Toronto homes from 1800s were left to rot and now must be torn down

Two 19th-century homes in Toronto, once used as affordable housing and later intended for redevelopment, have been left to deteriorate for over a decade and are now considered beyond repair and slated for demolition.

Toronto Building received an Engineer's Report earlier this month recommending the complete demolition of 155 and 157 Cowan Ave., located just south of Queen Street West and Brock Avenue, due to their severely deteriorated condition.

An Order to Remedy Unsafe Building notice has since been posted on the property fence, noting that the two buildings are "fundamentally and irremediably unsound due to the extent of deterioration." The property is registered to a numbered corporation with no public contact information. 

The two homes, built in 1893 and occupied in 1894, have long been tied to Parkdale's housing-related activism. For several years, the buildings contained affordable housing, including apartments and rooming house units.

In the early 2010s, the owners of the buildings evicted all the tenants of the properties to make way for redevelopment. Over a decade later, the buildings have been left to decay with no signs of life.

One of the buildings (155 Cowan Ave.) was previously home to James Corcoran, an Irish immigrant who served as the Bursar of the Mimico and Toronto Asylum. The neighbouring building was originally home to Joseph Lennox, a lumber merchant who was also from Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

However, despite their age and importance, neither of the structures has been designated under Ontario's Heritage Act, leaving them vulnerable to neglect and, ultimately, demolition.

According to a 2014 zoning application, the site was proposed for redevelopment by connecting the two buildings, adding a fourth-storey addition, constructing front and rear additions, and undertaking extensive interior renovations.

The redeveloped property would then comprise 26 studio units and nine one-bedroom units, with a total of 35 units. The application also proposed four surface parking spaces at the rear of the site, along with a one-storey accessory building for waste and recycling.

The derelict homes have long been the concern of the Parkdale Residents Association, which has been pressing the City for answers on the future of the property.

According to the association's website, residents are demanding to know if the vacancy tax has been enforced, why the buildings were allowed to decay to their current state of disrepair, and if the City plans to secure the properties for affordable housing.

"The City of Toronto should expropriate these properties and build affordable housing. We certainly don't need more 'luxury' housing in our community. If there are no rules/regulations to allow the city to expropriate, then the rules/regulations should be changed immediately," one resident wrote in a local Facebook page.

blogTO has reached out to the City of Toronto for more information regarding the demolition of the homes.