“Had it not been for the swift action of this group, there is every chance that these buildings would have been destroyed before legal proceedings were brought to identify the issues that will be decided in this application.” - Judge David Corbett
October 22, 2020: The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, issues a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) for Lot 17/26 in the West Don Lands, the site of the former Dominion Wheel & Foundry company. The zoning order allows for three tall towers to be erected, but makes no mention of the fate of the four Heritage buildings on the site. Residents are alarmed and begin to organize, writing letters to Premier Ford and his Ministers, meeting with local City Councillors and MPPs, and publicizing issue social media.
October 23, 2020: The Province signs the Agreement of Purchase and Sale with 2768880 Ontario Inc. for the Foundry site. This numbered company, based in Concord Ontario, was formed in July 2020, and later assigned their option to Eastern Avenue (Condos), also based in Concord and formed in December 2021. Again, this document has never been made public.
January 2021: Neighbours observe moderate activity on site (trucks driven in and out, personnel in visibility vests, people climbing buildings).
January 14, 2021: Heavy demolition equipment arrives. When asked what they were doing, a crew member says they are getting rid of all the buildings: "everything has to be gone by March". No City officials, City Councillors, or local MPPs were aware of these intentions. We learned that the Province does not require a demolition permit as the property is on Crown Lands and subject to an MZO. Local residents begin actively protesting via social media as Friends of the Foundry (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram) and start a petition. Local politicians and City officials work together with and for the community.
January 18, 2021: The demolition company, QM Environmental, begins to break down the building at the northwest corner of the site (153 Eastern Ave), the old foundry. Residents from the buildings nearby and then from adjacent neighbourhoods rush to the scene, calling for the workers to stop. The media arrives. Local politicans arrive. The workers stop for the day. The petition reaches more than 7,000 signatures.
January 19, 2021: First news media arrive at 5:30am. Protesters and local politicians arrive soon after. Crew arrives at 7am to continue demolition. Protesters maintain a presence throughout the day, holding home made signs and voicing their displeasure.
January 20, 2021: Crews continue to work. Protesters begin meeting at noon each day to demonstrate. Mayor John Tory makes a statement, condemning the hurried demolition. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam tweets that the "affordable housing" portion of what's going up at the Foundry site is laughably insignificant compared to the Ford government's "1,000 affordable housing units" talking point. Friends of the Foundry starts a fundraising campaign to pursue a legal strategy to stop demolition. The petition passes 16,000 signatures. Lots of media attention (CBC, CBC Radio, CTV, Global, CityTV, CP24 and 680News) including a Toronto Star editorial that lays out perfectly our opposition points to the government.
January 21, 2021: The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association files an injunction to stop demolition work at the Foundry site. The application is heard late in the day; the judge denies the temporary injunction but Minister Steven Clark agrees to "pause" the demolition until a hearing the following Wednesday. The demonstrations pause until Wednesday.
January 27, 2021: We have a preliminary hearing in court. The SLNA lawyers are assisted by the City Legal Department, as respondent. The judge indicates he will not make a decision until January 29, but requests that the province voluntarily continue their pause in demolition until then. Peaceful demonstrations at noon each day resume. There are another two excellent columns in the Star by Shawn Micallef and Matt Elliott.
February 2, 2021: The matter is brought before Toronto City Council who vote 21-1 in favour of a motion calling on the province to stop demolition and start consultation. The Mayor as well as may Councillors speak warmly in favour of the motion.
February 22, 2021: The hearing is adjourned (postponed) to give all parties more time to come to some kind of resolution. If they can’t reach a resolution, another court date will be set and the hearing will proceed.
February 22, 2021: Mike Crawley of CBC News breaks the story that the Ford government approved an 'agreement of purchase and sale' for the Foundry site last September. This fun fact appeared in Section 4 of Infrastructure Ontario's own Heritage Impact Assessment, dated October 2020 but not shown to the public until after demolition had started. The province refuses to disclose the identity of the buyer.
February 24, 2021: The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and the West Don Lands Committee combine their 2 x 30 minute "consultation" meeting time with the Province to allow a group of eminent architects and urban planners present demonstration ideas that show how heritage can be preserved while density achieved on the site.
April/May 2021: The demolition company patches the holes in the Foundry Building and removes all its equipment.
December 2021 to February 2022: The demolition company returns and begins demolition of the Warehouse, Office Building, and the north wall of the 1935 Machine Shop.
August 11, 2022: A worker is seen onsite, inside the Machine Shop drilling around the building footings. When approached he identifies himself as an employee of Aspen Ridge and explains that he is exposing the footings for evaluation by engineers.
July 19/20, 2023: The City of Toronto passes a by-law giving the Foundry site Heritage Designation.
October 25, 2023: WaterfrontTO Design Panel Review Committee meet with Aspen Ridge again to review revised plans.