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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-2025-392 - Mike and Pat Wagner Awards 2025 Update Development Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Heritage Kitchener DATE OF MEETING: October 7, 2025 SUBMITTED BY: Garett Stevenson, Director of Housing and Development Approvals PREPARED BY: Deeksha Choudhry, Heritage Planner, 519-783-8906 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: September 9, 2025 REPORT NO.: DSD-2025-392 SUBJECT: Mike and Pat Wagner Awards 2025 Update RECOMMENDATION: For information. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS: The purpose of this report is to inform Heritage Kitchener of the nominations that were received for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards. There are no financial implications associated with this report. Community engagement included informing residents by posting this report with the agenda in advance of the Heritage Kitchener meeting and consulting with Heritage Kitchener. This report supports the delivery of core services. BACKGROUND: In 1997, the City of Kitchener established the Mike Wagner Heritage Awards to pay tribute to property owners, businesses and individuals who have contributed to the conservation of the CityÓs cultural heritage resources. The program was named after former City Councillor Mike Wagner who served on City Council from 1989 to 1997, and who was a strong advocate for heritage, culture, and the arts. In 2017, the heritage awards were renamed the Mike & Pat Wagner Heritage Awards in recognition of the many contributions of Pat Wagner, who was a long-time member of Heritage Kitchener and a recipient of t he Lieutenant GovernorÓs Ontario Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2015, Council endorsed the establishment of a new comprehensive planning awards program celebrating a broad range of categories. Known as the KitchenerÓs Great Places Awards (KG PA), the program honours outstanding development projects that show a commitment to design excellence and innovation in urban design, sustainability and heritage conservation and contribute to a built environment to enhance quality of life. Since inception, the program has brought people together, fostered community pride and the recognized projects have contributed to the quality-of- life in Kitchener. Over the years, the award ceremony has recognized projects across 9 categories as listed below: 1. Future Design Leaders 2. Master Planning *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. Page 282 of 326 3. Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards 4. Neighborhood Design 5. PeopleÓs Choice 6. Placemaking 7. Schmalz Award for Design Leadership 8. Affordable Housing Solutions Award Category 9. Sustainable Kitchener 10. Urban Design Excellence The last KGPA event was held in 2023. Staff received six (6) nominations for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards. At its June 6, 2023 meeting, Heritage Kitchener was given a summary of the award nominations, and then voted to select the winners which were subsequently endorsed by Council. The 2023 Mike and Pat Wagner Award winners were: Preservation / Restoration: The Legion Building, 48 Ontario Street North Preservation / Restoration: 87 Scott Street Rehabilitation / Adaptive Re-Use: American Hotel Building, 1 Queen Street North Rehabilitation / Adaptive Re-Use: Hog and Hen Barn Restoration, 883 Doon Village Road REPORT: The Committee, earlier this year, supported a change in process for selecting the successful candidate(s) for the Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards. As noted in DSD-2025 -037, the Chair of the Heritage Committee was part of Jury Panel to select the winners for the Mike and Pat Wagner Awards. The projects within this category included: - 97-99 King Street West Î Preservation/Restoration Category - Suddaby Public School (171 Frederick Street) Î Preservation/Restoration Category - GovernorÓs House (73 Queen Street North) Î Preservation/Restoration Category - Ophelia Vive Development (242 Queen Street South) Î Adaptive Re-use Category - St. MarkÓs Place Apartment (825 King Street West) Î Adaptive Re-use Category Page 283 of 326 97-99 King Street West This project included the front façade rehabilitation of the existing building at 97-99 King Street West (Fig. 1). This façade restoration included the meticulous repair of brickwork to match the existing, conservation and restoration of original elements such as the cornice. This building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Figure 1. Front Façade of 97-99 King Street West. (Source: Mike and Pat Wagner Awards Nomination Package) Page 284 of 326 Suddaby Public School Î 171 Frederick Street The Suddaby Public School is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (Fig 2.). The school was established in 1857, the school is a historic landmark that has served the community for over a century. The original portion of the school was designed by architect Philip Roth in the Neo-classical architectural style, characterized by the brick construction, symmetrical window pattern and other architectural details. The preservation project focused on maintaining and stabilizing the schoolÓs heritage attributes. This included careful cleaning and preservation of the original brickwork and maintenance of interior archways. A significant aspect of this work also included the replacement of inoperable single hung wood windows with new wood aluminum clad single hung windows. These windows were designed to match the existing original 9 by 9 mullion patterns, thereby maintaining the integrity and cultural heritage value of the building. Figure 2. Front Façade of the Suddaby Public School. (Source: Mike and Pat Wagner Awards Nomination Package) Page 285 of 326 GovernorÓs House Î 73 Queen Street North Built in 1878, The GovernorÓs House is one of the oldest buildings in the Region, and is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. It was built in the mid-Victoria Italian Villa architectural style and maintains most of its original architectural elements to this day. During a review of the house, the front entrance wood porch was seen to be deteriorating, including rot damage to the base of the columns and decking. The scope of work included the repair and restoration of the front porch and included the cutting out of the deteriorated wood elements, removal of all masonry mortar joins of the porch perimeter, and itÓs cleaning and repointing. All elements of the porch were replaced with in-kind materials, and matched with the original materials, including the colours, to maintain the original look of the porch (Fig. 3). Figure 3. GovernorÓs House at 73 Queen Street North Page 286 of 326 Ophelia Vive Development Î 242 Queen Street South This project includes the development of a 10-storey rental building with 118 units, along with a adaptive reuse of two heritage buildings at 254 and 262 Queen Street South (Fig. 4). 254 and 262 Queen Street South are designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, and are located within the Victoria Park Area Heritage Conservation District. The retained heritage homes contribute in maintaining the residential streetscape and character of Queen Street South. A third, non-heritage building on the property was demolished in order to create a visual connection between the designated homes and the building. Figure 4. Ophelia Î Vive Development (Source: Mike and Pat Wagner Award Nomination Package) Page 287 of 326 St. MarkÓs Apartment Place This project included the adaptive reuse of the existing church and building an addition to accommodate 43 affordable housing units (Fig. 5). The church is included on KitchenerÓs Inventory of Historic Buildings. The project conserved key heritage elements including the original masonry, and hand carved wooden elements. The new addition blends seamlessly with the existing church and has been designed in a way that maintains the churchÓs visual prominence. Figure 5. St. Marks Apartment Place (Source: Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Award Nominations Package) Kitchener Great Places Awards The jury panel visited these project sites on June 17, 2025. The Jury has selected a winner which will be announced at the Kitchener Great Places Awards function, scheduled to be held on October 29, 2025. STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: This report supports the delivery of core services. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Capital Budget Î The recommendation has no impact on the Capital Budget. Operating Budget Î The recommendation has no impact on the Operating Budget. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM Î This report has been posted to the CityÓs website with the agenda in advance of the Heritage Kitchener committee meeting. PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES: DSD-2025-037 Î Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Award Program Update APPROVED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services Page 288 of 326