Alteration, demolition — and partial demolition?
As is often pointed out, retaining just a historic building’s façade keeps a small part of the structure while trashing the rest.
I won’t wade into the debate about façadism. But it’s interesting to look at how we treat façade retention in our approvals process.
Last time, we looked at an (alas, all-too-common) proposal for redevelopment of a row of designated heritage buildings on Hamilton’s Gore Park. Two of the buildings were to be completely demolished — and the owner submitted an application for demolition.