cadillac lounge toronto

Iconic Toronto bar could soon be replaced by a hotel

One of Toronto's most outspokenly gentrification-averse communities is gearing up for another fight against developers who would like to transform a cultural institution into a new hotel complex.

Parkdale-High Park City Councillor Gord Perks has scheduled a "pre-application meeting" concerning a developer's request to rezone 1296-1314 Queen St. West — where the legendary Cadillac Lounge stood for 19 years before closing in July.

No concrete plans for a development have been publicly released, but Perks states in a notice on his website that the proposal in question is for "a 7-storey (plus mechanical penthouse) mixed-use building with hotel suites, event space, and retail space, as well as townhouses on Noble Street."

The yet-to-be-revealed developer also wants to build an underground parking lot below Queen Street to hold "an as yet unspecified amount of vehicles," according to Perks.

It's not only the Cadillac Lounge space that would be impacted by the development, either. Based on the site address proposed, the new complex would also include the units currently occupied by Parkdale's Guu Izakaya and the Copenhagen Vegan Cafe.

More details about the proposal will be unveiled during a presentation at the Parkdale Library Basement Auditorium on January 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

"The meeting will consist of a presentation from the applicant, followed by a Q&A period led by Councillor Perks," reads a description of the event. "City Planning staff will be in attendance to answer questions as well."

Community members will be given an opportunity to offer feedback during the meeting, says Perks. Unless the proposal really knocks their socks off, it's unlikely their feedback will be great, based on what community members are already writing about the potential change on Facebook.

"Another Toronto staple crumbles into the void," wrote one person of the news on Sunday.

"This is where my hair studio is," wrote another. "Goodbye parking, hello lots of new shitty *ssholes to the 'hood."

Lead photo by

Cadillac Lounge Toronto


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