Downtown · Oshawa
Downtown Oshawa: storefronts, older homes and new flats
If your shop window on King Street East went overnight, make it safe, photograph it for insurance, get the opening covered, then plan the proper repair. Downtown also holds older houses, apartment towers and new flats, each with its own rules. We connect shopkeepers, landlords and homeowners here with independent local pros for home and storefront window glass. The rest of Oshawa and Durham is on the service areas page.
At a glance
- Buildings
- Heritage storefronts, older houses, apartment towers, new flats and condos
- Heritage
- Designated buildings on King Street East; downtown is not a heritage district
- Permits
- Same-size swaps on houses are usually exempt; shops, apartments and condos check with the City
- Programs
- A façade grant and a vandalism fund, both subject to availability
Storefront glass on King and Simcoe streets
Many downtown shops sit in older commercial buildings, several on the City's heritage register. The usual jobs are a smashed pane, a glass door that won't lock, and a board-up while the replacement is cut. Storefront glass repair covers the options; vandalism glass repair covers the day after a break-in.
If you lease, check whether the glass is yours or the landlord's. And Oshawa's no-permit rule for a same-size window or door applies to houses only, so ask the City before a storefront window or door is replaced.
Older houses: sash, storms and single panes
Older houses downtown, a few of them on the heritage register, can still have wood sash, single panes and storm windows. Most of that is fixable: a cracked pane gets reglazed, a sticking sash gets freed, and a tired storm window takes new glass or a new screen. Window repair runs through the fixes, and broken window glass covers a pane that's gone.
The City's property standards ask for windows that are weather-tight and in good repair, including reglazed glass. That doesn't mean new windows. It means windows that close, seal and hold their glass.
Apartments, condos and student flats: balcony doors, safety stops, permits
Towers and newer flats bring balcony sliders that won't lock, fogged sealed units (the double-pane glass inside the frame), and screens and locks to check at turnover in student flats near the downtown campus.
Three rules apply. Every window that opens in a home is expected to have a screen. Upper-floor apartment windows that open, and don't lead to a balcony, need a working safety stop. And rentals along the Simcoe Street corridor sit inside the City's rental licensing area. Condo owners should check their declaration and property manager first, and anything that isn't a house means checking permits with the City. The property managers page covers sending several units at once.
Downtown programs: the façade grant and the vandalism fund
Two City programs have helped downtown businesses with glass. The Urban Growth Centre façade and accessibility grant pays part of façade work, which can include a storefront, with two intake deadlines a year. The Graffiti and Vandalism Remediation Fund has covered part of commercial window, door and lock repairs, insurance deductibles and some protective measures for windows. It was a one-time fund, first come, first served, so check that money remains.
You apply yourself; neither we nor the pro can do it for you. Dated photos and a written quote that lists glass, labour and board-up separately make it easier.
Heritage-designated buildings: repairs versus alterations
Downtown Oshawa isn't a heritage conservation district; the city's only one is at the airport. Instead, individual buildings are designated, and several stand on King Street East, including the Regent and Biltmore theatres, the Genosha Hotel and the Oshawa Clinic building. The heritage register shows whether yours is one.
On a designated property, changes that affect its heritage features need Council approval, and the heritage permit carries no fee. Routine repair and maintenance don't. Like-for-like repair sits closer to maintenance; a new window type or material sits closer to alteration, so ask the City first. Some buildings only listed today may be designated before a provincial deadline at the start of 2027.
Downtown Oshawa questions
Does replacing a downtown storefront window need a City permit or a heritage check?
It can need either, so ask the City before replacing a storefront window or door. Oshawa's exemption for a same-size, same-type window or door applies to houses only, so shops and mixed-use buildings don't get it automatically. On a designated building, add a heritage check. Storefront glass repair covers what the quote should show.
Which City programs can help a downtown shop with glass costs?
Two, when they're open. The City's vandalism fund has paid part of commercial window, door and lock repairs and insurance deductibles, and the downtown façade grant can help with storefront work. Both depend on intake dates and money remaining, so read the official pages first. The vandalism glass repair page has more.
Do I need Council approval to change windows on a designated heritage building?
If the change affects the building's heritage features, yes. On a designated property in Oshawa, alterations to heritage attributes go to Council, Heritage Oshawa is consulted, and the heritage permit has no fee. Routine repair and maintenance need no approval. Talk to the City's heritage staff before ordering, and give the pro any conditions in writing.
Does the rental licence on the Simcoe Street corridor change what a landlord owes on windows?
Not the standard itself. Oshawa licenses rentals along the Simcoe Street corridor and in mapped areas near Durham College and Ontario Tech, and the City's rental map shows the boundary. Licensed or not, the window standard is the same: weather-tight windows, cracked glass reglazed and a screen on each window that opens. See the property managers page for handling several units.
For a ground-floor flat downtown, are bars or security film the better choice?
They do different jobs. Security film helps hold the glass together when it's struck, and you keep the light and the view. Bars keep people out, but if that window is a bedroom floor's way out, it still has to open without tools. Tenants should ask the landlord before fitting either.
Does the City's standard mean older downtown homes need new windows?
No. The City's standard is windows that are weather-tight, in good repair and holding their glass, not new windows. Wood sash can usually be freed, reglazed, weatherstripped and paired with a sound storm. Replacement makes sense when the wood is soft right through. Window repair explains the fixes.