Half-round on Heritage Canada's top endangered places list
The circa 1963 modernist half-round structure is set to be demolished as Bridgepoint Health, the building's current owner, moves forward in its redevelopment plans.
Citizens for Riverdale Hospital (CRH), has been fighting, albeit unsuccessfully before the Ontario Municipal Board, to preserve the unique structure.
The main arguments for keeping the building intact are the lack of due diligence regarding its heritage value, the environmental impacts of such a significant demolition and the planning concerns of making public land private.
"We still hope that the building will come off Heritage Canada's list - not because it is demolished, but because it is preserved. This, however, requires ongoing effort," wrote CRH's Penina Coopersmith in a recent email that called on supporters to express their concerns to the provincial ministers of Health, Infrastructure and the Environment.
Each year, HCF identifies 20 architectural and heritage sites in Canada that face the wrecker's ball as well as those that have already been demolished in its worst losses list.
The Heritage Canada Foundation is a national, non-profit group that promotes the preservation of Canada's historic buildings and places.
The organization compiles the top endangered and worst losses lists each year to highlight the need for a national system of heritage-related incentives and legislation to maintain and protect lost and endangered sites.
