buildings are not Garbage. Buildings are resources to be reused. 20-30 per cent of landfill is building waste. 50 percent of the world's resources are consumed by building...demolition is not sustainable, we should not have a virtually unfettered right to waste and destruction.

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12. Metronews.ca - Policy change needed to save Toronto heritage buildings
Gilbert Ngabo

Torstar News Service. Workers demolish the facade of the Stollerys upscale men's wear store at Bloor and Yonge, back in January 2015.

Last weekend, it was a 110-year-old bank building at Yonge and Roselawn. Next, it could be any of the historic — or just plain beautiful — buildings in your neighbourhood.

That’s the message from people leading a new wave of calls for policy changes at city hall aimed at saving noteworthy buildings from demolition.

“Apart from rental housing, it’s pretty much carte blanche,” Catherine Nasmith said about the ease with which developers can secure demolition permits regardless of a building’s cultural value. “There’s absolutely no other area where you’re allowed to be so destructive. It’s amazing to me that the process is never questioned.”

Nasmith is president of Architectural Conservancy Ontario, one of the groups that want to see changes.

Click here for Link

13. Globe and Mail: Goodbye Honest Eds
Eric Andrew-Gee

The End of an Era

Honest Ed’s (1948-2016)
Memories, and a husk of a building, are all that will be left in short time after the discount retailer closes up for good. Over the years, the bargain-basement shop has catered to immigrants and the working class, reshaped life on Bloor and delighted passersby with its gimmicky signs – a testament to Ed Mirvish’s personality and business acumen, Eric Andrew-Gee writes

Goodbye, blue pygmy Christmas tree in the window ($7.99).

Goodbye, cushion cover embroidered with mustaches for $8.00 (“Discontinued – No Refund – No Exchange – Final Sale”).

So long, humble Tea-Making Cup ($5.99) and Krazy Karnival Mirror ($425.00).

Ninety-nine-cent egg timers designed to look like strawberry cupcakes – Godspeed.

David Mirvish wasn’t the only person to make a forlorn tour through the esoteric merchandise still on sale at Honest Ed’s in the past few weeks. The store printed 10,000 commemorative T-shirts for its home stretch and sold out.

But among the mourners and souvenir hunters who have wandered its brightly lit aisles this holiday season, Mr. Mirvish was the most significant. He owns the grand, garish bargain basement. And on Dec. 31, he will close it.

Click here for Link

14. Cbc.ca - Debate over Gore Buildings at Hamilton Planning Committee
Samantha Craggs

City councillors approve the demolition of a strip of historic Gore buildings

Existing, Suffering Demolition by Neglect

Despite outcry from local heritage advocates, Hamilton city councillors have voted to let a developer demolish a strip of buildings in the city's historic Gore area and retain the facades of two of them.

City council's planning committee voted 6-3 to allow Hughson Business Space Corporation to demolish 18 to 28 King St. E. and retain the facades of buildings 18 and 22.

There was community outcry against the project, which pending council approval Jan. 25, will become five stories of rental or condos, with commercial space on the ground floor. The city's municipal heritage committee also recommended against the demolition.

The buildings are key heritage properties in a downtown that's already lost too many old buildings, said the Friends of the Gore, who attended the meeting in green "Save the Gore" shirts. Several neighbourhood associations backed saving the buildings too.

City councils used to be "bedazzled by bulldozers" in a time when demolishing old buildings was seen as a way to clean up the neighbourhood, said Ned Nolan from Friends of the Gore.

Editor's Note:
What was striking about this debate was how councillor after councillor complained about the dullness of the replacement scheme, but yet were willing to accept demolitions to make way for it. They have the power to say no, yet refused to use it. The only positives were the number of conditions to prevent demolition ahead of issuing of a building permit for the replacement project.

Click here for Link

15. Dan Schneider Blogspot: On the Gore
Dan Schneider

For Hamilton's Gore it's crunch time

Click here for Link

16. Raise the Hammer: History of Gore Park in Hamilton
Shannon Kyles

Say Goodbye to the Gore

View of Gore Park-Victorian Era

My friend Susan Schneider, an artist, used to have a painting studio in the room above the cigar store at King and James. That was in the 1960s and early '70s. Looking out over Gore Park, we spent hours comparing the light and the ambience, and the buildings, to paintings by Vuillard, Bonnard and J.W. Morrice. Gore Park was like Paris in so many ways.

The Gore as a distinct area was a triangular piece of land was left undeveloped by the two founding fathers of the town, George Hamilton and Nathanial Hughson. Businesses grew up around this piece of land for almost fifty years, over the first half of the 19th century.

Following the historic pattern of common law land use in Britain, the land was recognized as 'common ground' by the citizens. The majority of Hamilton residents in the first half of the 19th century were from Britain.

These first few waves of colonists designed both their homes and their towns according to British precedents, including a recognized open space for sheep, cows and picnics.

Despite several attempts to make use of the land for market or commercial use, and many attempts to use it as commercial land, the land remained as common land for almost 50 years.

The building at 18-22 King Street, built in the 1840s, predates both the incorporation of Hamilton as a town in 1846 and the development of the land as a park in 1853.

Editor's Note:
A wonderful historic overview of the lost beauty of Gore Park in Hamilton, following last weeks decision by Hamitlont Council to permit demolitions of Confederation era buildings and earlier here, we are all waiting with baited breath for a response from the Minister of Culture, as to whether the Province will use its powers to save a significant part of Ontario's history.

Click here for Link

17. CBC.ca: Heritage advocate calls for return to historic bridge-building style
Max Leighton

Bowstring bridges were once common in Wellington County

A bowstring bridge once spanned the Grand River in Fergus in the same place that the current St. David Street bridge does today. (Wellington County Museum and Archives)

A Fergus man is urging the Township of Centre Wellington to consider local history as it makes plans to new bridge redevelopment project.

The township plans to rebuild the aging St. David Street bridge in downtown Fergus beginning in 2018. In its place, Dave Beynon, a local writer and heritage advocate, said the township should build a bowstring bridge.

A bowstring bridge sports arches that rise over its deck, useful for spanning rivers with low banks.

They were once a popular style in the region, according to Beynon.

Kitchener's Freeport Bridge, which spans the Grand River on King Street, is a bowstring, as is the Bridgeport Bridge on Bridge Street at Lancaster Street in Kitchener. At one time, there was even a bowstring bridge where the current St. David Street bridge in Fergus stands today.

"If you look at a calendar of the region, almost any calendar you see will have a snow covered bowstring bridge at some point," Beynon said.

The style was developed in France around the turn of the last century, and by 1930s there were dozens in Wellington County.

"That turned out to be a good style of bridge for the area," said Beynon. "A lot of our rivers, the Grand River and whatnot, have low river banks."

A bowstring bridge spanning the Irvine River near Salem was granted heritage designation in 2014.

However, most local bowstring bridges have not fared so well.

Click here for Link

18. Waterloo Region Record: Cambridge Gaslight Proposal Height issues
Anam Latif

Gaslight District project raises height and heritage concerns

CAMBRIDGE — How tall is too tall?

A proposal to build two apartment towers at the site of the Southworks Outlet Mall drew an odd mix of excitement and concern in Cambridge on Tuesday night.

On one hand, Cambridge is eager to see a huge downtown investment, known as the Gaslight District, to attract more residents and visitors to Galt's core.

On the other hand, the size of the residential buildings, at 69 metres per tower, is questionable for many.

"You're radically altering sightlines of church spires and clock towers that define downtown Galt," said Karen Scott Booth, a member of Architectural Conservancy of Ontario's Cambridge branch.

"It's 13 metres higher than the steeple of Central Presbyterian Church."

The towers are a bit more than double the allowed height in the area, which is zoned for a 10-storey building at a maximum height of 34 metres.

One of the Gaslight District towers will have 21 floors; the other will have 20.

Tuesday's planning and development committee meeting drew a full house and nearly a dozen residents took to the podium to speak out against the proposal's size.

The potential loss of a historic building was also a big concern.

"Fifty per cent of the heritage structure is to be demolished," Scott Booth pointed out.

Click here for Link

19. Sunnyside Historical Society: Toronto East York Community Council block another Designation
Jack Gibney

The Drake Hotel Plays the Heritage Destruction Game

The City’s Heritage Preservation Services Recommended Designation. But the Drake, the Councillor and FGDMA had other plans.

How to Play the Heritage Destruction Game.

Hide the historic beauty until people forget about it, paint it, cover it with siding or stucco. Allow deterioration with no maintenance or repairs like plastic on roofs that causes rot.
Replace heritage features with minimal unpainted wood fix ups with no detailing.
Repair arches unevenly and with un-matched brick and mortar.
Eventually something becomes dangerous and, hallelujah, you get a demolition order. (reference 3)

The Committee of Adjustments referred the Drake’s plans to City Heritage Preservation Services. Heritage Preservation Services said yes to Heritage Designation. (reference 1) Councillor Bailao chose to disregard this report. She tabled it as `received for information’ that is, she allowed to die. (reference 1) I believe this destruction of our Heritage will lower area property values significantly, dampen tourism in Toronto, and damage an important part of our heritage during our Sesquicentennial year. If the Drake Hotel is allowed to proceed with this Heritage Destruction the continuity of the Heritage district between Spadina and Parkdale will be gravely weakened, leaving Historic Parkdale more vulnerable to the ongoing glass and steel invasion. Watch as The Drake makes it’s next move in the Heritage Destruction game,  as shown in the following two pictures.

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20. Stouffville Sun-Tribune - Demolition of 200 Year Old Quaker home
Ali Raza

Heritage Advisory Committee chair expresses regret over Woodbine house demolition

The town should commission reports for heritage buildings instead of developers, says Heritage Advisory Committee chair Bob Curgenven.

Responding to the Sun-Tribune’s story on the demolition of a house on 17166 Woodbine Ave., Curgenven said the Heritage Advisory Committee was dedicated to giving the structure a heritage designation, but the owner wanted a demolition

“We were already in the process of attempting to designate the place and it’s been one of these nightmare things,” he said. “Dealing with a religious organization behaving like a developer is unbelievable.”

Curgenven is referring to the Catholic Cemeteries and Funeral Services — Archdiocese of Toronto, which is the current owner of the property and put forth a demolition permit.

The archdiocese says a structural engineer assessed the property and determined “he could not ensure the safety of his workers to go into the building and prepare footings necessary to brace the structure for restoration.”

“The demolition permit was issued based on the cultural heritage impact assessment presented well in advance of council’s Aug. 23, 2016 meeting,” Marketing and Public Relations director Amy Profenna said in an email.

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21. RetroRenovation.com: Kaufman House in Kitchener by Eb Zeidler for sale
Pam Kueber

Spectacular 1959 time capsule Kaufman Estate in Kitchener, Ontario, designed by famed architect Eberhard Zeidler

Our first time capsule house of 2017 — and it is spectacular! This 1959 midcentury home — the Kaufman Estate in Kitchener, Ontario, was designed by famed Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler. Zeidler was steeped in modern design theory via his education at Bauhaus University. After emigrating to Canada, he did mostly commercial work — including Ontario Place, Eaton Centre, and many more landmark sites — so it’s fantastic to see one of his rare residential works — in time capsule state, no less. Many thanks to listing broker Troy Dale Schmidt for his permission to feature this house… to Ray Jameson of Impact Listings for permission to feature the awesome photos… and mega-love to reader Melanie, who sent the tip this morning. Once I saw this house, I jumped — it’s amazing!

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22. Petrolia Topic: Fairbank Mansion threatened
Melissa Schilz

An architectural gem: residents band together for Fairbank Mansion

Concerns have been raised over a minor variance application submitted by the owner of the Fairbank Mansion property.

David Burnie, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been working in conjunction with Robert Dale Consulting Engineers, based in Sarnia. Together they have submitted a plan to the Town of Petrolia, which consists of a multi-unit apartment building on the same property as the historic Fairbank House.

At a Committee of Adjustment meeting Wednesday evening, a number of residents attended to ask questions and voice their concerns over plans to alter the grounds.

Some expressed anger over the application. The meeting also saw written submissions from residents and a business, all opposed to the development, saying it would pose a serious threat to the historical charm of the property.

Citizens are questioning the property owner’s intentions. While there are plans to construct an apartment building, there is no proposal to restore the home currently on the site. Some worry that the home will be left to rot, eventually torn down and forgotten if declared a hazard. Burnie was not present at the meeting to comment.

While Jeff Dale of Robert Dale Consulting Engineers said the intent is to have two co-functioning buildings, the Committee of Adjustment’s Chairman, Les Whiting, questioned whether it was a concrete plan or merely an intention.

Currently, no solid plan for Fairbank House has been submitted, only a draft of the new apartment buildings proposed, which has been altered several times over. The plan includes a driveway, parking and a walkway for the apartments, but no features to the Fairbank House have been included.

Siblings Charlie and Sylvia Fairbank were also in attendance, both descendants of John Henry Fairbank, who was the designer and original owner of the 22-room home. It was built over two years and completed in 1891, owned by the Fairbank family for 74 years.

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23. OHA + M Blog: The long-sought heritage tax incentive?
Dan Schneider

Finally, a federal tax incentive for heritage?

In a surprise move legislation has been introduced in Parliament that would provide income tax incentives for restoring heritage buildings in Canada.

Peter Van Loan, MP for the Ontario riding of York-Simcoe and Conservative Critic for Canadian Heritage and National Historic Sites, introduced a private member’s bill in the House of Commons on December 1st.

Bill C-323 would amend the Income Tax Act to create a 20% tax credit for the costs of rehabilitation of recognized historic places. It would also provide an accelerated capital cost allowance for capital expenditures incurred in rehabilitation projects.

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24. National Trust Website: How to support Private Members Bill
National Trust for Canada

Voice Your Support - Federal Incentives for the Rehabilitation of Canada's Historic Places Voice Your Support Federal Incentives for the Rehabilitation of Canada

Voice Your Support

Federal Incentives for the Rehabilitation of Canada’s Historic Places

On December 1, 2006, a private members bill to create tax credits for historic places was tabled in the House of Commons. Bill C-323 – An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (Rehabilitation of Historic Property) – is based on a great US success story with a 40- year track record. This Bill presents an historic opportunity to tell elected officials from every political party that Canada’s historic places matter, and that federal actions can help save and renew them.

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25. Bill 323 - Royal Architectural Institute of Canada supports Bill 323
RAIC

RAIC supports Bill C-323

As a champion of prosperous, livable and healthy communities, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) expresses strong support for Bill C-323 which would create a 20 percent federal tax credit for rehabilitation of recognized historic places.

The RAIC believes there is an important federal role for leadership in heritage conservation. Policies that promote preservation and re-use of historic properties have demonstrated huge economic returns on investment through job retention and creation, tourism, and enhanced property values.

Policies such as tax incentives not only help protect cultural resources and the history represented by heritage places, they promote respectful redevelopment in our communities. In addition, conservation, repair, and adaptation fight climate change by producing less carbon than new construction.

“This is good news,” says RAIC Past President Allan Teramura, FRAIC. “Too often, the cost is cited as justification for not practicing responsible stewardship of historic properties, and this will help mitigate those costs. As well, it is excellent to see that the role of the architect in assuring that recognized conservation practices are being followed is built into the Bill.”

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26. Canadian Architect: PMB proposes tax credits for Heritage Buildings
Canadian Architect Press Release

New Bill will limit destruction and encourage rehabilitation of Canadian heritage buildings

Conservative critic for Canadian Heritage and National Historic Sites Peter Van Loan introduced a Private Member’s Bill that would create a 20 per cent tax credit for rehabilitation of recognized historic places.

The Bill is seconded by Peter Kent, the Member of Parliament for Thornhill. Bill C-323 would seek to limit the destruction of Canada’s heritage buildings, and instead encourage the rehabilitation of these culturally significant buildings. The tax credit would be available to properties that appear on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bill would also allow owners to write-off spending on heritage restoration at a faster rate than is currently the case.

There is a tremendous public interest in the preservation and restoration of heritage properties. But the cost burden of doing so is usually more expensive to owners than other alternatives—like demolition and new construction. This Bill helps owners who are preserving heritage buildings with the cost of delivering this public benefit.

To be eligible for the tax credit and accelerated write-off, restoration would have to be certified by an architect as following the Parks Canada published standards for conservation of historic places.

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27. CBC Radio: Kent Monkman Interview Unreserved
Kent Moneyman

Kent Monkman's Shame and Prejudice

Interview with artist Kent Monkman about his show Shame and Prejudice on til March 4 at U of T's Art Galery, 15 Kings College Circle (University College).

I saw this show over the weekend and LOVED IT. If you do only one thing about Canada 150 this year, see this show. It will be touring the country til 2020. It is one of the most accomplished shows I have ever seen, combining historic artifacts, painting, sculpture and installations to deliver a powerful message with a wonderful sense of humour. 

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28. Fisher River Cree Nation Website
Fisher River Cree Nation

History/Contact

Fisher River Cree First Nation

I am including this link to Fisher River Cree Nation as part of the BHN Canada 150 links to First Nations across Canada. This one is included because this is where the artist Kent Monkman has roots. Monkman's interview on his current Canada 150 Exhibition, Shame and Prejudice is above.

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29. Grassy Narrows First Nation

Grassy Narrows First Nation

Another nation very much in the news these days, Grassy Narrows who have been fighting, more successfully recently, against mercury poisoning in their water supply. This website seems to be under development but has a useful history, plus some links to current news reports.

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30. Globe and Mail: Kent Monkman-Shame and Prejudice
Robert Everett Green

Kent Monkman: A trickster with a cause crashes Canadas 150th birthday party

Painting Entitled Daddies

In Kent Monkman’s studio in west Toronto, there’s a large painting based on Robert Harris’s famous group portrait of the Fathers of Confederation. The delegates at the Charlottetown constitutional meetings of 1864 stand or sit in their accustomed places, but in the foreground, a nude figure lounges before the conference table, under the eyes of John A. Macdonald. It’s Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Mr. Monkman’s alter ego.

“She’s trying to get a seat at the table, or she could be a hired entertainer,” said the prominent painter of Cree ancestry, whose works have been collected by major museums such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Glenbow Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Miss Chief is definitely sending up the self-conscious gravity of the delegates and imposing an indigenous presence on negotiations that scarcely acknowledged the aboriginal inhabitants of the territories under discussion.

The inclusion of Miss Chief in a founding image of Confederation is a characteristic move by the 51-year-old Mr. Monkman, whose work constantly messes with accepted visual codes. You approach one of his large-scale paintings imagining that you’re looking at something familiar, but closer inspection reveals all kinds of transgressive narratives. He seems to be mocking painting modes of the past, but is also, paradoxically, enamoured of them.

Editor's Note:
Saw this show on the weekend, if you only do one thing for Canada 150, see this show.

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31. chicago.curbed.com: Landmark Modernist home from Keck + Keck demolished
A.J. LaTrace

Landmark modernist home from Keck + Keck

After a lengthy effort from preservationists to save a prominent midcentury home from the architects Keck + Keck, the glassy home has been demolished and the property cleared for sale as vacant land. According to Crain’s, the sprawling 27 acre property is being listed for nearly $9 million. The home was asking $10 million before it was demolished.

Editor's Note:
see also a previous post for more pictures - including interiors. http://chicago.curbed.com/2015/2/17/9991044/keck-keck-cant-find-buyer-after-years-on-the-market

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32. Dezeen:London rejects David Chipperfield Design
Tracy Mairs, forwarded by Max Allen

Chipperfield's plans for Tracey Emin residence and studio rejected

David Chipperfield Architects' proposal for a new east London home and studio for British artist Tracey Emin has been refused planning permission.

Chipperfield's scheme, which proposed the demolition of a 1920s block at 66-68 Bell Lane to make way for a new five-storey building, was turned down by the development committee at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets last week.

David Chipperfield plans for Tracey Emin residence rejected
The new brick development would have connected to Emin's existing studio and residence, which occupies an adjacent Victorian building at 1-5 Tenter Ground, right by Old Spitalfields Market.

"Officers have concluded that on balance the scheme would have a negative impact on the Artillery Passage Conservation Area, with its demolition of a locally listed building of both historic significance and aesthetic and townscape merit," said a statement from the committee.

David Chipperfield plans for Tracey Emin residence rejected
Emin is one of a group of contemporary artists known as the YBAs, which emerged in the late 1980s. Among her most famous artworks are My Bed and Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995.

A number of preservation groups objected to Chipperfield and Emin's plans, citing the negative impact of a contemporary building on the Artillery Passage Conservation Area.

The East End Preservation Society referred to the scheme "very damaging", while Save Britain's Heritage claimed the demolition of the existing 1920s building would cause "substantial harm" to the conservation area.

The scheme was initially submitted for planning consideration in summer 2015, but after a six-month period of indecision Emin launched an appeal through chartered surveyor Montagu Evans in January 2016. The appeal was received days prior to the official rejection at last Wednesday's meeting and is still ongoing.

This isn't the first project David Chipperfield Architects has had turned down for on the basis of preservation. In 2013, the British firm was appointed to design a £18.9m extension for the Geffrye Museum in east London.

The addition to the interiors museum proposed the proposed the demolition of the 1830s Marquis of Lansdowne pub, which, like 66-68 Bell Lane, sits in a conservation area in east London. A campaign was mounted by conservationists to retain the then-derelict building and the plans for the museum extension were thrown out by planners at Hackney council.

David Chipperfield Architects is currently working on a museum beside the Taj Mahal, and was recently unveiled as one of the winners of a competition to overhaul sites across Paris.

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