CASE STUDY: ROGERS HQ (302 YONGE)

[kurtkraler]

Text by Brendan McCabe, edited by Kurt

302 Yonge Street is a 2-storey stone building featuring Art Moderne stylistic influences (could put more of a description here if necessary) constructed for the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1948; the Bank of Nova Scotia remained the primary commercial tenant until The Gap clothing store occupied the space in 1997. Archival photographs indicate that the first rooftop billboard sign for a business not associated with the building (known as third-party signage) was erected around 1990, and expanded along both the Yonge Street and Dundas Street elevations in 1997. These billboards were neither digital or illuminated, and did not extend the full length of the Dundas Street elevation.

Given the evolving character of Yonge-Dundas Square to include more large third-party digital and LED signage, the property owner sought to replace the existing billboard signs with a digital signage band that extended the full length of the Dundas and Yonge Street elevations. New commercial signage including blade and acrylic lettering, was also proposed for the street facing elevations to reflect the new commercial tenant.

Since 302 Yonge Street is Designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA), the proposed signage program required a heritage and signage permit. A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) was required for the heritage permit, which would assess the impact of the proposed signage on the identified heritage attributes below, and evaluate the proposal against relevant provincial and municipal heritage policies along with the specific guidelines provided in the Signage Vision for the Downtown Yonge Strip and Toronto Signage By-law. Heritage staff specifically requested an extensive review of all alterations to the property and stated that any unsympathetic alterations, including the addition of a tourelle and non-original cornice, be removed to restore the building to its original character. Heritage staff also requested a statement from the applicant, known as a Memorandum of Understanding, that included conservation and repair work as a condition for the permit approvals.

To meet the relevant policies and guidelines for signage on heritage buildings, and minimize heritage approvals risk, it was determined that the best approach was one of minimal intervention: all new roof signage would generally match the height of the existing billboards, use existing supports and anchor points already installed on the roof, and utilize contemporary materials to visually distinguish between new and old. The original design, which incorporated a metal frame around the proposed signage, similar to nearby signage at 10 Dundas St East and the former Hard Rock Café, was deemed to be too visually similar to the existing building and its heritage attributes. As such, the proposed design was simplified to contrast the new signage from the heritage building and not read as an extension of the heritage building. Luminosity levels were also designed to reflect and respond to similar contemporary signage programs in the area, with 10 Dundas Street East used as an example.

[matt]

edited for length --

On the northwest corner of Yonge and Dundas sits a two-storey stone building featuring Art Moderne stylistic influences constructed for the Bank of Nova Scotia in 1948 and remained the primary commercial tenant until The Gap clothing store occupied the space in 1997. Archival photographs indicate that the first rooftop billboard sign for a business not associated with the building, known as third-party signage, was erected around 1990, and expanded along both the Yonge Street and Dundas Street elevations in 1997. These billboards were neither digital or illuminated, and did not extend the full length of the Dundas Street elevation.
In 20XX, the property owner sought to replace the existing billboard signs with a digital signage band that would extend the full length of both the Dundas and Yonge elevations. New commercial signage including blade and acrylic lettering, was also proposed for the street facing elevations to reflect the new commercial tenant.
Since 302 Yonge Street is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA), the proposed signage program required a heritage and signage permit. A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) assessed the impact of the proposed signage on the identified heritage attributes and evaluated the proposal against relevant policies along with the specific guidelines provided in the Signage Vision for the Downtown Yonge Strip and Toronto Signage By-law. Heritage staff specifically requested an extensive review of all alterations to the property and stated that any unsympathetic alterations, including the addition of a tourelle and non-original cornice, be removed to restore the building to its original character. Heritage staff also requested a memorandum of understanding that included conservation and repair work as a condition for the permit approvals.
It was determined that the best approach was one of minimal intervention: all new roof signage would generally match the height of the existing billboards, use existing supports and anchor points already installed on the roof, and utilize contemporary materials to visually distinguish between new and old. The original design, which incorporated a metal frame around the proposed signage, similar to nearby signage at 10 Dundas Street East and the former Hard Rock Café, was deemed to be too visually similar to the existing building and its heritage attributes. As such, the proposed design was simplified to contrast the new signage from the heritage building and not read as an extension of the heritage building. Luminosity levels were also designed to reflect and respond to similar contemporary signage programs in the area. j

[matt]

in layout