Notice of Intention to Designate

The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill

Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill (“Council”) intends to designate the above noted property as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under part IV and pursuant to section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990,c.0.18.

And take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill stated their intention to designate said property under the Ontario Heritage Act on June 25^th, 2025.

A statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the property and a description of the heritage attributes of the property is set out below.

Any person who objects to the above noted Council’s intention to designate shall, within 30 days after the publication of this notice, serve on the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill, a Notice of Objection setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts. The last day to submit the Notice of Objection is August 1^st, 2025.

Service may be made digitally by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by delivery personally to the City Clerk or by Regular Mail at the following address:

Obtaining Additional Information:

Additional information about heritage planning at the City of Richmond Hill may be obtained by contacting Heritage Planning City staff by e-mail at heritage@richmondhill.ca. Take note that a Notice of Objection may only be served to the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill as stated above.

Dated this 2^nd day of July, 2025

Statement of Significance

11901 Yonge Street – Summit Clubhouse

The Summit Clubhouse at 11901 Yonge Street is recommended for designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act as a property of cultural heritage value or interest, as described in the following Statement of Significance. The subject property has been found to meet Ontario Regulation 9/06 criteria 1, 4, 6, and 8.

Description of Property

The Summit Clubhouse at 11901 Yonge Street is a two-storey frame structure with an irregular footprint and a low, steeply-pitched hipped roof. The structure is located with the Summit Golf and Country Club grounds on the east side of Yonge Street, south of Stouffville Road.

Design and Physical Value

The Summit Clubhouse at 11901 Yonge Street, designed in 1914 and completed in 1920, has design and physical value as a representative example of the Arts and Crafts architectural style applied to the early-20^th-century golf clubhouse typology. The Summit Clubhouse consists of a large two-storey frame building with several side and rear additions. Architectural features that contribute to the building’s Arts and Crafts style include, but are not limited to, its steeply-pitched hipped roof with low eave line, two large red-brick chimneys, asymmetrical façade, irregular and asymmetrical fenestration pattern, main doorway flanked by sidelights and transom, and the portico surrounding the main entrance with Tuscan columns and arched entranceway. Architectural features that contribute to the building’s early-20^th-century golf clubhouse typology include, but are not limited to, the building’s two-storey massing with an elongated footprint, orientation towards the golf course, the circular driveway leading east towards the structure from Yonge Street, the projecting front portico, and its Arts and Crafts architectural expression.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 1: The property has design value or physical value because it is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method.

Historical and Associative Value

The Summit Clubhouse at 11901 Yonge Street has historical and associative value for its associations with the Summit Golf and Country Club, who built the subject building and its adjacent golf course in the early-20^th century. The Summit Golf and Country Club is associated with early golf in Canada and with the history of sports more generally. Established in 1912 and opened in 1919, it was the first golf club in Richmond Hill and the eighth in the Toronto area. In its over 100 years of operation, the Summit has hosted events such as the Ontario Amateur, Canadian Amateur, and the Canadian PGA. The Summit Clubhouse was built in 1920 to create a social space for Summit members.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 4: The property has historical value or associative value because it has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community.

The Summit Clubhouse also has historical value because it reflects the work of prolific and highly-respected Toronto-based architect Eden Smith. Smith practiced as an architect between 1887 and 1920 and, over the course of his career, designed over 200 known houses, churches, and institutional buildings. Most notably, Smith is remembered for popularizing the Arts and Crafts style in Toronto and for adapting the Arts and Crafts style for the Ontario climate and landscape. Features that are often incorporated into Smith’s work include wooden structural and decorative features and the prevalence of windows to maximize natural light in the interior. The Summit Clubhouse is Eden Smith’s only known building in Richmond Hill and the only clubhouse he is known to have designed.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 6: The property has historical value or associative value because it demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community.

Contextual Value

The Summit Clubhouse has contextual value because it is functionally, historically, and visually linked to its surroundings. Functionally and historically, the subject building is linked to its surroundings because it was built in 1920 to support the surrounding golf course. The subject building also has visual links to its surroundings and the rear of the structure intentionally overlooks the golf course and natural features, such as the nearby Jefferson Forest. There are also visual links between the subject building and the picturesque, winding circular driveway running east from Yonge Street, which offers grand views of the subject building’s front façade.

Therefore, the subject property meets O. Reg. 9/06 Criterion 8: The property has contextual value because it is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings.

Heritage Attributes

Design and Physical Value

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property as a representative example of the Arts and Crafts style and early-20^th-century golf clubhouse typology are:

• The scale, form, and massing of the original two-storey 1920 building with an elongated and irregular footprint;
• The steeply-pitched hipped roof with a low eave line, wide eaves and two large red-brick chimneys;
• The frame construction;
• The asymmetrical and unornamented front (west) façade;
• The windows, including:
  • The irregular and asymmetrical window placements on the front (west), north, and south elevations;
  • The flat-headed window openings;
  • The assortment of recessed and protruding hipped-roof dormers;
  • The appearance of multi-paned window units on the front (west) elevation;
• The principal door opening on the west elevation, including:
  • The double door;
  • The sidelights and transom;
• The projecting portico on the west elevation, including:
  • The front-gable roof with return eaves;
  • The paired Tuscan columns;
  • The round-arched entranceway;
• The structure’s scale, siting, and orientation on the east side of Yonge Street and overlooking the golf course; and
• The picturesque circular driveway running from Yonge Street to the clubhouse’s main west entrance portico.

Historical and Associative Value

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property for its associations with the Summit Golf and Country Club are:

• The building’s Arts and Crafts architectural style; and
• The structure’s scale, siting, and orientation on the east side of Yonge Street.

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property for its associations with prolific Arts and Crafts architect Eden Smith are:

• The building’s Arts and Crafts architectural style.

Contextual Value

The heritage attributes that contribute to the value of the property for its functional, historical, and visual links to its surroundings within the Summit Golf Course are:

• The structure’s scale, siting, and orientation on the east side of Yonge Street and overlooking the golf course; and
• The picturesque circular driveway running from Yonge Street to the clubhouse’s main west entrance portico.

Note: Later additions to the Clubhouse’s northeast, east, southeast, and south elevations are not considered to possess significant heritage attributes.