HOME SWEET HOME
Student fights to stop the destruction of a piece of Toronto history,
Adam Wynne woke up Saturday to find his home shaking and was startled by what he saw.
“We look outside and there’s a crew that says ‘demolition,’ ” said Wynne, one of 12 tenants of the house near Harbord St. and Spadina Ave. “They were up on the roof, they were outside the window, the whole building was shaking. It was absolutely terrifying.”
Now when it rains or snows, he said, the inside of the house gets wet even though they are still living there.
Located at 15 Glen Morris St., surrounded by University of Toronto buildings, Wynne is fighting to preserve the 140-year-old house as a relic of the city’s past.
The house is the oldest in the neighbourhood and has a unique architectural style, said Julie Mathien, copresident of the Huron-Sussex Residents’ Organization.
“It’s actually important to the area. It’s got some integrity,” she said. “There is no other house like this in this particular neighbourhood.”
In November, a developer with the business name “15 Glen Morris Inc.” purchased the building. A short time later, Wynne, whose lease is up this September, said his new landlord made an informal offer for him and his housemates to move out by February in exchange for an unspecified amount of money. They declined.
“We’re not planning on moving out,” said Wynne, who has lived in the house since September 2015.
Wynne said the developer told him maintenance staff were on site to address “water penetration issues” caused by rotting on the face of the building, which he disputes.
In a statement, Danny Roth, a spokesperson for the developer, said it has “been pursuing an extensive construction remediation program” to address outstanding maintenance requests from residents since assuming ownership of the property less than two months ago.
“While undoubtedly causing some inconvenience and disruption to our tenants, the work is necessary and will continue,” Roth said. “These efforts to remediate the building are ongoing, irrespective of any development rights associated with the property, or any considerations by ownership as to a potential redevelopment.”
He added the company is “exploring future redevelopment options available to us.”
After Saturday’s work, Wynne pointed to cracks along the exterior of the building and three or four “gaping holes in the wall” along the front of the house, big enough for rain and snow to get in. Three wooden, ornate veranda pillars were also removed and replaced by metal jacks, according to Wynne.
“Animals are entering the walls of the house via the holes created by the owner’s work. It’s all you can hear in some rooms,” he said.
No permits were issued for work carried out this past weekend at the house. Following an inspection Monday, Toronto Building specialist Daryl Pullen issued an order to comply, indicating that removal of the front porch’s wooden columns, which were replaced with metal jacks, required both a permit and an engineer’s review.
The “unauthorized construction” must be removed by Jan. 31 if no permit is obtained by then, according to the order.
Wynne, a U of T public health student, said it was important to protect the history of the structure against any future redevelopment.
In separate letters, he and Trinity-Spadina councillor Joe Cressy requested that the Toronto and East York Community Council recommend the city evaluate the property for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.
David Bronskill, the lawyer representing the developer, wrote in his submission to the community council that “our client believes this represents an inappropriate use of the Ontario Heritage Act and that the requested study should not proceed.” He noted that the Ontario Municipal Board approved official plan and zoning bylaw permits in 2005 to allow for the redevelopment of the property as an 18-unit, eight-storey apartment building.
Wynne said a demolition crew “ripped off the whole front of the house” just four days after council recommended a heritage evaluation.
“All the veranda was destroyed, all the 140-year-old woodwork was smashed into pieces with crowbars,” Wynne said.
Cressy said he was concerned the building’s historic elements were at risk.
“When we list or designate a building, that does not freeze a building in time, rather it allows us to guide and manage change in the future,” he said. “The risk of it being demolished and being replaced by an apartment complex, not only would it be a loss for the neighbourhood, Toronto would lose a piece of its history unnecessarily.”