Community members and Toronto councillors are fighting to protect four heritage buildings on the Foundry site in the West Don Lands after the province started demolition on January 18.

The Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company site at 153 to 185 Eastern Avenue is a provincially owned property that falls under a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) issued by the province.

The MZO, which was issued back in October, allows the provincial government to sidestep the city’s heritage designations and accelerate the planning processes.

The provincial government has said it plans on tearing down the buildings to build new affordable and market housing. In the week following the first demolition efforts, community members rallied together, starting a petition, protesting on site and eventually filing an injunction on Thursday with the Ontario Superior Court.

The province and lawyers on behalf of residents will both have the chance to argue their case during a full court hearing on Wednesday, January 27.

Minister of municipal affairs and housing Steve Clark stated on Friday he would halt the demolition until the hearing. Advocates believe that if the province is allowed to continue the demolition process, it will set a precedent for the future of provincial intervention into municipal city planning and heritage protection.

Specifically, they worry that MZOs, which have already been used at an increasing rate by Ford’s government, will become an easy route for the province to take over future projects without needing to abide by the city’s protections and policies.

Here’s what you need to know about the Foundry site.

What is the Foundry site?

Chris Bateman, manager of the plaques program at Heritage Toronto, says the four buildings used to be part of a bigger complex built by the Dominion Foundries company. The surrounding area used to be heavily industrial up until the 1970s and 80s, he says.

“Dominion Wheel and Foundries was located right next to a lot of railway infrastructure – the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway had various shops in the area, and that business was basically making constant metal parts for those companies,” Bateman says.

The Foundry site has value beyond the buildings themselves, he says. “It’s much more than the buildings; the area has a real industrial heritage, so this is a surviving piece of a really important part of Toronto’s history.”