Dominion Wheel & Foundries Limited

Dominion Wheel & Foundries Limited was a rail parts manufacturer based in Toronto.[1]

Southeast corner of the machine shop, Dominion Wheel & Foundries

The factory site was owned by Canadian Northern Railways and later by Canadian National Railways.[2]

The company's main plant on Eastern Avenue built from 1917 to 1929 in Toronto made wheel and other railcar parts.[3] In 2004, the site was added to the City of Toronto Heritage Property Inventory as having heritage significance.[4][5]

On October 22, 2020 the Government of Ontario issued a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) for this property [6], which overrode the city's current planning process for this site.  This MZO would permit an apartment building with a maximum height of 141 metres (40 stories) on this site.[7]

The province commenced demolition of these four heritage buildings on January 18, 2021, but paused on January 21 due to widespread community objections.[8] Nearby St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association [9], supported by urgent community fundraising [10], made a court application on January 21 seeking an order to stop demolition. A temporary halt was granted by the courts on January 29 [11] since this demolition was in contravention of the Ontario Heritage Act. A full court application is scheduled to be heard by Ontario Divisional Court on February 26, 2021.[12]