Protecting the Junction’s Look and Feel by supporting Heritage Designation to preserve its unique character

Conserving Junction’s Heritage

Action is needed now to protect Heritage Properties from demolition and out of character rebuilds

The JHCD Board is working with the City Heritage Planning and community groups to have the Junction designated a Heritage District by the City of Toronto. This will retain heritage buildings and spaces in the Junction and foster development that enhances its character.

Meet the Heritage Designation Team

  • Marilyn Miller

    Marilyn is a retired heritage planner who previously worked for the Ontario Ministry of Culture and the City of Toronto. She lives in the Junction area.

  • Charles Hazel

    Charles has an office on Dundas in the study area and has developed heritage plans in other parts of Toronto.

  • Jim Baxter

    Jim is a local contactor focusing on heritage preservation and has been invloved in community affairs for many years.

  • Ken Sharratt

    Ken has lived in the Junction area for 53 years. He is involved with local community and garden groups. He is also a director of FOSTRA, an umbrella group made up of the 28 resident, community and tenants groups located south of Bloor street in Toronto. FOSTRA provides community perspectives to city and provincial decision makers and planners concerning development and social policies in the City.

  • Diana Fancher

    Diana has been a resident of the area for many years, is a member of the West Toronto Junction Historical Society and researched and prepared background material leading to dozens of heritage designations in the Junction

  • Members of the Public

    We need residents, business owners and community groups of all kinds to step up and help with this once-in-a-generation effort to conserve the Junction’s Heritage

  • Note: The above mentioned team will work with City of Toronto Heritage Planning led by Cecilia Nin Fernandez.

    Click to link to Toronto Heritage

Out of character development threatens the heart of the Junction. Cooperative action is needed now or Junction character will be lost for ever.

Our mission is to have the Junction area designated as a Heritage Conservation District by the City achieved by working with residents associations, business groups and under the leadership of City Heritage Planning staff.

The Distillery District

Queen Street West

Preserving the Junction’s heritage is possible. We have started. Others have done it before in this city.

Our leadership team working with the community, business groups, the development industry, and the City, can develop a plan that encourages heritage preservations and meets the needs of small business, tourism and urban housing.

There are 18 Heritage districts in Toronto already, 7 more are in development and 15 are in the planning study phose. See the list.

Kensington Market

Our Vision

We see a future Junction that preserves unique character:

  • A majority of buildings identified as heritage properties

  • A street wall that is in keeping with the height of Junction heritage buildings for new builds and renos - may have more stories stepped back

  • New development and renovations in keeping with existing materials, corner treatments and shop front character- variety is key

  • Fine-grained streetscapes

  • Numerous small shops favouring independent business owners

Project Purpose - To carry out a Heritage Study leading to Heritage District designation 

See Study Area

Heritage Designation Project Steps

  1. City provides funding - Feb 2023

  2. City hires a consultant - early 2024

  3. Begin Heritage study - Mid 2024

  4. Study Boundary - Along Dundas W from Humberside Ave. to Gilmour Ave.

  5. Involve Community and Business Groups/Individuals - Mid 2024

  6. Draft Plan/Open Houses

  7. Heritage District Plan - Mid 2025

  8. Heritage District Designation by the City

The City of Toronto Heritage Planning Process

The City will be in charge of the Heritage Planning process for the Junction. Click on Heritage Planning for more information about heritage district planning and how it may affect you. The process will begin with a study carried out by consultants specializing in Heritage Conservation. They will carry out the work according to a standard City terms of reference for designating Heritage Districts. The Terms of Reference can be reviewed by Click on the above. The general outline of the study approach is shown on the Guide shown to the right. Click on it to see contents.

Ready to take the next step?

This is an important moment for the Junction. Whether you’re most comfortable contributing time to help achieve our advocacy goals, money to help us grow, or energy to put political pressure on our governments to change, we need you on our team.

Let’s meet up in real life to conserve the Junction for present and future generations.

Sign up to join the team and be the first to know about our developing events in the city study and developments in Junction.

Questions and Answers

  • Heritage is an ‘expression of the ways of living developed by a community, passed on from generation to generation’. In addition to buildings, the definition of heritage spans places, customs, practices, values, and artefacts.

  • HISTORIC PRESERVATION

    To preserve generally means to pause or understand a resource only from a certain point in time, effectively protecting it from change or evolution. The term pigeonholes historic structures because people who do not understand or embrace preservation are sometimes intimidated by it.

    HERITAGE CONSERVATION

    Heritage conservation is about managing change. It is planning based on the inherited culture and cultural artifacts of a place, structure or object. It means assessment, interpretation, conservation, documentation and, most certainly, strategic management. It considers the individuality and uniqueness of a place or a collections object.

    Item description

  • Only the city team member is paid. Everyone else is a volunteer.

  • It ia a non profit corporation that has its own board and constitution and it holds regular meetings. Any resident of the Junction can be a member. JCHD will assist the city by fostering public coment on the Heritage Designation process.

  • The city has determined that a Phase 1 study would be done only for properties along both sides of Dundas St. W between Humberside Ave and Gilmour Ave. These proerties are at high risk.Other areas may be looked at later once the study commence.

  • Heritage Conservation Districts are neighbourhoods that are protected by a municipal by-law passed under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act by City Council. Heritage Conservation Districts are put in place to conserve and enhance the special character of Toronto's historic areas and neighbourhoods.

  • Provincial planning policy and the City's Official Plan mandate the City to conserve areas with significant heritage value, wherever they exist. Potential Heritage Conservation Districts can be nominated by community members or can be identified by Staff. Like all planning studies done by the City, Heritage Conservation District studies are conducted by planning professionals, to ensure that the area is worthy of study, evaluate whether it warrants designation, and provide recommendations to the Toronto Preservation Board and City Council.

  • Being part of a Heritage Conservation District ensures that changes in your neighbourhood are guided by a clear planning and permit application process, with area specific guidelines. Property owners within Heritage Conservation Districts may also benefit from the Toronto Heritage Grant Program which can assist with the cost of conservation work.

  • Heritage Conservation Districts support changes that enhance a neighbourhood's unique character. Property owners within a District are required to receive a heritage permit for additions, alterations or demolition on their property. Changes to the interior, changes to the exterior that are not visible from the street, and routine maintenance like painting do not require a heritage permit.

  • Heritage permits are free, and are integrated with the building permit process; only one application is required, and the average time for review of heritage permit applications is three days.

  • No, you will not be required to replace your existing windows and doors. If you choose to replace your existing windows and doors that are visible from the sidewalk, you will need a heritage permit to do so. The Toronto Heritage Grant Program may be able to assist in the cost of repair or restoration of original windows and doors.

  • Property values are determined by many factors. Recent studies indicate that property values are most often similar or higher in Heritage Conservation Districts when compared to similar properties in undesignated areas. For more information, see:

    • "Heritage Districts Work! – More Stories of Success", 2012. Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Robert Shipley, University of Waterloo

    • "The Economic Value of Heritage Districts: How Assessment Growth in Heritage Conservation Districts Compares With Non-designated Areas in Hamilton", 2016. Urban Insights bulletin, CivicPlan.

  • The provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the Insurance Bureau of Canada have both confirmed that insurance premiums should not go up as result of heritage designation. Heritage property owners are encouraged to shop around to find the right insurance provider, and should contact the Insurance Bureau of Canada if their insurer has questions regarding designation.

  • Community consultation meetings are one way for residents to provide input; recommendations can be reviewed online and feedback provided to City Planning. Comments will be included in the summary of community engagement in the appendix of the HCD Study, and a summary of community feedback will be included in the staff report for Toronto Preservation Board. Residents can also write to the Toronto Preservation Board once the agenda and report is posted, or make a deputation at that meeting.

  • To clarify, the HCD Study report and recommendation to develop an HCD Plan for Junction is the first phase of a multi-phase project; the area will not be designated until an HCD Plan is developed and the item is approved by Community Council and City Council.