Don’t Waste Buildings — Don’t Waste Stong House and Other Buildings on York’s Campus

Since 2016, Stong House, a designated heritage building on York University’s campus, has served as a vital space for creative practice. Over the years, the space has been maintained through communication with York Facilities, but significant maintenance issues have been repeatedly deferred.

In the past year, Stong House has been transformed by a team led by Lisa Myers, York Research Chair in Indigenous art and curatorial practices. This transformation created active workshop, exhibition, and research space through collaborations among students, faculty, and community members. Research conducted on-site has included exhibitions, workshops connected to the annual Eco-Arts and Media Festival, archival studies on the house which revealed that the adjacent barn is one of the last of its kind in Ontario and that the house features uniquely detailed brickwork. This past summer a team of masters, undergrad students with Myers conducted a plant survey of the grounds and continues to work with the findings of this study. 

Despite this important work, worsening structural issues—particularly a long-reported roof leak—have led to the building being deemed unsafe to occupy. The deterioration of Stong House has displaced its occupants and halted valuable research, teaching, and community initiatives. This situation reflects a broader pattern at York University: the deferral of maintenance on existing infrastructure, a concern identified in the 2023 Auditor General’s report.

As mentioned, this is not only about Stong House, it addresses the broader issue of deferred maintenance across the university’s existing buildings, including student residences that urgently need upkeep and effective pest control. Another example is Hoover House, another historic building on campus that is currently boarded up. Both buildings hold immense potential to be renovated, restored, and reimagined as active spaces that support York’s commitments to sustainability, and community-based research. Restoration and renovation are more sustainable approaches over building new. These older buildings could meaningfully contribute to York’s “living labs,” such as Maloca Garden, and research in curatorial studies, Indigenous language revitalization, and land-based pedagogies.

The university is reportedly seeking heritage grants for future renovations, but these will not be available until next year. In the meantime, the plan to board up and fence off Stong House threatens to let the building fall further into disrepair.

We, the undersigned, call on York University to:

• Financially commit to the immediate maintenance and stabilization of Stong House to prevent further damage. Fix the roof now! Take out water damage now!
• Develop and publicly share a plan for the restoration and future use of Stong House and other heritage properties such as Hoover House.
• Prioritize the care and preservation of existing buildings, ensuring that historic and community-use spaces are not lost to neglect while new infrastructure projects continue.

Don’t waste buildings.
York University must invest in maintaining its heritage properties and all campus buildings that serve and house students. Invest in supporting vital research, teaching, and community connections.