On February 6th City Council voted in favour of two items aimed at protecting Cabbagetown's unique heritage. Preservationalists are thrilled. 

Perhaps the most profound vote designated the Cabbagetown Southwest Heritage Conservation District under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act. See the attached image above for exact delineation but the area is roughly bordered by Carlton to the north, Shuter to the South, Parliament to the East, and Sherbourne to the West. 

This area now receives similar protection as four neighbouring Cabbagetown areas with Victorian era buildings to the  North and East.

Courtesy: City of Toronto 

According to the Ontario Heritage Trust website, a Heritage Conservation District or HCD is a geogrphaical area in a municipality that receives protection to retain its heritage character. This includes the variety of buildings and how they are interrelated, physical attributes of the area including trees, landscape, building setbacks, roads, street furniture and lighting.

Th initiative to create the HCD for Southwest Cabbagetown was championed by the Cabbagetown Historic Conservation Disctrict Committee. There is great information on their site and also in this background document completed for City Council. Take a read.

CONDO PLAN SCUTTLED? 

In other preservation news, plans for a new condominium building at 509 Parliament Street may have been scuttled after Toronto City Council voted to protect an existing building at 509 Parliament Street under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The owner of the building put forward plans for a 9-storey condominium which was met with significant community push-back. According to City of Toronto documents the building at 509 Parliament, known as “The Carlton Theatre”, was built as a movie theatre in the Classical Revival style in 1929.

City Council included the property on the Heritage Register on March 29, 2023 but the owner of the property objected, stating that the building didn’t merit protection under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

City staff reviewed the objections and didn’t agree.

According to the City Staff: “…the property at 509 Parliament Street meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Act under all three categories of design and physical, historical and associative, and contextual values.”

What’s next in Cabbagetown's development? Stay tuned.