Heritage advocates sounding alarm as clock runs down on local history
The old Krug furniture factory is a fixture in the Kitchener community.
The landmark originally constructed at the end of the 19th century remains in operation today, listed on the City of Kitchener’s heritage register in good condition, and it is hard for some to imagine it could ever be lost to demolition.
“But it doesn’t take long from misuse or lack of use for something like that to go down the tubes,” said Gail Pool, a member of the North Waterloo branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO). She said the Krug factory and other buildings like it could be at risk with changes to the Ontario Heritage Act.
The ACO is sounding the alarm as the clock runs down on time for municipalities to designate about 36,000 listed heritage properties across the province or risk losing them to development interests.
In 2022, the Ford government required municipalities to remove listed properties from their heritage registers by Jan. 1, 2025 unless they’ve begun the process to designate a listed property prior to the deadline.
Unlike a designated property, a listed property has only modest protection. Current rules require 60 days’ notice, in writing, of the owner’s intention to demolish or remove a building or structure, so the municipality can use that time to decide if it wants to afford more formal protection.
As of Jan. 1, properties on the register will no longer be afforded such protection or time. Properties that lose their listing status cannot be relisted for another five years.
Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo are among municipalities that have sent letters to the premier asking for an extension to 2030, given the time and staff resources required to undertake reviews.
“With the expiry date now months away, municipalities have been scrambling to review their registers and prioritize properties for designation or other protection,” said ACO Chair Diane Chin. “But this is nearly impossible on such a tight timeline.”
The ACO’s research shows that only a small fraction of Ontario’s listed properties are in line for designation by year end.
Changes to the Heritage Act were made under the Ontario government’s Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, and could affect large, undesignated industrial buildings such as the Krug factory — a location that could be slated for residential redevelopment — but will more likely impact smaller heritage properties in the sights of developers.
“I think planners are now being pressured into quite a lot of effort to produce housing,” said Pool, referencing a $14-million cheque recently presented to Kitchener for meeting provincial targets.
“As an organization, we’re trying to protect whatever heritage there is because there isn’t very much.”
Numerous other buildings, such as the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church properties on Shanley Street and Moore Avenue in Kitchener, could be affected, said Pool, who has put together a database for local heritage properties.
In 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton withdrew its application to demolish the 1927 Sacred Heart convent building on Moore Avenue after Kitchener’s heritage committee moved to protect it, along with the church. Efforts to determine a future use for the convent and the 1912 Sacred Heart school next door fell flat, however, and the buildings remain boarded up.
Many properties haven’t been maintained but still have value that needs to be considered, including possible repurposing, instead of creating something new and changing the community, said Debra Crawford, the ACO’s vice-chair.
“If you neglect a property long enough, you can probably come up with a rationale as to why it should be demolished,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that is standing in the way of building more homes. Those properties provide an opportunity to reuse, fix up and build housing that’s affordable in existing communities without trucking it all to the dump. And I think we need to be conscious of that.”
As municipalities scramble, Chin says an extended deadline would help municipalities ensure that properties aren’t thrown off the register prematurely and without input from property owners, many of whom are still unaware of what’s happening. The province, however, says a statement it provided to media earlier this year stands.
“Previously, municipalities were able to keep listed properties on the register indefinitely, which in many cases resulted in additional red tape, uncertainty and delays,” it says.
“Removing listed properties from the registry after two years ensures that municipalities are proactively prioritizing, identifying, listing and designating properties that have distinct heritage value, and makes the process transparent, consistent and predictable for all parties involved.”
There are a lot of properties that have significant heritage value that are going to be lost because of the arbitrary deadline, Crawford warns.
“If they’re ripe for development, owners can apply to the municipality for a demolition permit,” she said. “Most demolition permits are issued within 24 to 48 hours, and so within a week that property can be gone.”