Toronto's Yonge and Bloor area has been the site of intense development activity in recent years, but one block in the rapidly changing neighbourhood has managed to evade significant changes through the now-waning development boom.

The City is pushing to ensure that this block remains protected for generations to come, and plans to have the group of four properties at 750, 752, and 756-758 Yonge Street designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, a move that would safeguard the buildings from future destruction.

A report filed in March by Toronto's senior manager of heritage planning, urban design, and city planning recommends that council state its intention to designate the properties under Part IV, Section 29 of the Act, citing their cultural heritage value as a reason for preservation.

Located on the west side of Yonge Street, mid-block between Charles Street West and Bloor Street West, the properties span three contiguous buildings standing three storeys, and were constructed in 1890, 1909 and 1912, with the northernmost properties built in the Edwardian Classicism architectural style. 

The properties are already listed on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register.

Two of the properties, at 752 and 758 Yonge Street, were listed on the City's Heritage Register on March 10, 2016. The other pair at 750 and 756 Yonge Street followed suit in May 2023.

The latest properties on the block to be added to the register came just months after the province passed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23).

Bill 23, which came into effect at the start of 2023, imposed criteria on what constitutes a heritage building that limited municipalities' input on the matter, and placed a two-year limit on listings that expires if the properties are not listed under the Heritage Act.

Since the two-year limit for 750 and 756 Yonge Street will expire over a three-day period in late April, City Council must act fast. The report says that "council must decide on or before its April 23, 24, 25, 2025 meeting to provide sufficient time for the city clerk to issue a notice of intention to designate before the properties will be removed from the Register."

If it all goes through in time, designation will enable city council to review any proposed alterations or demolition and step in to enforce heritage property standards, and even mandate maintenance of properties in question.

In addition to giving property owners access to City heritage incentive programs, designation under the Heritage Act gives municipal officials the power to ensure that any future redevelopment goes to great lengths to preserve and incorporate the existing properties.

A good example can be seen just north of these properties, where heritage buildings have been incorporated into the 85-storey megatower, The One.

The rising skyscraper serving as the northern bookend to this block is set to briefly claim the title of Canada's tallest building, but still manages to coexist with the low-rise buildings integrated into its base, possibly setting a standard for any future intensification of this heritage site.