Proposed demolition of three houses (all members of Kitchener Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District) for replacement with a six-storey, 43-unit apartment building that would front onto Weber Street West and Young Street.

56 Weber Street West (1900) was the home of John Motz, 1830-1911, founder of the Berliner Journal, a predecessor of today's Waterloo Region Record, and Mayor of Berlin (renamed Kitchener in 1916) 1880-81.

50-52 Weber Street West (c. 1875) if the gothic revival/Ontario cottage style house right of John Motz House.

107 Young Street (1911) is an arts & crafts style house unique to the Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District. Its many original features include wood trim on its front porch and decorative brick work.

August 4, 2020: Marg Rowell, Chair of ACO NWRB to Heritage Kitchener Heritage Committee:
ACO is opposed to demolition or irreversible alteration to those buildings which our community has already chosen to protect.

Regional and Provincial Policy discourage demolition of protected heritage properties:
• Each of these buildings is already designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
• The Planning Act, Provincial Policy Statement, Ontario Heritage Toolkit, and the Official Plans of both the Region of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener all agree – that cultural heritage resources are to be
conserved.

Staff recommended that 107 Young Street be moved, and returned to its site when development is complete. Following assessment that removal and return would be impractical and too costly, a new plan recommended partial removal of a rear portion of the property to be integrated into the development.

There has been no action on the development since 2020.