The former Loblaws warehouse in downtown Toronto will be redeveloped into prime Lake Shore property that will maintain parts of the building's historic, art deco facade.
Details of the redevelopment project were announced on Wednesday. The existing building, located in the northeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Bathurst Street, will be torn down brick by brick and is slated to be completed by 2019.
"We estimate that nearly 100,000 bricks will be taken down and carefully catalogued to ensure they can be re-used during the re-construction of the building to its original 1928 form," Choice Properties CEO John Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.
The redevelopment project will include a 37- and 41-storey high condo, a Loblaw store, and office and retail space.
The Lake Shore property has been empty for decades. It was Loblaws former warehouse, where household food staples, such as coffee and butter, were manufactured and packaged. The space also served as the company's head office until the 1970s but has been sitting empty ever since.
Wednesday's announcement was also attended by Toronto Mayor John Tory, who says the project is important as it maintains a sense of history in the city.
"People in positions such as mine have been to free to allow buildings that have a sense of history that are part of our history, even our relatively short history in this city and this country just to be torn down in the name of progress," he said.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnson
