Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens

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58: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens

1. Description of Property Municipal Address 1285 Sedgewick Crescent Name (if applicable) Rotary Gardens Legal Description PLAN 1118 LOTS 2,3 (1950s development only) Location of Property The property is located at the northwest corner of Sedgewick Crescent and Woodside Drive. Ownership Private Access Access was not granted. Site inspection from road on Oct, 8th, 2015 (LS, AB) Current Use Residential Existing Designation None. General Description Rotary Gardens is a small, rental housing complex for seniors, built c.1956 as a project of the

Rotary Club of Oakville. It comprises seven, one-storey, bungalow-style buildings, each with a T-shaped plan. The buildings are arranged asymmetrically on the site, and linked by a network of concrete paths. Each building is divided into two or three semi-detached dwelling units, for a total of 28 units. There is a larger proportion of communal space on the site than private space. The complex is located in a residential neighbourhood, with a library branch, elementary school, daycare, park and second seniors housing complex all directly adjacent.

Priority Level Medium

Figure 1: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent (AB, 2015)

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Figure 2: Aerial image of Rotary Garden complex (Google Maps, 2015).

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Cultural Heritage LandscapeInventory Map

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Corporation of theTown of Oakville1225 Trafalgar RdOakville, ONL6H 0H3

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Site Structures

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Assessment Boundary

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2. Key Recommendations Priority = Medium

Rationale for priority level:

● No existing protection for any potential cultural heritage resources; ● Some building units are in need of repair

Recommendations for future action:

● Conduct a full heritage evaluation of Rotary Gardens, to determine if designation or listing is appropriate; and ● Consider including the adjacent school, library and daycare centre in the evaluation.

3. Documentation and Inventory of Built Form List of Built Features:

● Seven, one-storey, bungalow-style buildings, with two or three units per building, arranged asymmetrically on the site. There are a total of 28 one bedroom rental units;

● All buildings are one-storey bungalows of similar design, with low-pitched gable roofs and pale brick exteriors. Most window openings are short, wide and placed high on the wall plane. Entrances to units are asymmetrically placed. Although original entrances appear to have been recessed, many have been modified or filled in;

● Four, asphalt-paved parking lots: three accessed from Woodside Drive; one accessed from Sedgewick Crescent; ● A network of concrete paths connect units to each other and to the parking lots and streets; ● Town bus shelter on Woodside Dr.; and ● A wooden sign at the corner of Sedgewick Crescent and Woodside Drive: “Rotary Gardens: Project of the Rotary Club

of Oakville”.

4. Documentation and Inventory of Natural Form List of Natural Features:

● Grassed spaces between buildings, with a greater proportion of communal spaces than private spaces; ● A row of shrubs and cedar hedges along the western property line; ● A small number of trees found throughout property; and ● New plantings and individually designed and manicured lawns.

5. Design (Typology) ‘X’ all that

apply Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape

Description

X Designed Landscape “…clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man.”

Organically Evolved Landscape

“…results from an initial social, economic, administrative, and/or religious imperative and has developed in its present form in response to its natural environment”

Relict Landscape (Evolved Landscape)

“…in which an evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past.”

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‘X’ all that apply

Categories of Cultural Heritage Landscape

Description

Continuing

Landscape (Evolved Landscape)

“…retains an active social role in contemporary society closely associated with the traditional way of life, and which the evolutionary process is still in progress.”

Associative Cultural Landscape

“…justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent.”

6. Historical and Thematic Associations

Rotary Gardens is a small, rental housing complex for seniors. It was built c.1956 as a project of the Rotary Club of Oakville to provide low-income rental properties for elderly citizens. The Rotary Club of Oakville continues to own the property and to rent to seniors; the complex is operated by the non-profit group Trafalgar Senior Homes in partnership with the Rotary Club.

Rotary Gardens may illustrate broader trends in housing development in the mid-1950s. The provision of good-quality, low-cost housing and the replacement of existing, rundown building stock was a concern in Canada in the 1950s. Government organizations such as the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC – now Canada Mortgage and Housing), formed in 1946, provided funding for municipal projects and low-cost, architect-designed plans to private individuals and organizations, in an effort to address the issue. Other Rotary Clubs also embarked on this type of housing project – for example the Rotary Club of Kelowna formed the Pleasantvale Homes Society in 1956 to build 60 affordable units for impoverished elderly citizens.

7. Contextual Associations Rotary Gardens is located in a neighbourhood of single-family dwellings. Directly north is Woodside Mews, a complex of 30, two-storey townhouse units built in 2001 that provide non-profit housing for seniors. To the west is: a branch of the Oakville Public Library, a French-language elementary school, and a daycare centre. To the south is Sedgewick Forest, a large park with forested and open areas, and walking trails. The architectural style of the school and daycare centre, and possibly the library, suggests that they were built around the same time as Rotary Gardens, and there may be historical links between the three that illustrate the general development of this area of Oakville.

8. Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06)

O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria

Potentially Met (Y/N)

Potential Justification

1. The property has design value or physical value because it,

i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material, or construction method,

Y

Rotary Gardens may be representative of a style or type of one-storey, multiple-unit dwelling complex that originated in the 1950s.

ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or N Not shown.

iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement. N Not shown.

2. The property has historical value or

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O.Reg.9/06 Criteria Criteria

Potentially Met (Y/N)

Potential Justification

associative value because it,

i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community,

Y

Rotary Gardens is associated with the Rotary Club of Oakville, which may be significant to the community. It may also be associated with a significant approach to suburban development in the history of the community.

ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or

N Not known.

iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community.

N Not known.

3. The property has contextual value because it,

i. is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area, Y

Rotary Gardens, together with the elementary school and day care centre, comprise a grouping of 1950s buildings whose architecture may define the character of the area.

ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or Y

Rotary Gardens may be visually or historically linked to adjacent buildings such as the school, library and day care building.

iii. is a landmark. N Not shown.

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9. Photographic Documentation

Figure 4: Rotary Gardens, taken from corner of Sedgewick Cres and Woodside Drive (left) and looking north from Sedgewick Cres (right) (AB, 2015).

Figure 5: École Élémentaire Patricia-Picknell. (AB, 2015)

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Figure 6: Sedgewick Child Care Centre. (AB, 2015)

10. Analysis & Recommendations Potential Heritage Value:

Rotary Gardens may be representative of a style or type of one-storey, multiple-unit, dwelling complex that originated in the mid-1950s. It is associated with the Rotary Club of Oakville, which may be considered significant to the community. Rotary Gardens may also illustrate a significant theme in housing development in Oakville, as a non-profit housing complex, a seniors complex, or a communally structured complex. Together with the school, library and daycare centre, it may comprise a grouping of 1950s buildings that are linked through their history or architecture. The grouping of buildings and the interaction between components within the landscape according to a design philosophy, make this a good potential example of a cultural heritage landscape.

Actions:

The Town may want to conduct a full heritage evaluation of Rotary Gardens, with a view to determining cultural heritage value or interest, and heritage attributes, and considering whether heritage designation or listing is appropriate. Research would include a site visit, archival and land registry research, a review of Rotary Club records and interviews with Rotary Club members. If all units continue to be owned by the Rotary Club, a Part IV (individual property) designation would provide appropriate protection. The Town may also want to consider broadening the evaluation to include adjacent buildings that seem linked by their history or architecture, including the school, library and daycare centre.

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The age and modern style of the complex may warrant giving it a higher priority for evaluation, as modern architecture is typically undervalued and at higher risk for demolition and replacement.

A ‘medium’ priority level is recommended for the following reasons:

• No existing protection for any potential cultural heritage resources; • Some building units are in need of repair.

11. Sources Halton Region Website. Property Details. Accessed November 2015, from http://webaps.halton.ca/scs/housing/subsidized/propertyDetails.aspx?propid=233&pg=2