Kensington Market is one of the few corners of downtown Toronto that has managed to evade redevelopment against all odds, its one-way streets still home to the recognizable, varying facades that have housed some of the same small businesses for decades. But, while many may think the pocket spanning Dundas to College Street just west of Spadina is immune to the reaches of gentrification, it doesn't actually have adequate heritage protections to prevent that.
Aimed to refashion a $24 million stretch of Victorian semi-detached homes and businesses along Kensington Ave. into a mid-rise building — something not out of the realm of possibilities per Toronto's Official Plan, which only asks that new development be consistent with the community's 'low scale buildings with retail at grade, minimal setbacks and open-air display of goods on the boulevard.' But, the City's Preservation Board has, after many years of trying, finally taken some solid steps this week toward making the redevelopment of Kensington more difficult, if not permanently safeguarding its streets from becoming unrecognizable, as many parts of the city have over the years.On January 8, the board approved a motion to formally designate the area as the Kensington Market Heritage Conservation District, with its own associated plan including 'policies and guidelines to conserve the cultural heritage value and heritage attributes of the neighbourhood.' This comes after the Kensington Market HCD Study was authorized all the way back in 2015, aligning over the years with changes to the Ontario Heritage Act. 'For all Heritage Conservation Districts adopted following January 1, 2023, per the Ontario Heritage Act, at least 25 percent of the properties within the defined area must meet two or more of the nine criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest. In the proposed Kensington Market Heritage Conservation District, more than 50 percent of the properties satisfy two or more of the criteria,' reads Wednesday's motion. 'This National Historic Site is a unique and important historic neighbourhood with a distinctive identity and sense of place... The Kensington Market Heritage Conservation District Plan embraces social value as an integral component of the District's significance, informing the framework of policies and guidelines to manage the area's ongoing evolution while sustaining its identity.'May 25, 2023 Despite this big win for the neighbourhood, under the Heritage Act, pretty substantial renovations and alterations are still permitted, and some of the rules can be worked around if special permits are granted by the City. As outlined in the conservation plan, 'new development, additions, and alterations to existing built heritage resources' will be able to go forward easily, so long as they 'conserve, maintain and enhance the cultural heritage value of the District.' Though 'cultural heritage values, attributes and character' of properties must be conserved under the Heritage Act, this only really refers to 'features of significant architectural, historical, archaeological or scientific interest' — in the case of Kensington, the 'visual character' of building facades and roofs, the street and block patterns, and the generally low-rise design with minimal setbacks.
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Kensington Market Winter Solstice Festival set to celebrate its 35th yearThe Kensington Market Winter Solstice Festival will celebrate the official start of the winter season for it's 35th year. The event will run as a pedestrian street festival instead of a parade.
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