Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Guelph intends to designate the Frost Building at 328 Victoria Road South 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 of 328 Victoria Road South is PART BROKEN FRONT LOTS 10, 11 AND 12 CONCESSION 1 DIVISION G GUELPH TOWNSHIP, PARTS 1 TO 13 AND 16 TO 19 INCLUSIVE 61R10430, SAVE AND EXCEPT PARTS 1, 2, 4 AND 7 61R11036 AND PARTS 1, 2 AND 3 61R21861 TOGETHER WITH AN EASEMENT AS IN ROS651254.
Statement of cultural heritage value or interest
The Frost Building at 328 Victoria Road South has design/physical value, historical/associative and contextual value and meets five of the nine criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest under Ontario Regulation 9/06.
Design and Physical Value
The building has physical/design value as it meets Criteria 1 being a good representative example of a late-20th century Post-Modernist building designed by Guelph architect Karl Briestensky.
Historical Associative Value
The building has historical/associative value as it meets Criteria 4 in that it has direct associations with the theme of Guelph’s historically close connection with a progressive and advanced form of agriculture. The building has historical value or associative value as it meets Criteria 5 in that it demonstrates the work of an architect who is significant to the Guelph community and the city’s later 20th century architectural history.
Contextual Value
The building has contextual value as it meets Criteria 8 being visually linked to its surroundings – its location on a knoll overlooking the city, at some distance from Victoria Road was intentionally oriented so that the building’s central hall looks toward the city’s major landmark, the Basilica of Our Lady. The building has contextual value as it meets Criteria 9 as it has become a landmark that is seen from Victoria Road South and from the Ontario Reformatory property to east.
Description of heritage attributes
The following elements of the Frost Building at 328 Victoria Road South should be considered as heritage attributes in a designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act:
· original building form and massing including the large, steep-sloped main gable roof with similar smaller transverse gables
· walls of glass facing the downtown of the city
· gable roof lantern at the centre of the main roof ridge
· tubular steel exterior structural supports
It is intended that non-original features may be returned to the documented earlier designs or to their documented original without requiring Council to amend the heritage designation by-law.
A more detailed description of the property’s cultural heritage value may be found in staff’s report to City Council dated September 10, 2025 at www.guelph.ca.
Notice of objection
Any person may send a notice of objection to this proposed designation, before 4 p.m. on Friday, October 17, 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
Stephen Robinson, MA, CAHP (he/him)
Senior Heritage Planner
IDE, Planning and Building Services
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 2496
TTY 519-826-9771
[email protected]
Notice date: September 18, 2025