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CHUM building purchased by developer
Landmark sold to the tune of $21-million
JAMES RUSK
Globe and Mail
July 25, 2008
An iconic Yonge Street building that for a half-century was a vital part of the history of popular music in Toronto has been purchased by a major developer.
In a deal that closed this month, Aspen Ridge Homes, a major Toronto-region builder, paid CTV Ltd., a subsidiary of CTVglobemedia (which also owns The Globe and Mail), $21.5-million for the CHUM radio building on Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue, according to real estate records.
The records also show that, after the deal went through, Aspen Ridge, a developer that in recent years has moved aggressively into the downtown condominium market, then mortgaged the 0.64-acre property for $30-million, with the Bank of Nova Scotia as the primary lender.
The two-storey building, built as a book bindery in 1954, was made into a radio station in the late 1950s and was set on the path to rock 'n' roll history when, on May 27, 1957, Allan Waters converted it to a teen-music format and played Elvis Presley's All Shook Up as its first Top 40 song.
Since then, its neon CHUM DIAL 1050 sign has been a landmark. In pre-MuchMusic times it was a magnet for teenaged pilgrims who trekked up Yonge Street hoping to get a glimpse of a cultural hero, which at the height of the rock 'n' roll era included the disc jockeys, such as Jay Nelson, who spun Elvis or the Stones.
CHUM, which still broadcasts from the building with its AM station broadcasting what are now considered golden oldies, led the field in Southern Ontario for a good part of the golden age of rock, and its Top 40 chart, which it maintained until 1986, was the longest-running radio station record survey in North America.
But its building is on a prime site for redevelopment.
In the past decade, Yonge Street below St. Clair Avenue has become one of the hottest locations for high-end condominium development, and the CHUM site is zoned in a way that would permit Aspen Ridge to build an 84,000-square-foot mixed-use building without seeking city approval for a larger one.
Andrew De Gasperis, president of Aspen Ridge, did not return a call.
Landmark sold to the tune of $21-million
JAMES RUSK
Globe and Mail
July 25, 2008
An iconic Yonge Street building that for a half-century was a vital part of the history of popular music in Toronto has been purchased by a major developer.
In a deal that closed this month, Aspen Ridge Homes, a major Toronto-region builder, paid CTV Ltd., a subsidiary of CTVglobemedia (which also owns The Globe and Mail), $21.5-million for the CHUM radio building on Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue, according to real estate records.
The records also show that, after the deal went through, Aspen Ridge, a developer that in recent years has moved aggressively into the downtown condominium market, then mortgaged the 0.64-acre property for $30-million, with the Bank of Nova Scotia as the primary lender.
The two-storey building, built as a book bindery in 1954, was made into a radio station in the late 1950s and was set on the path to rock 'n' roll history when, on May 27, 1957, Allan Waters converted it to a teen-music format and played Elvis Presley's All Shook Up as its first Top 40 song.
Since then, its neon CHUM DIAL 1050 sign has been a landmark. In pre-MuchMusic times it was a magnet for teenaged pilgrims who trekked up Yonge Street hoping to get a glimpse of a cultural hero, which at the height of the rock 'n' roll era included the disc jockeys, such as Jay Nelson, who spun Elvis or the Stones.
CHUM, which still broadcasts from the building with its AM station broadcasting what are now considered golden oldies, led the field in Southern Ontario for a good part of the golden age of rock, and its Top 40 chart, which it maintained until 1986, was the longest-running radio station record survey in North America.
But its building is on a prime site for redevelopment.
In the past decade, Yonge Street below St. Clair Avenue has become one of the hottest locations for high-end condominium development, and the CHUM site is zoned in a way that would permit Aspen Ridge to build an 84,000-square-foot mixed-use building without seeking city approval for a larger one.
Andrew De Gasperis, president of Aspen Ridge, did not return a call.