Parish Hall Lands: Future Plans

Process to Sever Parish Hall Site Initiated


We have initiated a process with the City to sever a portion of our site, in order to create a separate and independent lot for the parish hall. Since we understand this process may raise some questions within the parish, we wanted to provide a summary below:


What We’re Applying For


On November 2, 2022, we filed an application with City Planning that seeks to sever the parish hall site from our current campus, in order to prepare the new parish hall site for a future sale. The application also includes a short list of related variances to the existing zoning by-laws that apply to our site, in order that the existing uses of the parish hall, church and rectory (including site access and parking) can be maintained under this new site configuration.


While it is anticipated that a redevelopment application for the parish hall will likely come forward from a future owner of the parish hall site (an application which will be subject to a separate development review process), there are no such changes included in the severance application that we have filed. The intention of this application is simply to update the underlying site boundaries of our campus, while maintaining all existing operations and access arrangements currently in place.


A hearing on this application will be scheduled with the City of Toronto’s Committee of Adjustment in the coming months to review and make a determination on our proposed severance. 


Details of the application can be downloaded from the City’s application portal, at the following link [search for “651 Dufferin Street”, when prompted]: https://secure.toronto.ca/AIC/index.do


Severance Details 


The current St. Anne’s campus houses three buildings: St. Anne’s Church and Rectory (270 & 276 Gladstone Avenue) along with St. Anne’s Parish Hall (651 Dufferin Street). Presently these three buildings sit on a single site, extending from Gladstone Avenue on the east, and Dufferin Street on the west (as shown on the diagram above). The process that we have initiated with the City seeks to identify the portion of the site that we will need for the ongoing operation of the church (270 & 276 Gladstone Avenue), while also identifying the area of the site connected to the parish hall, which will ultimately form the lands that we expect to sell (through the RFEOI process described above). 


The area that we are proposing to be severed from the existing site includes the parish hall and a portion of the Dufferin St. parking lot, as shown in the diagram above. The lands to be retained include the Church and Rectory buildings, along with the Gladstone Ave. parking lot and a portion of the Dufferin St. parking lot.


Why We’re Doing This


Once the parish hall site has been formally severed, St. Anne’s will be in a better position to proceed with a potential sale of the parish hall lands. The sale of the parish hall property will enable us to generate funds for necessary church renovations and invest in important community outreach and parish programs. The sale of this hall and surrounding property will ensure long-term financial security for the church.


Implications for Church and Parish Hall Operations


This application does not propose any changes to the Church, Rectory or Parish Hall buildings. Nor does the application propose any changes to existing building operations and/or pedestrian access or parking arrangements currently in place across the St. Anne’s campus. 


In the event that a redevelopment application for the parish hall site be made at some point in the future by the parish hall site’s future owners, any such impacts pertaining to site operations and access will be evaluated at that time, through that application’s development review process. 


In any event, there are no changes being contemplated whatsoever (now or in the future) to St. Anne’s Church, which carries heritage designation status through the Ontario Heritage Act and has been recognized as a National Historic Site in 1996.


Further Information


We will endeavor to update this page with any updates to this process, including a Committee of Adjustment hearing date, when one is scheduled. Should you have any questions about this process, you are welcome to contact Kevin.