Photo Courtesy of Leaside Centennial Productions

Further to messages I have circulated on this matter over the past year, I am pleased to report that the Toronto Preservation Board last week voted to recommend that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 262 Bessborough Drive under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

262 Bessborough Drive is the large property located immediately south of Leaside High School. Its most recent residents were Mary and Sven Linholm, both fondly remembered by many Leaside residents. The original dwelling dates back to the latter part of the 19th Century, and is stated in the formal heritage study report as “a rare surviving farmhouse and the oldest residential building in Leaside.” The City process leading to last week’s proceedings before the Board was initiated last winter at my request.

I appeared at last week’s meeting and confirmed my support for designation. The proposed designation identifies specific “heritage attributes” in accordance with the legislation. These include “the building known historically as the Thomas G. Elgie House”, “the original centre section of the two-storey house form building with its scale, form and massing,” the “original red brick cladding and trim on the exposed elevations of the original main body of the house,” “the gable roof and trim, brick chimney and original fenestration” on the east façade (facing Bessborough)” and “the original window opening” on the west wall. It is to be noted that only the original home and its elements are identified in the proposed designation, not the large additions that comprise a significant part of the present structure.

A bit of news in the report that I found interesting: the east elevation, which for about a hundred years has been the front of the house, was originally a side wall. The original front door faced south; something that few current local residents would have been alive to have seen. For that reason it struck me as particularly interesting that one of the enumerated heritage attributes includes “the specific location, setback and orientation of the building on the west side of Bessborough….” That is to say, the declared heritage attributes consist of not only the house itself, but also its location and – at least some of – its surroundings, including its relationship with Bessborough Drive.

I suggested (unsuccessfully) at the Board that the matter of location and context might better be expressed in terms of the home’s placement on the high point of land overlooking the broad expanse of land below to the south, which clearly did not include Bessborough Drive at all, in as much as there was no such road at the time. The matter of location and context could turn out to be important points where the future of this property is concerned.

Keep reading. 262 Bessborough Drive has recently become the focus of particular local interest for reasons unrelated to its heritage character. This was prompted by the appearance of a For Sale sign on the front lawn last November, quickly followed by speculation of a potential town house development. When this came to my attention my immediate step was to contact the City’s Preservation Services department to enquire as to the status of its file on the property. I had always been made to understand that the home was a “heritage property” and was therefore surprised to find that the department responsible for heritage matters in fact had no file on it. Accordingly, I then put into motion the heritage designation process that resulted in last Thursday’s proceeding. My next step was to track down the listing agent and let her know that I had done that.

The eventual designation of the existing house eliminates the potential that the property can be razed and treated as a development site. The recognition of “location, setback and orientation” as specific heritage elements can itself be expected to be a limiting factor on any proposal to subdivide the property. In short, upon designation, any development activity that takes place on the site will only be accommodated in the context of addressing the heritage elements in the designation.

Questions of development will be assessed not only according to Planning Act criteria such as the City’s bylaws and Official Plan and other customary considerations, but by the unique criteria relating specifically to the Ontario Heritage Act as well. I see the heritage designation of the Elgie House as an important step in preserving an important part of our community’s earliest heritage. I see it also as a pivotal factor in determining the future of the property at 262 Bessborough Drive and its impact on neighbouring properties.