THA completed a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Study for the King-Spadina area in downtown Toronto. The study area is 40 hectares in size and contains almost 400 properties.

The King-Spadina area is under intense development pressure. The area contains high-profile development projects within one of the most intact merchandising and commercial districts in the city. As a result, the study area was identified by Toronto City Council as a high priority for an HCD Study to examine the potential of overall protection for heritage buildings.

The HCD Study traced the historical evolution of the area, surveyed all properties, defined building typologies, analyzed the heritage significance and value, and identified the character, heritage resources and HCD boundaries. Due to the size of the area, the Study recommended that two areas proceed to the Plan Phase.

For the Study, THA provided project management services; production of graphics and mapping for surveys, meetings and reports architectural styles guide and controlled vocabularies, heritage status and architectural information for the survey forms for all 390 properties data quality standards; stakeholder consultations including meetings with the local city councillor and Business Improvement Association (BIA); evaluation of resources against criteria set out by the City of Toronto; and drafting a Statement of Significance for the Commercial and Entertainment Districts.

The Plan phase is now underway.