Location: Toronto

Date of Completion: 1917-1929  

Architect: N/A

Nominated by: Suze Morrison, MPP (Toronto Centre)

 Caught between conflicting visions for the future of the West Don Lands, the former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company represents the largest concentration of heritage buildings within the quickly transforming precinct where tensions between heritage retention, housing affordability, and development have taken centre stage.

Aerial over the lower Don River with a bold white outline around the Canary District/West Don Lands Community (1980-1988). Image courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.

A Changing Neighbourhood

Located within Toronto’s West Don Lands, an area that has been in flux for more than a century, the four buildings of the former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company are among the few remaining structures that date back to the expansion of railway lands into the area in the early 1900s. Built to serve the nearby railway companies, the manufacturing centre produced railway equipment, rolling stock, and foundry and machinery supplies. Replacing workers’ houses that occupied the area prior to its early 20th-century industrialization, the complex stretched from its current location all the way to Cherry Street.

With Toronto’s de-industrialization starting in the 1970s, the complex officially stopped manufacturing and other industrial uses in 1986, before being expropriated by the province the next year. Since then, the four remaining buildings of the complex—The Foundry (1950), Warehouse (1935), Offices (1930), and Machine Shop (1930)—have remained largely underutilized, used mostly for storage and filming.

While these four buildings have remained largely intact until now, the West Don Lands has undergone a significant transformation under the Canary District master plan that seeks to transform this industrial area into a new mixed-use community. This is just the latest of a series of redevelopment plans that have sought to revitalize the area. Following the success of the neighbouring St Lawrence neighbourhood, the provincially backed, City-led 1980s Ataratiri Plan sought to redevelop the West Don Lands into a mid-rise community but was never implemented due to the high cost of flood management and environmental remediation. This plan included 6,000 to 7,000 new residential units of which 60% were to be subsidized.

Top: Perspective drawing of Ataratiri development. Bottom left: Model. Bottom right: Site plan. Drawings courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.

Today’s transformation was made possible by Waterfront Toronto’s investment in flood mitigation strategies—including the new Corktown Common park—and was spurred by the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games which kickstarted development with the creation of the Athlete’s Village. The former Pan/Parapan Am Games facilities now house George Brown College’s first student residences, a YMCA, and two affordable rental housing buildings.

Balancing Priorities: Housing and Heritage

As the district continues to develop, with new condominiums replacing much of the former industrial lands, there has been an increased focus on what to do with the buildings on the Dominion Foundry site. While currently underused, these heritage-designated buildings are an important reminder of the railway and manufacturing history of the area and were highlighted for retention in the award-winning Canary District master plan with the ambition that they would be repurposed for cultural uses much like the successful Artscape Wychwood Barns (another 2021 Queen's Park Pick). However, the current housing crisis has placed pressure on all levels of government to find more opportunities for housing within our cities, and provincially owned properties provide lower barriers to government redevelopment.

Site plan of the Dominion Foundry buildings. Only the Foundry and Machine Shop will be preserved in the proposed upcoming developments. Original drawing based on building configurations.

In October 2020, a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO)—a part of Ontario’s Planning Act that allows the Province to supersede typical municipal planning, public consultation, and appeal processes to decide how a piece of land is to be used—was issued to Toronto’s Canary District allowing the sale, demolition, and redevelopment of the entire Dominion Foundry Site, despite its heritage status. With no clear plan provided, the MZO was in sharp contrast to the extensive community involvement at the beginning of the district’s development journey and was met with significant opposition from heritage and community groups. When the demolition began, a new organization called the Friends of the Foundry protested the MZO, and engaged in legal proceedings with the provincial government to re-evaluate the heritage value of the property and preserve as many of the heritage buildings as possible. The group’s work included alternative proposals like KPMB’s Foundry Demonstration Project that showed heritage retention and new housing did not have to be mutually exclusive goals.

After months of legal proceedings and community outcry, the City of Toronto and the Provincial government reached an agreement on August 20, 2021, to preserve two of the Dominion Foundry buildings: the Machine Shop and Foundry building. The other two buildings, of less heritage interest and in worse condition, will be demolished to make way for the new residential development. The percentage of affordable housing to be built on-site will also be increased from 25% to 30%. Included in the agreement is a requirement for all future owners to protect the heritage value of the site, thereby preserving the connections between a community and their environment developed over decades of placemaking.

Protest signs from citizens group cover much of the site of the Dominion Foundry.

While still early in the design process and with much of the process still to unfold, if done right the redevelopment of the Dominion Foundry could become an example of how heritage conservation and affordable housing are not mutually exclusive goals. For now, it serves as an important reminder about the importance of due process and transparency in the development process.

This post forms part of our World Architecture Day Queen’s Park Picks 2021 series in which the OAA asked Ontario’s Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to nominate a prominent building, past or present, in their riding for a chance to learn more about it. Check out the rest of the series to learn more about great buildings across the province!

Additional Resources
Are you interested in learning more about the Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company Manufacturing Complex? Check out these additional resources:

• Friends of the Foundry
•  Heritage Impact Assessment, June 24, 2021
•  Dominion Foundry Demonstration Project, KPMB