The 100-year-old former Nothern Rubber Company building is currently in the process of being converted into condominiums
The city has applied to designate the former Northern Rubber Company factory in The Ward as a heritage property under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The property, located at 120 Huron St. on the southeast corner of the Huron Street/Alice Street, is in the process of being redevelopedinto an 86-unit condominium complex by developer Momentum Partnership.
When council unanimously approved the project in 2017, the developer put the cost of the conversion of the building into condominiums at $28 million.
Momentum received a $1.7 million grant from the city to help retain some heritage aspects of the building. That money comes from a heritage reserve fund and is paid in the form of a tax break over a 10-year span.
The development, once finished, is expected to bring the city $2.74 million in development charges and $488,000 annually in property taxes.
In making the application for historical designation, Heritage Guelph said the building is seen as a “property of cultural heritage value or interest.”
“The former Northern Rubber Company building at 120 Huron Street is a prominent example of early 20th century industrial Guelph and has long been a landmark building at the east corner of Huron and Alice Streets,” says Heritage Guelph.
“The property is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area and physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings. It is a prime example of J. W. Lyon’s planned integration of industrial establishments and residential housing. The property is a landmark within the St. Patrick’s Ward.”
The Northern Rubber Company purchased the property in 1919 and it is presumed that’s when work began building the four-storey factory.
They made boots and other rubber products, employing 600 people at its height.
Northern Woodstock Rubber Company Ltd took over the factory in the 1940s and Uniroyal Chemical Ltd. took ownership in the 1950s.
“The property has design value or physical value because it is a rare and representative example of a construction method as a four-story, state-of-the-art early 20th-century industrial factory with reinforced structural concrete and red brick spandrels. It demonstrates a high degree of technical achievement as the building design and construction method is similar to the industrial building designs of the American architect Albert Kahn,” says the application.
“The property has historical value or associative value because it has direct association with an activity that is significant to the community.”
The following elements of the property should be considered heritage attributes in a designation, the application says: under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act:
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roof parapet;
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‘breakfront’ design feature on west elevation;
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concrete front entrance stair;
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red brick panels between columns;
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window openings with multi-pane style windows;
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reinforced concrete structure including the interior mushroom-shaped concrete support posts
Objections to the designation must be made to the city before Aug. 25.
