A Leaside building, which used to house a heating and plumbing company and is now being redeveloped, is expected to soon be included on the city's list of heritage properties.
Now vacant, the property at 211 Laird Dr. at Vanderhoof Avenue at one time was home to the Pease Foundry Company, which manufactured heating and plumbing supplies.The office and warehouse complex was built in the early 1950s and is an example of the Art Moderne style of architecture, noted for its aerodynamic forms, flat roofs and rounded corners that symbolized the era's appreciation of a new technological age."Historically, the Pease Foundry Company Building is associated with the ongoing development of Leaside, with Laird Avenue as the major corridor through its industrial core," said a report to North York Community Council on Tuesday, Jan. 11.Councillors agreed the building should be listed on the city's inventory of heritage properties, a decision that must still be approved by city council.The building is being redeveloped into a new two-storey commercial building which will incorporate historically significant elements from the existing structure.Geoff Kettel, chairperson of the North York Community Preservation Panel, praised efforts to preserve the building's heritage features."We would commend the owner, their consultants and city staff for working together to reach a solution that satisfies a number of considerations such as heritage, streetscape, as well as the owner's commercial needs," he said.The building's cultural value is based on several factors including its Art Moderne style, its links to the style of Toronto architect Earle C. Morgan, who designed the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (formerly called the Hummingbird and O'Keefe centres) and for its historic link to Leaside's past, Kettel said.Although redevelopment will see major alterations to the building, he said the panel is satisfied its heritage features will be preserved.The panel is asking that city council designate the building under the Ontario Heritage Act after conservation work is completed, Kettel said.