History of Loblaw Groceterias building

• The Loblaw Groceterias building, established in 1928, was designed by Sparling, Martin and Forbes, a Toronto-based architectural firm;

• Cost to build in 1928 was $1,250,000 and the building consisted of 300,000 square feet;

• Within the facilities, many Loblaw products were manufactured and packaged such as butter, bacon, mayonnaise, tea, coffee, cake, cookies, candy, peanuts, peanut butter, eggs and ginger;

• The 250 employees of Loblaw Groceterias enjoyed perks such as in-house bowling alleys, billiard tables and a cafeteria with a stage for concerts or staff-produced plays;

• In the mid-1970s, Loblaw relocated its head office to the Weston Centre on St. Clair Avenue East – today, Loblaw Companies Limited is headquartered at 1 President’s Choice Circle in Brampton, Ontario;

• Following this relocation, the warehouse space was on loan to the Daily Bread Food Bank from 1991 to 2000;

• In 2001, the site received heritage designation from the City of Toronto.

Restoration of the landmark building

• The historic building is now being redeveloped, re-establishing this prominent Toronto intersection as an important component of the social fabric of the local community;

• The south and west sides of the building, as well as a portion of the east side, will be restored to their original glory;

• The building’s exterior architectural elements, such as the stone masonry and brick units, will be carefully dismantled;

• A firm of expert heritage masons will be responsible for dismantling and reconstructing the stone and bricks;

• Once dismantled, each piece will be safely stored off-site and then cleaned when the building is ready for reconstruction;

• Almost 100,000 bricks will be reclaimed for the restoration of the building;

• The bronze doorframe belonging to the office entrance of the original Loblaw Groceterias building will be salvaged and restored;

• Some contemporary modifications will be made to sides of the building, such as enlarging the window openings for retail use;

• With new windows, the building will be energy efficient, as well as representative of the original 1920s character and appearance.

About West Block

• Property spans an entire city block consisting of approximately 3.5 acres of land;

• The seven storey commercial building will be approximately 245,000 square feet of gross leasable area, fronting onto Lake Shore Boulevard West;

• The commercial building will include a 50,000 square foot Loblaws Great food store, complementary retail and office space;

• Concord Adex, which has entered into an agreement to acquire the air rights to the property, will be constructing two residential condominium towers consisting of 37 and 41 storeys in height, containing 876 dwelling units in total with a residential gross floor area of approximately 575,000 square feet;

• Under the Gardiner Expressway, a common space will showcase the culture and vibrancy of Toronto through a display of public art;

• Three levels of underground parking is proposed with a total of approximately 600 parking spaces;

• The West Block is projected to open by Spring 2019