Citizens square off against condo developers over the fate of 251 King E.
Walking east on King, even on a sunny afternoon, it is easy to miss the little tawny-coloured building currently at the centre of public debate between developers and local residents. At only three-storeys high, the turn-of-the-century heritage building located at 251 King E. — with its dimpled bricks and corroded miniature pillars — is anything but noticeable. Shadowed by adjacent newer builds and add-ons, the neglected former hotel, which currently is occupied by the Aronovitch Macaulay Rollo law firm, faces a shaky future — a future supported only by its north and west walls, thanks to a convention known as façadism: the practice of demolishing an entire building, except for the exterior.
Used as a method for “saving” heritage buildings, façadism ignites a fervent debate among historical preservationists, many of whom oppose the practice on the principle that architecture is about more than just exteriors; it is a three-dimensional experience held up by archways, doorways, cornices and everything in between.
The debate has a long history in Toronto. Given the city’s record of knocking down buildings in place for new contemporary ones, façadism has been used to mediate between Toronto's architectural past and future, sometimes to great success. For example, Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place), located in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, is felt by many architectural experts to be a tasteful merger between old and new. Completed in 1992, the award-winning building houses not only the Hockey Hall of Fame but 11 heritage buildings and a Galleria supported by eight freestanding steel supports, creating a “hall of light.”
However, the plan for 251 King E. proposed by Rams Head Development is decidedly less majestic: dubbed the Bauhaus Condos, it calls for a 17-storey multi-use building that requires the demolition of the entire heritage structure and the reconstruction of the north and west façade. If approved, the building — which can be viewed on the Bauhaus website — will resemble the recently completed Bay Adelaide Centre (BAC). Its first tower completed last June, the BAC — a marriage between the façade of the historic National Building and a contemporary glass tower — is a notable example of how façadism can lead to aesthetic disaster. Not only do the old and new structures compete against each other, it appears as if the National Building exterior has been glued onto the tower as an afterthought.
Under the King-Parliament Secondary Plan, the area surrounding 251 King E. boasts special bylaws protecting it from development that does not match the historical character of the street. However, in early 2008, Rams Head posted a sign in the window of the Aronovitch Macaulay Rollo offices announcing their application for re-zoning, one that will be moving forward today (Nov. 17) when pre-hearings with the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) begin.
Though many assume a building with heritage status is protected forevermore, the system is actually open to loopholes: after a building has been given historical designation by the city’s Heritage Preservation Services department, owners not actually interested in preserving a building can take their case to the province's Conservation Review Board in order to have demolition plans approved. If that does not succeed, owners can then appeal the decision with the OMB.
Back on King East, just two days prior to the OMB pre-hearing, the Bells of Old York can be heard clanging from the cathedral’s spire. The scene is a festive one, with weekend pedestrians walking leisurely past the steps of St. James Cathedral with their shopping bags. It’s a scene that differs greatly from that which played out here just over a year ago when the Community Consultation Meeting — which enables the public to review a developer’s plan, ask questions and provide feedback — was held at the cathedral. What is normally a dry and civil affair became an all out pitchfork-and-torches demonstration as neighbours came together to rally against the development plan for 251 King E.. “It was a public lynching,” recalls Robert Cishecki, who runs Better Planning For All, a web-based campaign launched in response to the Rams Head Development plan.
Façadism, explains Cishecki, distresses the urban fabric of a neighbourhood. “A building, along with the individuals that live in that neighbourhourhood and the shop owners, bring a certain amount of ambiance to a community.”
Developers, however, often don’t take these qualities into account. “Toronto is a very practical city in terms of dollars and cents," Cishecki reasons. "What developers look at is how much square feet they can utilize on a particular site and that takes the overriding precedence.”
The result? Modest buildings like 251 King E. with its humble archway and subtle decorative brickwork become even more lost — overshadowed not only by its adjacent buildings but also by its new unsightly, addition: the glass tower and everything else inside it.