How Toronto plans on preserving Kensington Market’s historic facades

Kensington Market is a microcosm of Canada’s diverse immigrant population, where many different ethnocultural communities have each added to the neighbourhood’s layers of heritage and contributed to a vibrant street life. 

The City of Toronto created an HCD plan to ensure the conservation of the neighbourhood's unique historical attributes, including the massing, “roofiness” and other standards of the mostly 19th and early 20th century architecture. The plan comes after a decade-long process which started in 2015 and involved Indigenous and local community members who contributed their vision. 

The Kensington Market HCD plan will conserve over 400 identified “contributing properties,” which are properties that directly reflect the district’s cultural heritage value. Renovations such as new entrances, porches and balconies have to be physically and visually complementary to the heritage attributes even if contemporary designs and materials are used. 

Under the HCD, property owners can apply for grant programs and incentives to repair or maintain their buildings. The Heritage Grant Program provides up to 50% of the estimated cost of eligible conservation work such as repairing masonry, windows, doors, wood detailing and slate roofs. A Heritage Tax Rebate Program also provides a rebate of 50% of the cost of eligible work on heritage properties up to 40% of annual property taxes. 

Some Kensington Market residents attending the drop in expressed concerns to city staff about properties that might require significant renovation to weatherproof the ageing materials used in the exterior and interior of their homes. Some of these renovations might be infeasible or require lengthy approvals due to the HCD regulations. 

Other residents also expressed concerns that the HCD doesn’t protect the unique commercial characteristics of Kensington Market. What were once street lanes filled with local fruit market stalls have now become replaced with bars and restaurants. Since the HCD only regulates the architecture of units but doesn’t determine the type of businesses occupying the space, some local residents said that the HCD doesn’t go far enough in protecting the true heritage nature of the neighbourhood. 

Kensington Market’s HCD plan will be submitted to the Preservation Board and the Toronto and East York Community Council in January 2025 and awaits final approval by Toronto City Council in February 2025. 

What does our Documenter have to say? 

Sebastian Tansil noted that several parks in the Kensington Market neighbourhood such as Sonya’s park and the yard of the St. Stephen-in-the-fields church are or had been sites of homeless  encampments. In the past, the city placed concrete blocks and gated fences in an effort to prevent unhoused people from returning to these spaces and setting up tents. However, under an HCD plan, natural spaces such as parks become protected and imposing built structures would no longer be permitted.