It caused a big stir early this year when a heritage warehouse complex in the Canary District was threatened with the sudden start of demolition before being halted due to opposition.

Last week, the situation was resolved with an agreement between the City of Toronto and Province that pledges to spare sections of this piece of local industrial history.

Doug Ford’s plans to raze the Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company complex under one of his government's unilateral Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs) were thwarted by staunch municipal and community rallying.

However, those hoping to see the complex retained in its entirety will be disappointed to hear that redevelopment is still very much on the horizon.

Total demolition is no longer in the cards for the Foundry, though the province is doubling down on their plan to bring new housing to the site.

Both parties would still be satisfied, the province pitching an affordable housing component that supports Toronto initiatives like the Open Door Affordable Housing Program and the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

The new agreement includes concept images that show how exterior facades and other architectural details would live on at the base of a new modern complex.

This juxtaposition of industrial heritage below and contemporary towers above gives off strong Distillery District vibes, echoing the successful model implemented a few hundred metres to the southwest.

It's important to note that these renderings merely depict one possible avenue for future redevelopment, and no developer is publicly attached to the project.

This purely conceptual design by Core Architects is to show how the Foundry's heritage attributes would be incorporated into a new development rather than depict a fleshed-out plan of what will be built.

Mayor John Tory has voiced his support of the revised plan to preserve the old while infusing much-needed affordable housing into the city's critically low portfolio.

There are still causes for concern; previous MZOs are still facing criticism for their lack of opacity and alleged cronyism.