Toronto City Council recently voted to designate Loretto Abbey as a heritage site in spite of the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s (TCDSB) concerns about how the designation will increase the cost of renovating the building.
Local councillor Karen Stintz initially brought forward the motion after the Catholic school board purchased the remaining portion of the nearly 100-year-old abbey from the Sisters of Loretto. Stintz said it was important to have the designation in place in case the site was ever resold.
The property, located at 101 Mason Blvd., was built in 1928 in the neo-Gothic style, with the addition of a chapel in the 1950s. According to the staff report, this is one of few examples in the city of this style of architecture.
“When it was originally built, the cross was the highest peak in the area, so wherever you were, you could look and see the cross,” Stintz said.
The heritage designation will empower the city to preserve the site’s heritage features and reject demolition applications.
Andy Stephenson, president of the York Mills Heights Residents’ Association, said his group approached the councillor about moving forward on the designation because of the site’s significance.
“It’s certainly an icon in the neighbourhood in terms of the building and the architecture,” Stephenson said.
In advance of the motion, the Catholic school board sent a letter to the city, expressing its concerns about how the heritage designation would affect its operations.
“TCDSB objects to the designation of Loretto Abbey Secondary School at 101 Mason Boulevard, Toronto, to the extent that such designation would prevent or hinder TCDSB from using the property as a secondary school,” it stated.
It did, however, go on to acknowledge that any changes should not alter the site’s heritage attributes.
Since 1986, the TCDSB has run a girls’ high school on a portion of the site. The recent purchase will allow it to move into the other portion of the building in 2015 or sooner.
Angelo Sangiorgio, associate director of planning and facilities at the TCDSB, said the board intends to be there long-term.
“The designation is going to pose some challenges in terms of the cost to upgrade the building to current school standards, but it’s something that we’re going to have to deal with,” Sangiorgio said.