Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Guelph intends to designate 72 Gordon Street as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under section 29, Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18.
Description of the property
The legal description is Plan 8, Lot 149 and 155.
Statement of cultural heritage value or interest
The subject property is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act because it meets four of the nine prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, according to Ontario Regulation 9/06 as amended by Ontario Regulation 9/06. The heritage attributes of 72 Gordon St display: design/physical, historical/associative, and contextual value.
Design/Physical Value
The subject property meets Criterion 1 because it is a rare and representative example of the functional industrial building type from the interwar period. The 1929 construction is one of few extant factory buildings that showcase early twentieth-century industrial architecture in Guelph, and the last remaining example in this former industrial area.
Historical/Associative Value
The subject property meets Criterion 4 because it has direct associations with the MacKey Bread Company, a company that made significant contributions to the development of the industrialization of bread production in Ontario.
The subject property meets Criterion 5 as it yields information that contributes to the understanding of the Guelph community because it is associated with the development of the food-production industry in Guelph.
Contextual Value
The subject property meets Criterion 7 because the property is important in defining, maintaining, and supporting the character of the Gordon and Surrey streetscapes.
The subject property meets Criterion 8 because the property is functionally, visually, and historically linked to the former industrial lands located to the south of the historic downtown core. The location further reflects the history of Gordon Street, Huron Road (now Waterloo Avenue), and the Grand Trunk Railroad as thoroughfares for the transportation of goods to nearby towns.
Description of heritage attributes
The following elements of the property at 72 Gordon Street should be considered as heritage attributes in a designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act:
- 1-storey flat roof building form
- Red rug brick exterior walls on the west elevation (facing Gordon Street), including pilasters with corbelled heads and stepped plinths to recessed panels
- Red rug brick exterior walls on the north elevation (facing Surrey Street) including pilasters with corbelled heads and stepped plinths to recessed panels
- Original window openings on the west elevation (facing Gordon Street) and the north elevation (facing Surrey Street)
- Stepped parapet wall on the west and north elevations
It is intended that non-original features may be returned to the documented earlier designs or to their documented original without requiring City Council permission for an alteration to the design.
A more detailed description of the property’s cultural heritage value may be found in staff’s report to City Council dated March 18 2025 and at guelph.ca/heritage.
Notice of objection
Any person may send a notice of objection to this proposed designation, before 4 p.m. on Friday April 25 2025. This notice must be sent by registered mail or delivered to the Clerk of the City of Guelph and must set out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts. If a notice of objection is received, the Council of the City of Guelph shall consider the objection and make a decision whether or not to withdraw the notice of intention to designate the property within 90 days after the end of the 30-day objection period. If Council decides not to withdraw its intention to designate, a heritage designation bylaw must be passed within 120 days after the date of publication of the notice of intention to designate. Council must publish a notice of passing of the designation by-law which is followed by a 30-day appeal period when appeals of the by-law may be given to the Ontario Land Tribunal for a hearing and decision.
Stephen O’Brien, City Clerk
City of Guelph
1 Carden Street, Guelph ON N1H 3A1
For more information
Jack Mallon, Heritage Planner
Planning Services 519-822-1260 x 3872
[email protected].