Usually when a building with character in Toronto is sold, there’s no doubt about its future: Condos.
But that’s not the case for the landmark New Broadview Hotel, aka, home of the infamous Jilly’s strip club – don’t worry, we didn’t see which door you entered.
Despite being purchased by condo developers Streetcar Developments, 106 Broadview looks set to become The Drake of the East after details emerged from a site plan application filed with the city recently.
So for those still mourning the closing of decidedly blue collar Jilly’s – which, based on Yelp reviews, was everything from “the elephant graveyard of the adult entertainment world” to “a terrible theme episode of X Factor involving the homeless, tweaked out, and old” – maybe this’ll get you back in Riverside soon…
Here’s what you should be getting excited for:
Heritage: Red-brick beauty
Nope, not her. We’re talking about the building, an 1893 gem with strong sentimental value on this particular side of the city. Though significant improvements have to be made structurally, there are no plans to make major changes or destroy any elements that have warranted the iconic building’s pending heritage designation. Yup, this is Romanesque Revival at its architectural finest.
Hotel: Riverside Staycation?
The cornerstone of the property’s revitalization includes converting five of six floors into a boutique hotel. Part of that plan sees the addition four stories to the current building and shifting the interior space to create six floors of equal ceiling height. As for us, we’ll be in the upper turret’s executive suite.
Eats: Corner Restaurant
Foodies already flocking to Queen East’s enviable line up of cool new restaurants will only have another reason to hit the corner of Queen and Broadview once this new restaurant opens its doors. Though we don’t know much about it, Streetcar’s promise that the Broadview’s “best days are still to come” surely hinges on food in one way or another.
Social hot spot: An East End cultural hub
The East sure is getting a lot of attention lately. As Riverside and surrounding neighbourhoods continue to gentrify, you bet there’s demand for a social hot spot among the weekend-starts-on-Thursday-afternoon young professional set. We anticipate a rooftop terrace, Cafe, and outdoor party space, at the very least. Mixologists, start printing your resumes.
So there you have it: a somewhat suspect and sultry strip joint has made way for what will likely be the cultural and community hub of a rapidly revitalizing part of the city.
“Exploring options” is the site’s current status (which sounds a little too much like a Yelp review of Jilly’s), but there’s enough reason to believe we can see some variation of the above four amenities in the near future.
And won’t it be nicer to be charged by the day rather than the hour?
#NOTABLE
Images: girlabouttoronto.com, scarboroughcruiser.com, munchies.vice.com
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