With the clock counting down, Toronto’s historic Old City Hall faces an uncertain future


One of Toronto’s architectural jewels is about to shut up for the first time in more than five decades.

Old City Hall, a large building of the Victorian era in Queen Street W. in Bay Street, loses its only tenant, the Ontario government, which has used the building as a Justice Palace since 1972, on April 1. Now, the city staff is about to be about Eck, once again, in an effort to find a new use for the national historical site.

A wedding chapel, stores, office space, a library branch and restaurants have been suggested as options for the 177,000 square feet space in the last nine years.

But Coun, Josh Matlow says he knows what the main use of Old City Hall should be: a Toronto Museum.

“There are people who are emotionally inverted in Toronto’s many stories,” Matlow told CBC Toronto. “And there are people who want not only to invest emotionally, but also to invest financially in that story.”

At the last week meeting of the mayor’s executive committee, the councilors approved an amendment proposed by Matlow that would see the staff consider not only the museum’s option, but also how to pay it.

The amendment was added to a motion that requested a wide look to the possible uses for the old town hall. The staff is expected to deliver that report in mid -2016.

The former City Council was leased to the province in 1972 and has been a full -time court since then. That function ends on April 1. (Katherine Holland/CBC)

It will be the fourth time in nine years that the city staff has tried to obtain some possible uses for the building.

In 2016, the city looked at the public to help reduce options. A survey that year found “there is broad support for a Toronto Museum,” according to the report, which accompanied the motion of last week in the Executive Committee.

This latest study will also include public consultations, according to the report.

A 2018 analysis recommended “a mixture of food, leisure service, civic events and uses and secondary office uses”, potentially including a museum, a wedding chapel and a branch of the Toronto Public Library.

The city staff wants to build ‘alive and energized’

This time, the staff will try to determine if these possibilities are still realistic uses for the old town hall.

“The idea is to make the building live and energize again and be open to the public,” said Scott Barrett, director of city property administration. “There is some natural curiosity about this place.”

One of the obstacles in the search for a new tenant has been the cost, said Barrett. About $ 225 million would be needed, in $ 2020, to take the structure of 126 years to modern standards.

Scott Barrett. The city's property administration director says that temporary uses for the old City Council are expected to bring a "Light touch" to the heritage space.
Scott Barrett, director of city property administration, says that temporary uses for the old City Council are expected to bring a “light touch” to the heritage space. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)

Shortly after the 2018 study personnel launched a tenant search, and although some were identified, none of the proponents could find the cash for their plans to work.

A 2021 study that analyzed the viability of elimination of elimination in the 2018 report targets suggested incorporating smaller companies on board, in building areas that could adapt to the cheapest cost. However, these improvements were never made, the report of last week points out.

The report highlights the evident limitations for tenants

At the end of 2022, an unidentified company that seeks a temporary space began to observe the building. The city presented a proposal to the group, but so far it has not received a call.

Barrett said the city has allocated around $ 16 million this year to maintain the historical site and make some short -term updates.

The personnel report recognizes that the building has some obvious limitations for the possible tenants, such as their labyrinthine design, for example.

“The building has an inefficient plan, due to the great nature of the interior public spaces,” says the report. “Of the 430,000 square feet of Gross Floor Area, 177,000 square feet is a profitable area.”

The Old Hall Hall building of Old Hall, in Toronto, a national historical site, was built in 1899 and contains many of its original characteristics of the Victorian era, such as this spiral staircase.
Old City Hall is a national historical site. It was built in 1899 and contains many of its original characteristics of the Victorian era, such as this snail staircase. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

That greatness is also part of the attractiveness of the building, says Michael McClelland, director of Era Architects who specializes in heritage buildings.

It indicates a couple of taps that flank the great main staircase in front of the front doors. The statues were sold years ago, until a city lawyer noticed them in a local flea market.

He bought them, and today they sit in their old place, protected by cases of plexiglass. “There are all kinds of things like this building: missing pieces, things that need more attention, more care,” McClelland said.

The report also indicates that pandemic has created ongoing challenges.

The historian Michael McClelland talks to the Michael Smee of CBC, not in the photo, in a jail cell in disuse during a tour of the Old Hall building of the City Hall, in Toronto, on January 23, 2025.
The architect Michael McClelland is located near an old jail cell during a tour of the Old Hall building of the Old Hall in Januray. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

“Since 2020, the retail and office lease environment has changed dramatically due to COVID-19 and the proliferation of hybrid work,” says the report. Recommends an updated look at market conditions throughout the city, before finishing a new use for the building.

“We have to build a new vision for this building based on that,” said Barrett.

Ultimately, any new use must respect the historical nature of the building, satisfy the curiosity of the public about the old City Council by making it more accessible than it is now, contributing to the economy of the city and, hopefully, to be able to generate enough money To hold, says Barrett.

Meanwhile, the staff hopes to find some tenants in the short term of “light touch,” says Barrett. That includes options such as emerging foods and beverage windows, events of events and cultural events such as music or art shows.



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