Council approves skyscraper to
replace historic building

Dates back to 1928

Art Deco facade of Concourse Building
to be retained by developer

By ROBERT BENZIE

A venerable downtown Art Deco building would appear to be history after Toronto council yesterday approved a scheme to redevelop the site in the financial district. Councillors voted 31-20 against delaying the project any further, meaning Oxford Properties Group Inc. can proceed with plans to dismantle The Concourse Building at 100 Adelaide St. W.
          "Obviously, we're very disappointed," said Catherine Nasmith, chair of the Toronto Preservation Board (TPB), one of the groups trying to spare the structure from the wrecking ball.
          Ms. Nasmith said supporters of The Concourse will appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) for a stay of execution.
          "If council had sent a strong message that they wanted this building preserved," she said, a compromise might well have been reached to keep the 16-storey tower intact.
         But Kyle Rae, a Downtown councillor, said the preservationists have to be realistic. "We don't have the options some people seem to think we have," said Mr. Rae, hailing the developer for agreeing to preserve the first three levels of the Art Deco facade and incorporate that into a new 41-floor skyscraper.
          "We do not have the power of law to keep that building up," he stressed, adding that if City Hall had continued to stall the project, Oxford could have launched an appeal to the OMB and all efforts to retain The Concourse's significant architectural features might have been lost. Mel Lastman acknowledged the city was placed in a difficult position. "The whole deal sucks," the mayor said.
          "It's a pretty crummy deal all the way around. But how do we preserve some of the historic things ... if we don't put it into an agreement."
          Stephen Diamond, a lawyer for Oxford, said given that the company expects an appeal to the OMB, it could take up to 18 months before construction can begin. Mr. Diamond went on to say that he felt his client had been "unfairly" portrayed in the media as insensitive to The Concourse's historical value.
          He pointed out that the developer has been very careful to keep nearly every notable part of the Jazz Age icon, designed by Baldwin & Greene in 1928.
        As part of the soaring new glass tower, a reproduction of The Concourse's 13 higher levels will be built atop the original three floors, lending it what detractors suggest is an oddly Disney-esque feel.
          "We believe that have we listened to the voices calling for heritage preservation and have done what anybody could reasonably expect to be done to preserve the most important historic elements of this building," said Mr. Diamond.
          Included in the $200-million development is the restoration of the building's famous mosaics by J.E.H. MacDonald, a member of the illustrious Group of Seven.
          "Keeping the facade of a building is something you do in a last-ditch attempt to preserve it -- when there's no other options. In this case there were other options," said the TPB's Ms. Nasmith. "There was other space on the site to develop and the building had a viable economic future. In that situation, you don't choose to demolish."

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