Old building south of Sams

adma said:

1888 isn't *that* old--I'm sure there are some unassuming storefronts as old or older in the vicinity...

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I am sure there are, I just always found that building very unique and it would be a shame if it was lost

On the note of spectacular old Yonge St buildings with uncertain futures, does anyone know anything about these two beautiful Romanesque columned buildings around the Yonge/Queen area? I am quite certain it's the two prominent ones on the left side in this picture.

One is fenced off and the other is up for lease, and they are perhaps my favourite buildings in that general area of Yonge.

egotrippin said:

On the note of spectacular old Yonge St buildings with uncertain futures, does anyone know anything about these two beautiful Romanesque columned buildings around the Yonge/Queen area? I am quite certain it's the two prominent ones on the left side in this picture.

One is fenced off and the other is up for lease, and they are perhaps my favourite buildings in that general area of Yonge.

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There was another thread on this topic a few months back. There was an article on the two buildings in the paper recently (the Globe? The Star? Or maybe Torontoist -- who can remember) that suggested that plans were imminent for the bank with the Irish flag hanging out front, and that Parasuco hadn't completely ruled out opening an outlet in the other one.

Crate & Barrel or subway entrance all sound great. It's such a high profile spot it doesn't make sense it's empty. I remember it being an Adventure Electronics (or Majestic?).

Gazing at it yesterday, the expression "benign neglect" comes to mind. It may be run down, but at least it's in some form of constant (and very Yonge St Strippish) use pending more thorough rehab/restoration; though in the aftermath of Walnut Hall, perhaps we *should* start getting concerned about potential deeper structural issues.

Maybe it's less easy to take it for granted now that it's hemmed in on its side of the street by the ghost of Sam's and HMV/TLS...

The owners of Salad King wanted to expand into this location next door, but the landlord was asking way too much for the space (this was before their big rennovation -- they ended up expanding one level up).

Nothing here seems to be able to survive. That Chimmy Changa taco place between this corner and HMV is gone after a very short time, too.

Passed by on the weekend and it looks like they've gutted the place and put up new drywall and paint. I sure hope they aren't going to put up another cheap clothing store although anything is better than an empty store front.

Skeezix said:

There was another thread on this topic a few months back. There was an article on the two buildings in the paper recently (the Globe? The Star? Or maybe Torontoist -- who can remember) that suggested that plans were imminent for the bank with the Irish flag hanging out front, and that Parasuco hadn't completely ruled out opening an outlet in the other one.

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Ah thanks for that. I'm glad to see that there is hope for their futures, as they're spectacular, and their destruction would be very sad.

They were installing dark hardwood flooring on Friday.

Looking at it again yesterday (or so), superficially speaking, the building doesn't actually look in *too* bad shape--at least along the Gould front. (As for Yonge; well, that's honky-tonk, not mere decay qua decay.)

Then again, who knows if it'll blow up real good a la Barrie...

The good news is that those cheapo electronics stores and their cheap invasive signs aren't likely to come back to this store. In fact, they'll probably all start disappearing off the lower part of Yonge now that FutureShop at Toronto Life Square dominates the area.

It's starting to look like a clothing store again.

Yonge & Gould (I suppose this is what stood there before Sam's), you can see a hint of the Normal School over the shoulder of the little white building. (1950)



And this must be the building (at the time of the photograph it's supposed to be the Edison Hotel and the Empress Grill.

The landlard is asking extremely high rents and an initial fee for the small unit beside HMV. It's too small for a national retailer and too expensive for most small businesses. I'm interested in leasing the space but I'm a bit concerned because the previous 2 tenants were unsuccessful.

It probably wouldn't be wise to open a shop that has anything to do with electronics or food. Salad King pretty much dominates this neighbourhood. I feel bad for the entire food court of TLS. There are also enough camera stores and Future Shop and Best Buy pretty much cover the way-overpriced computer components market.

I remember the last few tenants of the corner unit. There were a couple of clothing stores that went out of business because their merchandise was crap. There was also a convenience store squeezed in there for a short time. It was nothing fancy, and the owner really didn't give it a chance (I don't think it lasted more than two Ryerson terms, but I'm sure it would have caught on with the university).

I think Ryerson students are the key to survival for this area. Successful shops in close vicinity to the university print coupons in student orientation guides and newspapers.

I actually kind of expected that Chimmy Changa mexican food place to take off, but I guess their food wasn't good (or they failed an inspection, or mismanaged their finances). Something like Burrito Boyz would definitely be a hit.

Anyway, these units really aren't cursed. The spaces must be priced so that they're just within reach of harebrained entrepreneurs who open tacky jewelry and niche dork clothing and other things that are of no interest to anyone. The kind of people who really should have rented a kiosk in the Eaton Centre to test their products in a low-risk testing environment before crashing and burning on a lease and rennovation.