The fate of the iconic Sam the Record Man will remain undecided for now.
After a brief debate Wednesday morning, city council voted to send the matter to staff for further study.
Ryerson University bought the Yonge Street plot of land where the landmark record store once stood in 2008, striking a deal with the city to display the famous neon-sign outside its new student learning centre being built at 347 Yonge Street or outside a nearby library building it owns on Gould Street.
The university then subsequently expressed concern about the structural risks of mounting the sign to the exterior of the new building as well as the potential financial cost of the installation and asked to be excused from the deal.
An amended motion that was before city council would have allow the university to display the sign anywhere “at or near” the original Sam the The Record Man Store on Yonge Street, so long as the new location is agreeable to council and the city’s planning department.
“Ryerson has committed to restoring the sign and they are living according to the agreement they made with the city, which didn’t require them to put it on Yonge Street but required them to put it at an appropriate location agreeable to all parties,” Coun. Joe Mihevc told CP24 Wednesday morning. “They are playing ball and I am sure council will deal with that in a noble way.”
Other items on the council agenda today include a motion to hike development fees and a debate about whether a Toronto landmark should be named after former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
