Northwest segment of area close to receiving heritage designation

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The whole of Cabbagetown is one step closer to being deemed a Heritage Conservation District after Toronto and East York Community Council approved heritage designation of the northwest section of the area for conservation Tuesday.

The approved section is roughly bounded by Wellesley Street to the north, Carlton Street to the south, Sherbourne Street to the west and Parliament Street to the east.

If approved at city council later this month, Cabbagetown Northwest will join Cabbagetown-Metcalfe, Cabbagetown South and Cabbagetown North as protected heritage districts.

"We want to eventually have all of Cabbagetown designated as a heritage district," said George Rust-D'Eye of the Cabbagetown Preservation Association (CPA). "Three areas are already protected, but this is the first west of Parliament Street."

Cabbagetown is one of the few stable residential communities in Toronto to have retained much of its earlier architecture. Homes in the area are predominantly Victorian-style, and many of its landmark buildings have gone largely unchanged since the 19th century.

The Cabbagetown Northwest area excludes a large swath of land stretching south from Wellesley Street between Bleecker and Ontario streets, as that area was redeveloped in the 1970s and 1980s to make way for St. James Town.

"The heritage buildings in that area are all gone, so there was no sense including them," Rust-D'Eye said.

While the community widely supported the proposal to designate the area as a heritage district, there was some opposition. St. Peter's Anglican Church at 188 Carlton St. sent a letter to council to demand exclusion from the heritage district as "the approval of both the Bishop (of the Diocese) and Diocesan Council is required in respect of all matters relating to the encumbering of the property."

Rust-D'Eye said, however, the church itself was designated individually as a heritage building under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1993, making its inclusion within the bounds of the Cabbagetown Northwest district a moot point.

Peggy Curtin of the CPA said the local BIA had offered its support for the designation.

"They supported us going all along Carlton Street, and the BIA has never shown any support for heritage designation before," she said.

Ward 28 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) Councillor Pam McConnell said the community council's decision to approve the designation was another important step in preserving the entire Cabbagetown community. She amended the CPA's request for designation to include a clause insisting city staff expedite the approval process for the remaining sections.

"This is the fourth chunk (of Cabbagetown to be designated) and that leaves us with two pieces to go," McConnell said. "The next section is south of Carlton to Gerrard."

Buildings within a heritage conservation district are offered some protection from demolition and out-of-character development, and enhancement of heritage features is encouraged.

Significant buildings within the area:

St. Peter's Anglican Church - opened in 1866 at the corner of Carlton and Bleecker streets.

St. Luke's United Church - built in 1872 and opened in 1876 at 353 Sherbourne St.

Eglise du Sacre-Coeur - home to Toronto's first French-speaking Roman Catholic congregation; moved to its current location at Carlton and Sherbourne streets in 1936.

Winchester School - built in 1897 to replace an existing school on the site, the school was restored after a massive fire in 1973.

Canadian Bank of Commerce - designed by Darling and Pearson in 1905 at Carlton and Parliament streets.