A decision about whether the province can proceed with the demolition of several heritage buildings in the West Don Lands has been put off until Friday.

Lawyers for the province and a group of community activists met in court today to present full legal arguments about whether the demolition should proceed, but the judge in the case asked that a pause in demolition continue until Friday, when a decision will be rendered.

The buildings at the former site of the Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company (known locally as the Foundry site) at 153-185 Eastern Avenue have been designated heritage properties since 2004.

They have been the subject of a vigorous community campaign to save them for the past two weeks, since the province began demolishing them under the cover of a ministerial zoning order, a special power allowing the province to override local heritage and planning laws.  

The province has said that it needs to demolish the buildings, which it owns, in order to build affordable housing.

But councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who represents the area, said the city’s planning department has learned that the province is planning to put three towers on the site, with heights of 18, 34 and 40-43 storeys. The plan, according to Wong-Tam, is for just 30 per cent of the smallest tower to be set aside for affordable housing. The rest of the new units will be market-priced condos.

Since learning about the plan to demolish the Foundry buildings, the community has been mobilizing to try and save them, raising money for legal costs, circulating petitions and holding demonstrations.

The community has argued that their overtures to the province about how to make better use of the site have been ignored for years and that demolition began without any community consultation. They have also argued that the buildings could be incorporated into new structures on the site with a thoughtful design.

Mayor John Tory has said that while he is in favour of more affordable housing coming to Toronto, the province has a duty to consult with the city and the community rather than simply using its sweeping powers to sidestep the normal process.

“I think in an instance like this, where they're creating a brand new neighborhood adjacent to other neighborhoods, they have an absolute total obligation, even if they're using these special powers, they have to consult the city – it is our city – and to consult the local neighborhood and they utterly failed to do so in this case,” Tory told CP24 Tuesday night. “They just started with the wrecking ball before anybody even knew what was going on and that's not right. And so I've registered that with the minister and with the premier and I hope that that message has been received and that they will now sit down and talk to us.”

Demolition of the buildings at the site began nearly two weeks ago, but on Friday Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said that the province would suspend demolition as a “good faith” measure pending a legal challenge by the community.