A 150-year-old building located at 10027 Yonge St. is at the centre of a struggle between the property’s owner and the Town of Richmond Hill. Council and Heritage Richmond Hill have recently taken steps to have the town’s first courthouse officially designated as a heritage site under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The owner hopes to sell the property and wants the structure that currently serves as his office removed from the Town’s Inventory of Buildings of Architectural and Historic Importance. The building has been earmarked as historically significant in the Town’s inventory for more than 30 years. If officially designated as a heritage site, it would be afforded the greatest level of protection against change.
Diane Giangrande, the chair of Heritage Richmond Hill, is hopeful the site will achieve full designation.
“If we really believe in saving our town’s heritage, this property must be included,” she said. This is not the first attempt made by Heritage Richmond Hill to have 10027 Yonge St. designated as an official heritage site. Councillor Lynn Foster, who currently sits on the heritage committee, explained that Council was not as interested in preserving the heritage of the town in 1999, when the address was originally presented for designation.
Although it was not designated back then, the property remained on the town’s inventory of historical sites.
The owner and his representative have declined to comment on the matter.
Now that the designation process has begun, all those who are opposed to the site being designated can take their concerns to the Conservation Review Board, Giangrande explained.
Barring any serious problems, the fate of 10027 Yonge St. should be determined this coming fall. If the property is designated a historical site, future developers would have to conform to regulations ensuring the historical integrity of the building.
“Unfortunately even designation as a heritage building can’t guarantee for certain the future of a property in Ontario,” Giangrande said.
Both Foster and Giangrande expressed that the residents of Richmond Hill have voiced a desire to maintain the historical integrity of the town, which is why buildings such as 10027 Yonge St. are being protected.