Finnish Church – Hoggs Hollow Tree Watch

Help Us Save Our Tree Canopy

25 Old York Mills Rd – Agricola Church Development (October 25/24)

(As reported by Phillippa Perkins)

After strong opposition presented by the experts jointly retained by the Townhomes of Hogg’s Hollow Community Association and the York Mills Valley Association, the OLT issued an Interim Order earlier this year. This contingent Interim Order allows for the potential future development of an 11-storey multi-use condominium building, including a church and a community gathering space. The proposed commercial component has been removed from the plans. The OLT is withholding the issuance of a Final Order until the Church provides several studies and plans, including a parking utilization study, a transportation demand management plan, and additional engineering studies, all to the satisfaction of the City of Toronto.

Recent Developments

While it appears that the Church has complied with at least some of the OLT’s Interim Order requirements, the OLT has not yet issued a Final Order. Unexpectedly, the Church submitted a new application to the City of Toronto on August 7, 2024, requesting a minor variance to permit interior modifications to the existing building. The modification is to provide apartment accommodations for their pastor. This application was approved by the North York Committee of Adjustments on October 10, 2024, though it was opposed by the TRCA (even though they had approved the condo proposal).

Future of the Redevelopment Proposal

We are currently unsure how these recent events will impact the future of the proposed 11-storey redevelopment. This new interior renovation possibly signals a revisiting of the Church’s plans. We remain hopeful that strong opposition from the local community has influenced the Church to reconsider and chart a different course. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Agricola Church Development 25 Old York Mills (November 24/23)

The development proposal to build a new condo building, church, daycare, and event centre on the current site of the Agricola Church at 25 Od York Mills is currently being heard by the Ontario Land Tribunal. It was appealed by the Agricola Church/House of Finland on the grounds that the City of Toronto had not completed its assessment in the required timeframe. On Nov 8, 2023, the development proposal went to City Council for review. It passed by a slight margin at 12-10 votes, with 3 councillors not participating in the vote.

Since the original submission, some revisions to the plan have been made: the revised building is now 11 storeys (plus a mechanical penthouse) and stands 41.7 metres high, approximately 10 meters taller than the condo building across the street at 10 Old York Mills Road; the original tiered step-backs in the upper storeys along the building’s south side have been reduced to create a more vertical design, thereby bringing the building closer to its southern residential neighbours; and additional condo units have been added, bringing the total to 103 condos.

The Agricola Church sits in the Don River floodplain and has many mature trees on the property. In order to make the development footprint as large as possible, the Church’s consultants have proposed a “reconfiguration” of the floodplain and floodwater storage area. This requires a “balanced cut and fill operation”, an engineering solution to regrade and alter the land to make it suitable for development. After some negotiation, resulting in the owners deeding some 7 metres of property on the parkside to the City, the TRCA has agreed to this plan. There will also likely be a cash payment “in-lieu” made to the City. As part of this reconfiguration plan, a drain will be placed along the south side of the property, requiring the removal of many mature trees along the property line. The six memorial Autumn Blaze trees along Campbell Cres will also be removed, and we are being told it will be impossible to replace these trees along Campbell Cres in the future, due to the minimal building setback (3 metres) and location of City utilities. Finally, the House of Finland has purchased #14 Campbell Cres and were seen removing protected City trees on that property without permits. (Updated Nov. 24/23)

View more: