Ontario Heritage Act

Okay, let's move from old trees to old properties and what's in place to protect them.

Back in 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act made some changes to the Ontario Heritage Act, aiming to, well, get more homes built faster.

Time is ticking.

Municipalities have until January 1st, 2027 to get in line, but not every property will stay on that list.

The language that we've been using here for our viewers at home who aren't experts on urban planning and heritage, designated property versus listed property.

What are we talking about here?

Well, originally the idea with the Ontario Heritage Act was you could designate properties.

The City of Toronto found that that was a slightly cumbersome process, and so they started to develop a system called listing, and it's simply flag buildings.

As the wealthy started to move away from Jarvis Street, the building took on a new life cycle as a commercial property, serving as the first home for Toronto radio station CFRB in the 1920s, and then later an art gallery.

In 1975, the mansion was recognized and officially designated as a heritage property under Part 4 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Keg Steakhouse took over the ownership of the building the following year.

While the interior has heavily been altered over the decades to accommodate industrial kitchens and dining areas, the restaurant actively preserves the building's historical footprint, stone façade, and the grand staircase.