Heritage Districts Work ! Report by The Architectural Conservancy Of Ontario, and the Heritage Conservation District Study Summary Report
August 20, 2009

A major project on Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) undertaken by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario to determine whether they are meeting their goals is now complete.The study examined 32 HCDs created before 1992. The study used resident surveys to determine how property owners and residents felt about HCDs. In addition, 67 key stakeholders were interviewed, streetscape evaluations were conducted, sales history trends for 431 properties were analyzed, and data on requests for alterations was collected.

The conclusion - Heritage Districts work!

Satisfaction with living and owning property in districts is overwhelming; with seventy-five per cent of respondents indicating that they were either very satisfied or satisfied with living in an HCD.

A study of sales trends showed strong real estate performance in HCDs, especially those where HCD guidelines are consistently enforced.

Professor Robert Shipley, the Director of the Heritage Resources Centre (HRC) at the University of Waterloo supervised the study

In addition to the summary report, 26 reports on individual HCDs included in the study are available. All of these reports can be downloaded from the Heritage Resource Centre's website. (see links below).