People in Toronto applaud historic bar for not selling to condo developers

An iconic Toronto watering hole that has stood its ground in the face of rampant development is being commended for its resolve as condo towers go up all around it.

McVeigh's Irish Pub has been a staple at Richmond and Church for more than 60 years, and has remained especially strong during the most recent ones, forcing big developers to design their complexes to acccommodate its 140-year-old structure.

As construction crews make more progress on the enormous condos underway on multiple sides of the business, residents seem extremely impressed that owners of the space have managed to fend off wealthy firms looking to make a killing off such prime downtown real estate for so long.

Good for you, Jimmy. Don’t let the bastards get ya down! https://t.co/6V8Lhq988E

— Joshua Hind (@joshuahind) October 31, 2017

People are bringing up beloved spots like the nearby Betty's on King, which abruptly shuttered last year to be razed for a skyscraper, and the Irish Embassy, which was forced to close its doors in recent years for the same reason.

"We apparently need to tear down all the historic buildings in order to throw up more condos," one local said of the losses in a Reddit thread this week.

"We've been destroying many of the charming spots for decades and it's not making housing more affordable," another added in the conversation, which praised McVeigh's property owners for sticking to their guns when others didn't or couldn't.

The Irish Pub on Church and Richmond Refused to Sell to Developer.
by u/Followlost in toronto

Originally built as a hotel in the 1880s, the four-storey corner building is of course not completely immune to updates, but a forthcoming addition and renovation to convert a portion of it back to its original use as lodgings will leave the bar on the ground floors largely undisturbed.

Many consider the pub a mainstay for Irish expats in Toronto, as well as as one of the few authentic Irish pubs in the city, if not the only one.

It has also served as the backdrop for scenes in famous films like The Boondock Saints, while the team for another project was spotted filming at the location before opening hours on Monday.