Residents want Little Jamaica named a heritage conservation district. The city says that’s ‘not the best fit’ for the area

Thestar.com
March 10, 2021
Danica Samuel

Little Jamaica is in urgent need of preservation and protection. Local residents and advocacy groups have long called on the city for it to be designated a heritage conservation district, but city officials say that’s not the right move.

Instead, the city is proposing designating Little Jamaica Toronto’s first “cultural district.”

“Unfortunately, conservation districts, they don’t do things like control uses, (they) don’t support arts and culture or provide economic support,” said Mary MacDonald, Toronto’s senior manager of heritage preservation services, during the virtual meeting with community members last week.

How a cultural district is defined is not known at this time, but Cheryl Blackman, the city of Toronto’s acting general manager of economic development and culture, says that developing a definition is “one of the first tasks of this process.”

The alternative plan of a cultural district will ensure, “Little Jamaica is a place where Black business and Black culture thrives and all people can understand the power of community that is living in Little Jamaica,” Blackman said, adding that lessons learned from creating the plan could be applicable to other parts of the city.

Members of the Little Jamaica community have been advocating for help for years. Many say the culturally rich community, which stretches from Keele Street to Marlee Avenue on Eglinton Avenue West, has long been overlooked by the city and, most recently, ravaged by an economic downturn caused by the Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction. Without a clear understanding of what a cultural district designation would mean for Little Jamaica, residents are wondering whether it will effectively protect the area.

“(Jamaicans) have given Toronto so many things. And to hear that they want to provide us with (an unclear) concept ... would they do that for another ethnic group?” asks Lavern Rowe, whose family lived in Little Jamaica up until six months ago. Now an Ajax resident, Rowe still does her groceries in Little Jamaica.

She said the meeting didn’t offer her any confidence in the city’s future with the neighbourhood, nor did it provide enough time for community members to speak.

“Going into the meeting I felt like it was supposed to be progressive. We (were) supposed to talk about next steps and how to make it into a historical site,” Rowe explained.

“As residents, or as people who frequent Little Jamaica, we weren’t able to voice our opinions. We were told what has happened, what is happening now (with) presentations, but we weren’t able to come together as a community and say this is my experience, this is my tie to it, and this is what I would like to see.”

While MacDonald says that the decision to not pursue a heritage conservation district designation for Little Jamaica was based on consultation with community, Romain Baker, co-founder of Black Urbanism Toronto (BUTO), says that was a “narrative that came top down.”

“It came from the city to us as community that (Little Jamaica) is not a fit,” said Baker, noting that it was his organization, along with the community, that requested the heritage conservation district designation to protect and stimulate the neighbourhood. “In terms of policies and tools, that was the only one that we really knew about, so that was what we were kind of hinging our demands on.”

The neighbourhood’s designation within the city has been a point of confusion in recent months. Following a city motion from Coun. Mike Colle (Ward 8 Eglinton-Lawrence) in September 2020 recommending the city establish Little Jamaica as a heritage and economic innovation hub, Colle said during an Oct. 4 interview on G98.7 FM’s Grapevine show that it was a designated heritage area.

Little Jamaica is not listed as a heritage district by the city of Toronto, nor is it listed as one of several areas under study for a designation of this kind. Under the Ontario Heritage Act, a neighbourhood that is a designated heritage site is preserved and protected against deterioration.

When asked recently about the difference, Colle told the Star his comments on G98.7 FM were “just semantics” since a motion to take action had been approved by council and the details were being worked out.

“They may call it a cultural district, but the main thing is now on the map (Little Jamaica) is a very special area, that’s what my motion did and the other motion,” said Colle, referring to Coun. Josh Matlow’s motion, put forth at the same time as Colle’s, asking for support of area business owners and preservation of Little Jamaica’s heritage.

While Colle and Matlow’s motions both aimed to officially recognize the area as Little Jamaica -- despite it popularly being referred to as such, street signs in the area carry the name “International Market” -- there is a difference between that recognition and designating the area a heritage conservation district that is protected under law. However, when asked about this difference, Colle said it was “just splitting hairs.”

Mary MacDonald, Toronto's senior manager of heritage preservation services, says the city will work on historic surveys to help build an understanding of the area's deep roots and "identify properties associated with something valuable to the community." Jimmy Wisdom's barbershop has been in Little Jamaica for several decades.

According to the city of Toronto’s website heritage conservation districts “are a planning tool that guide change in neighbourhoods that represent rich social, cultural and architectural history -- places that contribute to the livability and appeal of Toronto as a multicultural, sustainable and equitable city.” Both Baker and Rowe say Little Jamaica fits the bill.

MacDonald says a historic survey could help build an understanding of the area’s deep roots and “identify properties associated with something valuable to the community -- could be a gathering place, a long-standing business, a place associated with a significant person or activity.”

“We want the result to be rooted in a deep understanding of what is valuable in the community and conserve the history in this area in the best way possible,” she said.

However, valuable properties to Little Jamaica have already been reported and studied in recent years due to the LRT construction. Businesses like Jimmy Wisdom’s Barber Shop, Spence’s Bakery, Monica’s Cosmetic Supplies and Randy’s Take Out, as well as Share Magazine’s headquarters, are profoundly embedded in the neighbourhood’s roots, which date back to the early ’70s.

What Baker and Rowe, along with other past and present residents, would like to see happen is the area be designated a heritage conservation district while also receiving support for arts and culture and economic development.

Rowe says if she got the opportunity to speak to MacDonald, she would have asked why Little Jamaica wasn’t a good fit to be a heritage conservation district “when technically (a neighbourhood) just has to have rich social and cultural values in order to be a heritage (district), which Little Jamaica does.”