Having lost at LPAT and seen his building go up in flames, Brad Lamb obviously washed his hands of any proposal for this site.  Now there is hope for this historic site.  Here is a message from Ken Greenberg of the WPNA (Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association):

Ken also shared the (presumably very draft) concept of the new proposal in this DOCUMENT.

As for the heritage significance of this building, three sources are pertinent:

• One is a book published in 2010 (long before development referenced in this blog was contemplated), by author and fellow GDNA member Doug Taylor, called The Villages Within.  Click here to access an excerpt dealing with what he calls the "Houses with the Stone Lions".
• Another is a public notice following City Council's "intention to designate the properties at 422 and 424 Wellington Street West under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act" in the fall of 2017.  Click here to access the "Statement of Significance (Reasons for Designation)" 
• And yet another is a file from the Architectural Conservancy Ontario related to what it refers to as the "McLeish-Powell Houses".  Click here to review that file.

By permission of TaylorOnHistory.com.  Click here to learn more about Bay and Gable houses.

From October 29 to November 8, 2018 LPAT (the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal) heard appeal PL170076 submitted by the developers of "Wellington House" consequent to a refusal by the City to approve their rezoning application. 
Fifteen months later the report was released ... and the news was good!  Click here to read the full report. 
In those intervening months, the WPNA (Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association) had campaigned tirelessly, raised a lot of money and hired some expert help.  WPNA members were ecstatic ... and immediately sent out this Bulletin to thank everyone for their support.  Click here to read that Bulletin.

This is the preliminary report submitted by planning staff in response to the zoning amendment application in question:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-97832.pdf

Earlier, GDNA members received a notice about a meeting at Metro Hall on December 5th (this coming Monday).
Read the notice ... meeting_notice_2016-12-05.pdf

The second item on that agenda, at 7PM, for 422-424 Wellington Street West, is generating a lot of attention and warranted opposition.  Although this particular development is not within GDNA boundaries, residents of our area are likely to be familiar with the special nature of Wellington Street West and to appreciate how this proposal is inappropriate in this setting.  For this reason, neighbouring communities are being asked to come out to the December 5th meeting and support a campaign of opposition to the proposal. 
Read about this campaign ... 422-424_wellington_poster.pdf

The developer is the same Brad Lamb whom the GDNA is challenging at the OMB for his proposal at 452 Richmond Street West (the James).  He also owns several of the lots on the south side of Camden Street between the condo at 29 Camden and the future Ace Hotel at 51 Camden … so we are likely to interface with his applications again in the future.

Details about the proposed development at 422-424 Wellington Street West can be accessed via the Supporting Documentation link in the sidebar.

​We were still laughing at these prank development application notices (thank you Daniel Rotsztain @theurbangeog developmentproposal.tumblr.com) when we received word about this proposal for 422-424 Wellington Street West, next door to le Select Bistro:

The site currently contains this old building set back a good distance from the road.

The developers intend to move the building forward.  Oh, the pains taken to meet the letter, if not the spirit, of heritage preservation!