I heard that the Toronto Sun building located east of East Lofts was for sale. Does anyone know if it sold and if so to whom?
Apparently it is sold and its FirstGulf, if these sources are correct.
http://torontosunfamily.blogspot.com/
Re the sale of 333: The Toronto Star has quoted sources saying the new owner of the 34-year-old newspaper building "is likely Toronto developer First Gulf, a division of the company that recently purchased the 1 Bloor condominium site in Toronto."
With the sale of 333 and the Sun becoming a tenant in the building it built in 1975, what becomes of the Andy Donato mural on the wall of Red's cafeteria and John and Alexandra Hood's 180-foot-wide commissioned outdoor mural unveiled in 1993?
Then read this:
http://torontosunfamily.blogspot.com/2009/11/333-sale-changes.html
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
333 sale changes
The sale price and identity of the new owners of the Toronto Sun building have not been released, but employees learned yesterday how "massive changes" will affect their working lives.
Rob Granatstein, editorial page editor, sent a mass e-mail to editorial employees updating last week's announcement by publisher Mike Power that 333 King Street East has been sold.
In a nutshell, the newsroom will be moved to tighter quarters on the second floor, where it will share space with executive, accounting and advertising; Red's cafeteria, named for Doug Creighton, will be closed; free parking for employees will be drastically reduced.
Rob's e-mail reads:
"Staff,
It’s come to my attention that many people aren’t aware of the announcement made last week by Sun Publisher Mike Power that our building has been sold.
Here’s the grossly abbreviated summary.
* The Sun has sold the building.
* The buyer’s name has not been released yet as there are still conditions attached to the sale of the deal.
* The Toronto Sun is not moving. We’ve signed a 10-year lease to stay in the building.
* There will be massive changes now that we’re becoming a tenant.
* First, all Sun operations – executive, accounting, advertising - will join us on the second floor.
* The newsroom will be moving. The exact location isn’t clear, but we expect to move to the north side of the building.
* The newsroom will be the first to move. A new digital newsroom, likely costing well into the millions of dollars, will be built for us, including new furniture. Say goodbye to the ’80s-era desk you have now.
* The physical space of the newsroom will be far smaller than the footprint we have in the building now.
* The newsroom’s move will be done by the end of March, according to the schedule we have now.
* As a tenant we won’t have the same access to parking. We will have some spots, but not all the spots.
* The cafeteria will be closed.
* The presses will be removed.
* The library is staying where it is.
* Retail shops will likely move into the main floor on King St.
* Commercial offices will move into the building, too.
* Expect the building to become a huge construction site as the new owners change 333 King from a one tenant newspaper building into a building for many other uses.
* A sale price for the building has not been released.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me, James Wallace, or ask Mike Power directly. He stated he can’t answer all the questions will (sic) the sale of the building is not yet final, but will answer what he can.
Rob."
We never thought the day would come when the Toronto Sun would be a tenant at 333, downsized from six full floors to one floor, with no presses, no cafeteria and minimal parking.
Employees who lose their cherished free parking spots inside and around 333 will be looking at costly daily parking fees if they decide to continue driving to work. What is the going daily rate for downtown T.O. parking these days?
Outside meals will also add to the cost of working for the Sun.
Will the added costs be a union issue when the next contract rolls around?
As a tenant, the Toronto Sun has a 10-year lease, which is mighty optimistic considering 10 years of Quebecor ownership has reduced the once thriving tabloid to a storefront operation.
Most disheartening is the sale of 333 is not out of necessity due to tough economic times. This is minimalist, cash cow greed on the backs of employees.
PKP might be a hero to shareholders, but he has never looked so small in the eyes of his employees.
Toronto Sun employees will no doubt carry on doing the best they can with what they have left because they are pros.
Then this: