TORONTO – Tomorrow, the Etobicoke Community Council will debate the merits of including the Marian Shrine of Gratitude among the Leasehold Rights transferred in the sale of 3100 Weston Rd. 

On Monday, October 16, at 9:30 AM, as per the October 12, 2023 meeting, the Report of the Toronto Preservation Board (TPB), unanimously approved, will now be presented to Etobicoke Community Council (see here  https://secure.toronto.ca/council/#/committees/2464/23254) for acceptance, debate and approval. The public is invited to make submissions.

It is the next step for the inclusion of the Marian Shrine of Gratitude on the Heritage Registry. The site, also commonly known as 3100 Weston Rd., and Rivermede, was already on the List of properties of cultural or historical interest in the former township of North York.

The decision of the TPB last Tuesday formally updated the property as including the gardens now publicly described as The Marian Shrine of Gratitude. No development can obtain the approval of City Council without weighing the “heritage” value of the property beforehand. If the decision today is also positive, it may result in the inclusion of the property on the Heritage Registry, thus severely limiting the size and scope of any future potential development on the site.

The “stakes are high”. The “ownership and property rights” of what may have been legally transferred from the previous to current owner on title will be impacted. Geological factors inherent in the description of the site (it sits on a flood plain) and any improvements made over time, including those cultural, and architectural, will be brought to bear on the debate.

So will the unencumbered “leasehold rights” of any current tenant. That would be the City of Toronto on any property and rentable space contained in the lease agreement it signed with the previous owner.

(continued tomorrow on this website)