Kingswood Road South receives special heritage designation

The homes of those living on Kingswood Road from Queen Street East to Bracken Avenue are now part of the new Kingswood Road South Heritage Conservation District (HCD).

City council reached the decision, which is in accordance with Section 41 of the Ontario Heritage Act, at its Jan, 26 meeting.

This means all properties within the designated area from #4 to #175 Kingswood Rd., unless designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, will now be listed in the city's inventory of heritage properties.

The plan to designate the circa-1909 community as a HCD was a multi-year resident-led initiative.

One of the main motivations to do so was to ensure the character of the community is maintained and safe from developers eager to build up the highly desirable Beach area.

Back in 2004, the city surveyed residents in the Balmy Beach area asking them whether the surrounding community has a heritage character and if it would be appropriate to designate it as a Heritage Conservation District to enhance and maintain that character.

A total of 14 areas were polled. Residents along Kingswood Road South from #4 to #175 as well as five other areas including Bracken Avenue, Kingswood Road north of Bracken Avenue, Balmy Avenue, Bingham Avenue, and Glenfern Avenue voted to continue with the process.

This has led to more than four years of hard work from Kingswood Road South residents in partnership with E.R.A. Architects and the City of Toronto to develop a plan to address the area's specific heritage values as well as the character of the Kingswood Road South residential area.

The 134-page report stated "Kingswood Road, south of Bracken Avenue and north of Queen Street East is a good example of the cultural patterns that contribute to the rich history of Toronto's urban landscape. Unfortunately, recent developments tend to be less characteristic of the area's established character and threaten to undermine the area's historic value."

Further, it said the establishment of this new HCD would ensure provide guidelines would be provided for future developments that would compliment and enhance the character, historically and culturally, of this charming lakefront community.

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