Which heritage buildings could lose protection, and what will replace them

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Five properties are recommended by city staff to be removed from the heritage registry during Monday’s meeting of city council’s planning committee, meaning they could be destined for the wrecking ball in order to build anew. LFP’s Jack Moulton takes a look at the properties as they are now, and what they might become.

243 Wellington Rd.

The original red brick St. Andrew Memorial Anglican Church building could be knocked down to make way for the widening of Wellington Road to accommodate construction of the bus rapid transit leg between downtown and White Oaks Mall.

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According to city staff, the building sits on land just south of downtown that was first acquired by the Diocese of Huron in 1940, and the building was constructed a year later to serve as a parish hall for the newer church building next door at 55 Foxbar Rd.

The building recently was used by the Church of God Prophecy, two Masonic orders operating youth programs, and the London Consistory Club, before it was purchased by the city ahead of the construction.

Commemoration of the building was declined by the warden of the church, but city staff will encourage crews to recover the date stone. The Foxbar church building will remain.

1163 Richmond St.

The small building at the Richmond Street entrance to Western University is due to be demolishd to make way for a new eight-storey, 770 student residence building.

Formerly home to the Bank of Montreal, Western has since taken over the building for its own uses. It houses the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic.

Graduate students in the school of applied child psychology, under the supervision of licensed child psychologists, provide psychological consultation, assessment and treatment services to children and teens.

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In a letter to politicians, Susan Bentley of the Broughdale community association lamented the loss of modernist architecture, and encouraged parts of the building be preserved.

773 Dundas St.

The former Regency Florists building is on the hit list, to be knocked down for a new apartment tower for the Cross Cultural Learner Centre.

The building was constructed prior to 1885 as a residential building in the town of London East, which was annexed into the City of London. It sits in what’s now the heart of Old East Village. In the early 1940s, it was converted to commercial use and has been home to several businesses including a shoe repair shop, a beauty salon, a tailor, and a pizza shop.

In August, 2023, city politicians approved the demolition of the former Old East 765 Bar and Grill at 763-769 Dundas St. to clear the way for the building of a 200-unit apartment tower for immigrants to London.

In the 2023 cultural heritage evaluation for the 765 Bar and Grill building, 773 Dundas also was evaluated. While the report does not specify what will replace the building, Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson, who represents the area, confirmed to The London Free Press it is related to the apartment tower.

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920-940 Dundas St.

Three different buildings across from Western Fair are being recommended for tear-down to make way for a new six-storey building, with two floors of commercial space and four floors of apartments.

City staff recommend tearing down three of four buildings on the lot, excluding the Open Door Christian Fellowship building at 940 Dundas, formerly the St. Matthews Anglican Church built in 1895.

The two-storey brick house at 920 Dundas was built in the mid to late 1880s, as was the two-storey wood frame building at 924 Dundas, and the two-storey yellow brick building at 930 Dundas.

3810-3814 Colonel Talbot Rd.

A historic farm in the south end could be torn down to make way for 105 two-storey townhouses and a six storey apartment building.

Described in the staff report are four buildings on site, constructed in 1861 by the Bogue family, an early settler family in what was Westminster Township. These include a farmhouse, cottage, shed and barn.

The property doesn’t meet the minimum standard for the Ontario Heritage Act, city staff say, and demolition should proceed. But the property owner, Towns of Magnolia London Inc., is encouraged to commemorate the family in its development.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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