The University of Toronto is revising its 1997 Secondary Plan, creating a new Secondary Plan that will better reflect the evolving demands and expectations of the University, the City, and the provincial planning framework. The new Secondary Plan incorporates the objectives of such existing documents as the 2011 St. George Campus Master Plan, the Huron Sussex Neighbourhood Planning, and TOcore.

ERA was retained to support the University and the Planning Department in the development of the University of Toronto’s Secondary Plan Update, specifically with regards to the integration of heritage elements developed as part of the 2014/15 Heritage Study. Our scope of services included research, analysis, internal design and strategy, city consultation, public presentations and the review and preparation of heritage related material. 

The assessment classified the University-owned built resources not only according to their design/physical value and historical/associative value, but also according to the contribution they make to their historic context. 

Main deliverables of the project included the completion of urban design documents: refinement of heritage policies within the secondary plan and urban guidelines, support in developing an approach to block guidelines, and the refinement of approach to the panoramic view of the Front Campus. A Heritage Report was produced, requiring the redrafting of Historic Context Statements to reflect new borders, the creation of new supporting maps and finalizing the approach to views.