Cliff Korman

The applicant appealed the City's failure to make a decision on Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments, as well as applications under the Ontario Heritage Act, to permit a two-tower residential development at 123 Wynford Drive.

The site contains a designated heritage building originally designed by Raymond Moriyama for the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

The applicant proposed a conservation strategy involving the temporary relocation, partial disassembly, and reassembly of the heritage building to form the podium of one of the towers.

The City and the National Association of Japanese Canadians opposed the development, arguing it would destroy the site's cultural heritage value.

The Tribunal allowed the appeals, preferring the applicant's expert evidence that the development represents good planning, provides needed housing intensification near transit, and appropriately conserves the heritage attributes through the proposed dismantling and reassembly strategy.