STAFF REPORT ACTION REQUIRED - Toronto · Sukyo Mahikari have subsequently worked with a heritage architect to develop a proposal that would satisfy the programmatic requirements

Alterations to a Designated Heritage Property - 691 Scarlett Road 1

STAFF REPORT ACTION REQUIRED

Alterations to a Designated Heritage Property 691 Scarlett Road

Date: May 26, 2011

To: Toronto Preservation Board Etobicoke York Community Council

From: Acting Director, Policy & Research, City Planning Division

Wards: Ward 2 – Etobicoke North

Reference Number:

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SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to recommend the approval of alterations to the designated heritage property at 691 Scarlett Road. The Sukyo Mahikari Religious Organization of Canada is proposing alterations and an addition to the existing church. The church is intended for use as a Centre for Spiritual Development.

This report recommends approval of the proposed design that will provide the additional space required for the needs of the Centre and return the building to a good state of repair.

The proposed alterations, rehabilitation and restorations are sympathetic with the building's form and materials, and do not compromise its heritage character or attributes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The City Planning Division recommends that:

1. City Council approve the alterations to the designated heritage property at 691 Scarlett Road, substantially in accordance with the plans and drawings contained in Appendix 2a of the Heritage Impact Assessment prepared by Bill Greer, in association with Takashi Tsuji Architects (November 2010) for the Sukyo Religious Organization of Canada, on file with the Manager, Heritage Preservation Services subject to the following conditions:


a. Prior to final site plan approval the owner shall provide the following to the satisfaction of the Manager, Heritage Preservation Services:

i. an as-found record of the existing building including photographs keyed to plans and elevations of all the visible exteriors and interiors;

ii. a detailed Conservation Plan, including a condition assessment, for the conservation work described in the November 2010 Heritage Impact Assessment, to be prepared by a qualified heritage consultant, detailing recommended interventions, exterior restoration, estimated costs and a schedule of short and long term maintenance requirements;

iii. a final landscape plan that supports the heritage character of the heritage building;

iv. a Letter of Credit, in a form and an amount satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, to secure all restoration work included in the detailed Conservation Plan.

b. Prior to the issuance of any heritage permit for the heritage property located at 691 Scarlett Road, the owner shall provide the following:

i. full building permit drawings, including specifications for heritage conservation work prepared by the heritage consultant to the satisfaction of the Manager, Heritage Preservation Services.

c. Prior to the release of the Letter of Credit, the owner shall:

i. complete the heritage conservation work to the satisfaction of the Manager, Heritage Preservation Services;

ii. provide a Letter of Substantial Completion for the heritage conservation work signed by the project architect and heritage consultant to the satisfaction of the Manager, Heritage Preservation Services;


Financial Impact There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report.

DECISION HISTORY City Council designated the property at 691 Scarlett Road under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act on April 16, 2003 by By-Law No. 264-2003 for its cultural heritage value or interest. The designation of the property followed an application by a former owner to redevelop the site. The planning application was refused by the Ontario Municipal Board in 2004.

After purchasing the property in 2009, Sukyo Mahikari submitted a plan to adapt the existing building that Heritage Preservation staff could not support due to the proposed level of intervention and degree of impact.

An application to demolish the building was submitted in April 2010 and City Council approved the May 2010 staff report which recommended refusal of the demolition application and an amendment to the designating by-law. The owner did not appeal the decision. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2010.EY38.6

Sukyo Mahikari have subsequently worked with a heritage architect to develop a proposal that would satisfy the programmatic requirements of the organization while retaining the architectural character of the church.

ISSUE BACKGROUND The site is located on the southeast corner of Scarlett Road and Kingdom Street four blocks south of Lawrence Avenue West. A location map (Attachment No. 1) and photographs (Attachment No. 2) are attached. The site contains a church building dating to 1895 that was moved to the subject property in the 1920s.

St. Matthias Anglican Church has design value as a rare example of a late 19th century country church identified as a heritage resource in Etobicoke that was designed in the Victorian Gothic Revival style. Popularized for religious architecture in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the hallmarks of the style include the pointed-arch window openings and picturesque roofline with a bell cote that are illustrated at St. Matthias.

The property is associated with the historical development of the Westmount community, which was founded in the World War I era as a residential neighbourhood for workers at the munitions plants across the Humber River in Weston. Following its move to Westmount in the early 1920s, St. Matthias Anglican Church became an important institutional building in the hamlet.

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2010.EY38.6


The church is also linked to Hurricane Hazel, that occurred on October 15, 1954 and devastated the Westmount community. When the flooding of the Humber River swept away houses in Westmount, culminating in the deaths of 36 residents, St. Matthias served as the rescue center for the neighbourhood during the storm and in the days that followed.

Archival records indicate that the church building that occupies the property at 691 Scarlett Road, was built in 1895 as Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Malton in Peel County. In 1922, the Rector and Wardens of St. Philip’s Anglican Church, in the Township of Etobicoke, purchased the corner lot on the east side of Scarlett Road at Kingdom Street for a mission church in the Township’s Westmount Community. They acquired the vacant Holy Trinity Church building in Malton and relocated it to the Westmount site in 1923 and renamed it St. Matthias Anglican Church.

The Revised Reasons for Designation (Attachment No. 3) contain a statement of the cultural heritage value of the property, as well as a description of the site’s heritage attributes. The statement of cultural heritage value offers an expansion of the key values outlined in the original Reasons for Designation.

COMMENTS

Proposal In addition to modifications required to accommodate Sukyo Mahikari's functional needs, a considerable amount of work is required to stabilize the structure and foundation of the building, as well as to restore the exterior with new horizontal wood siding to replace the deteriorated original wood. This will allow for the removal of the existing vinyl siding and the introduction of insulation and a vapour barrier to correct the building's inadequate cladding system.

The additional programmatic requirements of Sukyo Mahikari are satisfied through the extension and widening of the south wing and an extension of the basement level along the south property line.

The north and south walls are being modified to bring in additional light and to consolidate the stained glass windows on the north while allowing the south light to enter the building through clear glass. The word "Mahikari" means "True Light" and the enhanced natural light has an important significance in this worship space.


Heritage Impact Assessment Heritage Preservation Services staff concur with the assessment of impact presented in the report prepared by William N. Greer, Heritage Consultant, that the alterations are acceptable in relation to the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada and that the addition is designed in a sympathetic manner.

The Standard and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada states the following:

"Maintain character-defining elements on an ongoing basis. Repair character-defining elements by reinforcing their materials and using recognized conservation methods. Replace in kind any extensively deteriorated or missing parts of character-defining elements, where there are surviving prototypes."

The building will be reclad in wood siding (the original material) which had deteriorated and was subsequently covered with vinyl siding. The original material will thereby be replaced in kind. In addition, the bell cote is being restored and technical solutions are being explored to improve technical flaws in the detailing while maintaining the basic look and construction.

Another important standard that the proposal upholds is the direction to:

"Conserve the heritage value and character-defining elements when creating any new additions to a historic place or any related new construction. Make the new work physically and visually compatible with, subordinate to and distinguishable from the historic place."

Often a new addition can be identified by the subtleties of simplified detailing or lack of patina. In this case the proposal increases the scale of the subordinate wing while not introducing a completely new element. The identified character-defining element of the L-shaped plan (see Attachment No. 3) is therefore maintained eliminating the need to compromise the form with the introduction of entirely new components.

The enlargement of the south wing and expansion of the basement level creates additional floor space without compromising the fundamental form of the building. The ridgeline of the modified roof of the south wing remains below the existing ridgeline thus maintaining its relationship as a subordinate element.


The proposed alteration to the property at 691 Scarlett Road has balanced the manipulation of the form and massing in a manner that satisfies the required additional programmatic space and provides technical upgrades without compromising the essential character of the building. The result is a successful rehabilitation of a significant heritage resource.

CONTACT Mary L. MacDonald, Acting Manager Heritage Preservation Services Tel: 416-338-1079 Fax: 416-392-1973 Email: [email protected]

SIGNATURE

_______________________________ Kerri A. Voumvakis, Acting Director Policy and Research City Planning Division

ATTACHMENTS Attachment No.1 – Location Map Attachment No.2 – Photographs Attachment No.3 – Revised Reasons for Designation Attachment No.4 – Proposed Elevations - West and South Attachment No.5 – Proposed Elevations - East and North Attachment No.6 – Proposed Floor Plans Attachment No.7 – Proposed Eastwest Section


691 SCARLETT ROAD – LOCATION MAP ATTACHMENT NO. 1

The arrow marks the location of the site.

This location map is for information purposes only; the exact boundaries of the property are not

shown.


691 SCARLETT ROAD - PHOTOGRAPHS ATTACHMENT NO. 2


REVISED REASONS FOR DESIGNATION (2010): ATTACHMENT NO. 3 691 SCARLETT ROAD (STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE) Page 1 of 2

St. Matthias Anglican Church

Description

The property at 691 Scarlett Road is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, and meets the criteria for municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of design, associative and contextual value. Located on the southeast corner of Scarlett Road and Kingdom Street, St. Matthias Anglican Church (1895) is a single-storey church building that was relocated from Malton to the Etobicoke community of Westmount in 1923.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

St. Matthias Anglican Church has design value as a rare example of a late 19th century country church identified as a heritage resource in Etobicoke that was designed in the Victorian Gothic Revival style. Popularized for religious architecture in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the hallmarks of the style include the pointed-arch window openings and picturesque roofline with a bell cote that are illustrated at St. Matthias.

The property is associated with the historical development of the Westmount community, which was founded in the World War I era as a residential neighbourhood for workers at the munitions plants across the Humber River in Weston. Following its move to Westmount in the early 1920s, St. Matthias Anglican Church became an important institutional building in the hamlet.

The church is also linked to Hurricane Hazel, the tragic event that occurred on October 15, 1954 and devastated the Westmount community. When the flooding of the Humber River swept away houses in Westmount, culminating in the deaths of 36 residents, St. Matthias served as the rescue center for the neighbourhood during the storm and in the days that followed.

Contextually, with its country church appearance and placement on a corner lot on Scarlett Road south of Lawrence Avenue West, St. Matthias Anglican Church is a local landmark in Etobicoke.


691 Scarlett Road Page 2 of 2

Heritage Attributes

The heritage attributes of the property at 691 Scarlett Road are:

The scale, form and massing of the single-storey L-shaped plan that incorporates a three-side apse at the east and a shed-roofed wing at the southeast corner

The steeply-pitched cross-gable roof with a bell cote at the west end and a brick chimney on the south

The wood construction and cladding (currently concealed)

The main entrance, which is placed on the principal (west) façade in a single-storey enclosed porch with a gable roof

The pointed-arch and flat-headed window openings containing stained glass

The placement and setback of the building on a corner lot


ATTACHMENT NO. 4 691 SCARLETT ROAD - PROPOSED ELEVATIONS, WEST AND SOUTH

WEST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION


ATTACHMENT NO. 5 691 SCARLETT ROAD - PROPOSED ELEVATIONS, EAST AND NORTH

EAST ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION


691 SCARLETT ROAD - PROPOSED FLOOR PLANS ATTACHMENT NO. 6

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

GROUND FLOOR PLAN


ATTACHMENT NO. 7 691 SCARLETT ROAD - PROPOSED EASTWEST SECTION

Documents

STAFF REPORT ACTION REQUIRED - Toronto · Sukyo Mahikari have subsequently worked with a heritage architect to develop a proposal that would satisfy the programmatic requirements