Although wrecking crews have already started to tear it down, one Toronto councillor is aiming to halt the demolition of Stollerys.
The clothing store – with its iconic green awnings -- has been at the corner of Yonge and Bloor for 114 years, but was bought by Mizrahi Developments in early 2014.
After a deconstruction permit was approved on Friday, crews began tearing down the long-time building on Saturday.
The development company plans to build 75-storey tower on the site that will include a residential and retail aspect. There will also be a connection to the PATH, downtown Toronto’s underground pedestrian walkway.
But, along with many Torontonians, Toronto councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam is calling for the demolition to stop.
Many have accused the developer of pushing forward the demolition before the building could be deemed a heritage property.
“We don’t have a lot of history in this city, obviously, with buildings and stuff like that being torn down in the past,” a pedestrian told CTV Toronto. “It would’ve been nice to see a building over 100 years old being preserved instead of being torn down.”
“Steel and concrete is steel and concrete, this has some character to it,” another pedestrian told CTV Toronto. “It’s at one of the major intersections of the city.”
The developer told CTV Toronto that, over the course of 114 years, there was no conversation about designating the area a heritage property -- until the news came that it’d be torn down and built into a condo development. He also said he was unaware of the timeline of the potential designation.
According to the new developers, the demolition had to start in order to make way for an underground parking garage.
