Across Kitchener, you’ll find heritage buildings, properties and neighbourhoods that have stood the test of time. It’s our collective responsibility to conserve and protect them.
On this page:
Conservation
We work to conserve the cultural heritage of Kitchener by:
- designating properties under Part IV (individual) or Part V (district) of the Ontario Heritage Act
- listing non-designated properties of cultural heritage value or interest on the Municipal Heritage Register
- identifying significant cultural heritage landscapes and implementing strategies to conserve them
- conserving properties during the heritage planning process
- working with the Heritage Kitchener committee on the conservation of local heritage resources
- developing self-guided walking tours of heritage districts
Grants and awards
To help support the conservation of cultural heritage in Kitchener, we:
- offer heritage grant and tax refund opportunities to property owners
- honour property owners for rehabilitating, restoring or helping to conserve heritage resources through our Mike and Pat Wagner Heritage Awards
Planning
The Ontario Heritage Act allows us to identify, list and protect cultural heritage resources, while the Planning Act enables us to adopt Official Plan objectives, policies and procedures related to the conservation of cultural heritage resources.
To conserve cultural heritage resources, we may ask for:
- a heritage impact assessment to evaluate a proposed development or site plan and show how the property will be conserved, and/or
- a conservation plan to identify protective measures
For more information about heritage planning, heritage impact assessments and conservation plans, please email our heritage planning team. Visit planning resources for terms of reference documents and more.
Cultural Heritage Landscape Study
We've taken inventory of our cultural heritage landscapes: historic places that blend the built and natural environment, and provide us with valuable insight into the events, people and activities that form the shape of our city.
This inventory, known as our Kitchener Cultural Heritage Landscape Study, has helped us confirm the significance of our cultural heritage landscapes and establish a conservation strategy.
Our cultural heritage landscapes
Some of our most significant landscapes point to our industrial past, predating the arrival of the local railway in the 1850s. Others reflect our historic residential neighbourhoods, some of which were built before the First World War, and others that were constructed right after the Second World War.
Kitchener also boasts one of the best-preserved Victorian-era parks in Canada, Victoria Park, designed between 1894-95. Nineteenth and early 20th Century cemeteries, golf courses, institutions, pioneer farmsteads and residential estates round out our inventory.
Study report and appendices
The study is available for view and download: