‘It would be a shame’: Owner proposing to split historic house at 182 Queens Ave. and build two homes: March 15, 2021 Etobicoke Guardian article

Update: Correction: 182 Queens Ave. in Mimico was built in 1902, new evidence indicates, not around 1898 as earlier noted.

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A March 15, 2021 Etobicoke Guardian article is entitled: “‘It would be a shame,’ say neighbours of another century-old Mimico home under threat of demolition: Owner proposing to split 182 Queens Ave. and build two homes.”

Image from March 15, 2021 Etobicoke Guardian article. Caption reads: A developer is proposing to tear down the home at 182 Queens Ave. in Mimico and replace it with two new homes. The current home was built around 1898. – Dan Pearce/Metroland

An excerpt reads:

The house at 182 Queens was built around the year 1898 by Robert Murray Herod, who lived there until his death in 1944, according to local historians. His wife died in the house the following year.

Herod, who founded Herod Construction, built a great number of homes in Mimico — including the one where the Ranallis live around 1911 to 1913 as a gift to one of his children. He also constructed various notable buildings locally and beyond, including the Port Credit Post Office and Connaught Hall (now called Mimico Masonic Temple).

Robert Murray Herod, who built house at 182 Queens Ave. in about 1898, later founded Herod Construction which built many notable buildings including Connaught Hall (now called Mimico Masonic Temple) at 23 Superior Ave. Jaan Pill photo

A proposal to the city of Toronto’s committee of adjustment is seeking a minor variance to a zoning bylaw, scheduled to be considered at a meeting March 23, to demolish the home, split the lot and build a pair of two-storey single-family homes. The variance is required because the new homes don’t meet zoning bylaw requirements.

We attempted to contact the current owners, listed as Anthony and Angelo Conti, by calling a home number in Woodbridge listed on the committee of adjustment application, but received no answer. A request for call back went unreturned. We also called the agent listed on the application form, Ida Evangelista, but a person who answered said she was the agent’s assistant and that no comment would be provided.

Image from March 15, 2021 Etobicoke Guardian article. Caption reads: After a home at 98 Superior Ave. was torn down, Toronto’s Heritage Planning staff undertook a heritage review of 96 Superior Ave. and 214 Queens Ave. with the intention to designate both under the Ontario Heritage Act. – Dan Pearce/Metroland

Demolition of century-old homes may sound familiar to residents of Queens Avenue. Last fall, just a few houses up the road, where Queens ends and meets Superior Avenue, the community had tried in vain to stop the demolition of 98 Superior Ave.

Click here for previous posts about 182 Queens Ave. >

58 Wheatfield Road

A March 26, 2019 Etobicoke Guardian article is entitled: “Mimico homeowner denied demolition permit for house on heritage register: Diana Compton hoped to rebuild rather than invest in extensive repairs.”

58 Wheatfield Road. Jaan Pill photo

Before the COVID-19 pandemic began in full force in Ontario, I visited the new owners of 58 Wheatfield Road and described, in a resulting post, the extensive heritage restoration work that has been completed, at this heritage property which was saved from partial demolition in 2019:

I’m looking forward to a webinar about Toronto Laneway Houses; the webinar has prompted me to think about great design in general – as at 58 Wheatfield Road

Click here for previous posts about 58 Wheatfield Road >

Informal group supports heritage preservation in Mimico

As noted at a previous post, an informal network of residents is in place in Mimico. This informal group, whose leadership includes Charlotte Sheasby-Coleman among other Mimico residents, does a great job of bringing people together, is well-organized, and communicates effectively.

Aerial view of R.M. Ballantyne Ltd. textile plant on Ballantyne Avenue between North Street and Front Street, Stratford. The land in this area slopes from Water Street (which runs parallel to Ballantyne Avenue) to the Avon River, indicating (with reference to the physiographic history of Southern Ontario) that a large river flowed through this area after end of last Ice Age over 10,000 years ago. Photo source: I believe it’s from Stratford-Perth Archives

Each such group (formal or informal) serves as a tremendous resource for its local community, and underlines what can be achieved when residents and officials bring people together, get input from as many sources as possible, and know how to communicate effectively.

A recent post about local history in Stratford, Ontario features an additional overview, about the effective work that can be accomplished, when local residents in any municipality work together to ensure their interests are taken into account, when land use decisions are made:

The R.M. Ballantyne Ltd. textile plant was built by a thread company, which ran into financial difficulties, and was first occupied by a motor company which built a bus, that startled the horses