Tag Archives: derelict
Bloor McDonald’s location shuttered
Site of iconic restaurant once graced by Ashlee Simpson sold to financiers to develop condominiums
Evan Hutchison – TheVarsity.ca
On January 6, 2013, without much notice, the McDonald’s at 192a Bloor St. W. closed permanently, leaving U of T students both confused and hungry.
A favourite spot for U of T students looking for a quick bite between classes, or at least a bit of food to offset the effects of late-night partying, the McDonald’s will surely be missed as it is torn to down to make way for a new condo development.
From 1960 to March 2008, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. leased the site from the City of Toronto, paying rent of just $1,250 per month for most of that period. The rent was to be renegotiated in 2004, with the city proposing to increase it to $16,250. McDonald’s countered with an offer to buy the property for $3.38 million.
Eventually, and controversially, city council voted, in 2008, to accept McDonald’s tender. The value of the land on which the corporate-owned location sat – the building itself was owned by McDonald’s – was estimated by some to be considerably higher, between $7 and $9 million, but the encumbrance of a 99-year lease made it less attractive to any other purchaser.
The land was in turn sold to a consortium led by Bazis International Inc., a developer based in Canada, but financed from Kazakhstan, also responsible for the now defunct 1 Bloor St. E. condominium tower, a 78-storey luxury development, the vacant site for which will eventually serve as the location of a considerably less ambitious project. Bazis has also participated in the construction of Astana, the ostentatious artificial city decreed Kazakhstan’s new capital in 1997.
High fences and hoardings have been erected around the old McDonald’s, but the derelict former hamburger restaurant is still visible.
Barring complications, 192a Bloor and adjacent lots will become home to the Exhibit Residences, a 28-storey condo tower consisting of four stacked cubes and 192 residential units. The structure will stand on lots formerly occupied by Gabby’s Bar and Grill, Lobby Lounge, China Gardens, and Pho Hung.
In 2005, Ashlee Simpson memorialized the McDonald’s at Bloor when she drunkenly berated staff and customers, demanding that one kiss her foot, and attempted to climb the restaurant’s counter. A video of the incident can be found on YouTube.
Brandon Bailey, a former Victoria University student, reported his reaction to the closure on Facebook: “I happened to walk by when the security guard locked the door for the final time. Confused, I walked up the unlit ramp to read the closure sign.
“As I passed him, the security guard shot me a sad look over his shoulder and muttered, ‘It’s closed forever, kid. Condos.’ He then turned down the adjacent alleyway and faded into the darkness. It was about as dramatic as a condo-tower-overtaking-a-McDonalds could be.”
The building it occupied for more than 50 years will be demolished, but the terms of its sale to Bazis provide for a new McDonald’s location inside the Exhibit Residences.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
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The loftification of Lower Ossington
Alexandra Grigorescu – blogTO
The loftification of Lower Ossington has been in the works for some time. The wealth of derelict storefronts and boarded up buildings have been ripe for the plucking, and the shift from the old guard to the tall, glass-and-concrete boxes in the sky has local residents and business owners divided.
I have nothing against the city’s love affair with loft-condo hybrids. In fact, I’d one day like one. But the new Toronto condos are seemingly marketed towards out-of-towners looking to capitalize on the stereotype of a given neighborhood, and it chafes me. 109OZ claims to be “undeniably Ossington,” but Paul Ferguson of the Communist’s Daughter rightly asks what that means. Is it the old Ossington, respectful of the area’s cultural heritage and sense of community, or is the new Ossington, hurriedly heading towards gentrification?
He also acknowledges how difficult it is to turn down a cash fallout of the sort that old businesses courted by lofts can expect. Paul notes the difference between “conscious gentrification and wholesome interest” – many lofts capitulate too readily on a community’s personality as a “cash grab,” but he hopes that the old Ossington won’t be lost in the mix.
Not that there’s anything wrong with capitalism and revenue. Ricky, a long-time area resident, thinks the entreat of high-priced lofts will hike up property prices in the area – good news for property owners, including the area’s elderly Portuguese community, but potentially bad news for renters. Ricky also suggests the stores that have remained boarded up for so long were an eyesore and the lofts promise to be an aesthetic boost. In particular, 2 Ossington had fallen into shambles and marked an unfortunate entry onto a street ripe with galleries and restaurants.
Gentrification is a double-edged sword. It brings in money and clientele while potentially sacrificing the historical elements of a neighborhood. As I ventured along the street trying to get a sense of locals’ reaction, I expected someone to bemoan the blotting of the sun, construction noise, and other related concerns but everyone was fairly positive about the cosmetic element of the lofts. That might change once construction begins in earnest.
Here’s a closer look at the lofts currently under development.
Motif Lofts (41 Ossington Ave)
Motif bought out the former site of Hesco Electric Supply Company, and is starting construction on a mixed-housing development that includes 19 lofts over four stories, a ground floor aimed towards commercial endeavors, and five town homes. The now sold-out lofts are set to offer industrial ceilings and open space, while 6 town homes will stretch down Rebecca St. with glass, steel and wood exteriors and loft-inspired interiors. A collection of four freehold town homes are planned further down Rebecca St. The website capitalizes on the cache of the neighborhood, while pointing to “kitschy” store names. The Ossington Village website cheekily notes that “At least they didn’t call it HipsterVille.”
109OZ Lofts (109 Ossington Ave)
109OZ took over the former home of Mundial Auto Repairs and a private Portuguese club in the heart of Ossington Ave. This 6-story boutique loft structure will contain approximately 90 units, and is slated to be the ultimate in nouveau-loft-chic with a focus on glass, brick, and metal and featuring east-facing terraces and glass balconies. Pre-construction prices are advertised as beginning in the upper $200,000s – a surprisingly modest sum for Toronto. The website isn’t forthcoming with further details, as pre-sale hasn’t yet launched, but their marketing materials point to “Inspired Lofts. Undeniably Ossington.” and features vibrant splashes of color. You won’t find a sales centre until mid to late April, but when I spoke to the sales team, they mentioned that Mundial had happily sold and moved to Keele and Rogers Road.
2 Ossington Lofts (2 Ossington Ave.)
Presented by NDS Properties Limited and SMV Architects, 2 Ossington transforms a space previously inhabited by a half-way house for recovering CAMH patients, into an 18-unit construction, divided into nine 1-story and nine 2-story soft lofts with terraces, and retail space on the ground floor. There’ll be no recreational amenities, but high-ceilings, energy efficient features, open duct work, and stainless steel appliances come standard. The project is completely sold out, but an automated voicemail hints at new projects in the area.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
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Toronto Real Estate — The Distillery District
The Distillery District is a historic district to the east of the downtown core of Toronto, Canada, spanning 13 acres (52,000 square metres) and comprised of more than 40 heritage buildings and 10 streets.
Until 1990, the district housed the Gooderham and Worts distillery, founded in 1832, and which was once the largest distillery in the world, and which was owned in later years by Hiram Walker Co. Its location on the side of the Canadian National Railway mainline and located at the mouth of the original route of the Don River outlet into Lake Ontario which facilitated transport connections to the rest of Canada and indeed the world, and the entire area was once the industrial centre of Toronto and transhipping hub.
With the deindustrialization of the surrounding area in the late 20th century, and the winding-down of the distillery operations, the Distillery District was left increasingly derelict. Surrounding industrial and commercial buildings and structures were often demolished, leaving the former distillery surrounded primarily by empty lots.
Nonetheless, the closing of the remaining distillery operations in 1990 created redevelopment and investment opportunities for a district that contained the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.
The economic recession of the early 1990s, however, and the resulting crash in residential condominium prices and office lease rates in downtown Toronto, delayed efforts to revitalize the district. Nonetheless, two residential condominium buildings were constructed on the periphery of the district during the late 1990s.
While the site awaited redevelopment and reinvestment, the Distillery District‘s unique ambience began to attract numerous film shoots. Since 1990, the site has served as a location for over 800 film and television productions.
In 2001, the site was purchased by Cityscape Holdings Inc., which transformed the district into a pedestrian-oriented arts, culture and entertainment neighbourhood. In 2003, the Distillery District was reopened to the public to great acclaim.
The new owners refused to lease any of the retail and restaurant space to chains or franchises, and accordingly, the majority of the buildings are occupied with unique boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and coffee shops, including a well-known micro brewery, the Mill Street Brewery.
The upper floors of a number of buildings have been leased to artists as studio spaces and to offices tenants with a “creative focus”. A new theatre, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, has opened on the site and serves as the home of the Soulpepper Theatre Company and the drama productions of nearby George Brown College. There are plans to develop residential condominiums, offices and more retail space on the vacant lands that surround the Distillery District.
There has been some criticism of the Distillery District‘s redevelopment. Some have suggested that the area’s gentrification has resulted in yet another upscale shopping district competing for the pocket-books of a wealthy demographic, and that opportunities for more publicly-funded uses have been lost. In contrast, others have noted that the district provides important space to local artists, and are supportive of the fact that the Distillery District is not dominated by large retail chains.
Regardless of any criticism, the preservation and active re-use of the historic buildings has been widely praised. The Distillery District is a National historic site, and has been designated for protection under the Ontario Heritage Act since 1976. It was listed by National Geographic magazine as a “top pick” in Canada for travellers. The redevelopment of surrounding vacant lands is expected to accelerate the district’s transformation from an abandoned industrial site into one of Toronto’s most unique neighbourhoods.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information
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