1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens 1. Description

Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
58: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
1.
Description of Property
Municipal Address
Name (if applicable)
Legal Description
Location of Property
Ownership
Access
Current Use
Existing Designation
General Description
Priority Level
1285 Sedgewick Crescent
Rotary Gardens
PLAN 1118 LOTS 2,3 (1950s development only)
The property is located at the northwest corner of Sedgewick Crescent and Woodside Drive.
Private
Access was not granted. Site inspection from road on Oct, 8th, 2015 (LS, AB)
Residential
None.
Rotary Gardens is a small, rental housing complex for seniors, built c.1956 as a project of the
Rotary Club of Oakville. It comprises seven, one-storey, bungalow-style buildings, each with a Tshaped plan. The buildings are arranged asymmetrically on the site, and linked by a network of
concrete paths. Each building is divided into two or three semi-detached dwelling units, for a
total of 28 units. There is a larger proportion of communal space on the site than private space.
The complex is located in a residential neighbourhood, with a library branch, elementary
school, daycare, park and second seniors housing complex all directly adjacent.
Medium
Figure 1: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent (AB, 2015)
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
Figure 2: Aerial image of Rotary Garden complex (Google Maps, 2015).
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St.
Rebecca
Public
Library
Woodsi
de
Dr.
Elementary
School
Play
Area
Cres.
Day
Sedgewick
Care
Sedgewick
Re
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t.
Forest
Public
Library
Dr
.
Elementary
School
Play
Area
ick
Cre
s.
Day
Care
Sedgewick-Woodside
Cultural Heritage Landscape
Inventory Map
gew
oo
ds
ide
Corporation of the
Town of Oakville
1225 Trafalgar Rd
Oakville, ON
L6H 0H3
Sed
W
Sedgewick
Forest
LEGEND
Assessment Boundary
Building
CHL Study Area
Heritage District
Heritage Trail
Parkland
Park Trail
Road
Site Structures
Vegetation
Watercourse
Cemetery
Drawing not to scale
Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
2.
Key Recommendations
Priority = Medium
Rationale for priority level:
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No existing protection for any potential cultural heritage resources;
Some building units are in need of repair
Recommendations for future action:
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3.
Conduct a full heritage evaluation of Rotary Gardens, to determine if designation or listing is appropriate; and
Consider including the adjacent school, library and daycare centre in the evaluation.
Documentation and Inventory of Built Form
List of Built Features:
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4.
Seven, one-storey, bungalow-style buildings, with two or three units per building, arranged asymmetrically on the
site. There are a total of 28 one bedroom rental units;
All buildings are one-storey bungalows of similar design, with low-pitched gable roofs and pale brick exteriors. Most
window openings are short, wide and placed high on the wall plane. Entrances to units are asymmetrically placed.
Although original entrances appear to have been recessed, many have been modified or filled in;
Four, asphalt-paved parking lots: three accessed from Woodside Drive; one accessed from Sedgewick Crescent;
A network of concrete paths connect units to each other and to the parking lots and streets;
Town bus shelter on Woodside Dr.; and
A wooden sign at the corner of Sedgewick Crescent and Woodside Drive: “Rotary Gardens: Project of the Rotary Club
of Oakville”.
Documentation and Inventory of Natural Form
List of Natural Features:
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●
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5.
Grassed spaces between buildings, with a greater proportion of communal spaces than private spaces;
A row of shrubs and cedar hedges along the western property line;
A small number of trees found throughout property; and
New plantings and individually designed and manicured lawns.
Design (Typology)
‘X’ all that
apply
Categories of Cultural
Heritage Landscape
X
Designed Landscape
Organically Evolved
Landscape
Relict Landscape
(Evolved Landscape)
Description
“…clearly defined landscape designed and created
intentionally by man.”
“…results from an initial social, economic,
administrative, and/or religious imperative and has
developed in its present form in response to its natural
environment”
“…in which an evolutionary process came to an end at
some time in the past.”
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
‘X’ all that
apply
Categories of Cultural
Heritage Landscape
Continuing
Landscape
(Evolved Landscape)
Associative Cultural
Landscape
6.
Description
“…retains an active social role in contemporary society
closely associated with the traditional way of life, and
which the evolutionary process is still in progress.”
“…justifiable by virtue of the powerful
religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural
element rather than material cultural evidence, which
may be insignificant or even absent.”
Historical and Thematic Associations
Rotary Gardens is a small, rental housing complex for seniors. It was built c.1956 as a project of the Rotary Club of Oakville to
provide low-income rental properties for elderly citizens. The Rotary Club of Oakville continues to own the property and to
rent to seniors; the complex is operated by the non-profit group Trafalgar Senior Homes in partnership with the Rotary Club.
Rotary Gardens may illustrate broader trends in housing development in the mid-1950s. The provision of good-quality, lowcost housing and the replacement of existing, rundown building stock was a concern in Canada in the 1950s. Government
organizations such as the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC – now Canada Mortgage and Housing), formed
in 1946, provided funding for municipal projects and low-cost, architect-designed plans to private individuals and
organizations, in an effort to address the issue. Other Rotary Clubs also embarked on this type of housing project – for
example the Rotary Club of Kelowna formed the Pleasantvale Homes Society in 1956 to build 60 affordable units for
impoverished elderly citizens.
7.
Contextual Associations
Rotary Gardens is located in a neighbourhood of single-family dwellings. Directly north is Woodside Mews, a complex of 30,
two-storey townhouse units built in 2001 that provide non-profit housing for seniors. To the west is: a branch of the Oakville
Public Library, a French-language elementary school, and a daycare centre. To the south is Sedgewick Forest, a large park
with forested and open areas, and walking trails. The architectural style of the school and daycare centre, and possibly the
library, suggests that they were built around the same time as Rotary Gardens, and there may be historical links between the
three that illustrate the general development of this area of Oakville.
8.
Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06)
O.Reg.9/06 Criteria
1. The property has design value or
physical value because it,
i. is a rare, unique, representative or
early example of a style, type,
expression, material, or construction
method,
ii. displays a high degree of
craftsmanship or artistic merit, or
iii. demonstrates a high degree of
technical or scientific achievement.
2. The property has historical value or
Criteria
Potentially
Met (Y/N)
Potential Justification
Y
Rotary Gardens may be representative
of a style or type of one-storey,
multiple-unit dwelling complex that
originated in the 1950s.
N
Not shown.
N
Not shown.
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
O.Reg.9/06 Criteria
associative value because it,
i. has direct associations with a theme,
event, belief, person, activity,
organization or institution that is
significant to a community,
ii. yields, or has the potential to yield,
information that contributes to an
understanding of a community or
culture, or
iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or
ideas of an architect, artist, builder,
designer or theorist who is significant to
a community.
3. The property has contextual value
because it,
Criteria
Potentially
Met (Y/N)
Potential Justification
Y
Rotary Gardens is associated with the
Rotary Club of Oakville, which may be
significant to the community. It may also
be associated with a significant
approach to suburban development in
the history of the community.
N
Not known.
N
Not known.
i. is important in defining, maintaining or
supporting the character of an area,
Y
ii. is physically, functionally, visually or
historically linked to its surroundings, or
Y
iii. is a landmark.
N
Rotary Gardens, together with the
elementary school and day care centre,
comprise a grouping of 1950s buildings
whose architecture may define the
character of the area.
Rotary Gardens may be visually or
historically linked to adjacent buildings
such as the school, library and day care
building.
Not shown.
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
9.
Photographic Documentation
Figure 4: Rotary Gardens, taken from corner of Sedgewick Cres and Woodside Drive (left) and looking north from Sedgewick Cres (right) (AB, 2015).
Figure 5: École Élémentaire Patricia-Picknell. (AB, 2015)
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
Figure 6: Sedgewick Child Care Centre. (AB, 2015)
10.
Analysis & Recommendations
Potential Heritage Value:
Rotary Gardens may be representative of a style or type of one-storey, multiple-unit, dwelling complex that originated in the
mid-1950s. It is associated with the Rotary Club of Oakville, which may be considered significant to the community. Rotary
Gardens may also illustrate a significant theme in housing development in Oakville, as a non-profit housing complex, a
seniors complex, or a communally structured complex. Together with the school, library and daycare centre, it may comprise
a grouping of 1950s buildings that are linked through their history or architecture. The grouping of buildings and the
interaction between components within the landscape according to a design philosophy, make this a good potential example
of a cultural heritage landscape.
Actions:
The Town may want to conduct a full heritage evaluation of Rotary Gardens, with a view to determining cultural heritage
value or interest, and heritage attributes, and considering whether heritage designation or listing is appropriate. Research
would include a site visit, archival and land registry research, a review of Rotary Club records and interviews with Rotary Club
members. If all units continue to be owned by the Rotary Club, a Part IV (individual property) designation would provide
appropriate protection. The Town may also want to consider broadening the evaluation to include adjacent buildings that
seem linked by their history or architecture, including the school, library and daycare centre.
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Inventory Report: 1285 Sedgewick Crescent, Rotary Gardens
The age and modern style of the complex may warrant giving it a higher priority for evaluation, as modern architecture is
typically undervalued and at higher risk for demolition and replacement.
A ‘medium’ priority level is recommended for the following reasons:
•
•
11.
No existing protection for any potential cultural heritage resources;
Some building units are in need of repair.
Sources
Halton Region Website. Property Details. Accessed November 2015, from
http://webaps.halton.ca/scs/housing/subsidized/propertyDetails.aspx?propid=233&pg=2
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