What will happen to Honest Ed’s sign?
Fate of landmark sign at corner of Bathurst and Bloor still undecided.

thestar.com
By Laura Beeston
Feb. 7, 2017

Amid growing interest in the fate of Toronto’s famous Honest Ed’s sign, developers say a decision will be made as early as Wednesday on what they’ll do with it.

Westbank Corp., the luxury real estate developer that purchased the property in 2013, has spent the past few days responding to “a small furor” caused by one of its architects, who implied the sign might not be saved.

Gregory Henriquez, a Vancouver-based architect leading the design team of the massive redevelopment project, told CBC Radio that the sign is “actually a bunch of incandescent bulbs, which are environmentally not so sustainable.”

Westbank Corp., responding to the Star via e-mail, said that Henriquez’s description was right, “but it was his opinion and he seems to have given the impression that the fate of the sign is decided.”

“At this point it is not. As soon as a final decision is made by all the parties involved, we’ll let you know.”

Since the marquee, with 23,000 light bulbs, was installed in 1984, it doesn’t qualify for heritage status.

The sign is part of the deal inked between David Mirvish and the developer, which bought the 1.8-hectare location on Bloor and Bathurst Sts.

Ian Duke, the principal development consultant with Westbank, said in an interview that more details would be coming shortly on the fate of the marquee and surrounding signs.

“Despite the fact that (the signs) are newish in the context of the history of Honest Ed’s, they have still been around for 30 years and have obviously become the top five or six images that denote Toronto to the world, so we appreciate they are iconic,” said Duke.

“I would say the challenges they present are that they’re so big that if you stand beneath one, it’s daunting - they’re massive - but the larger challenge is the physical condition of the signage. They’ve been up for a long period of time, they’ve been through a lot of winters, there’s lots of wiring.

“We’re doing some investigation as to what is feasible in terms of their current condition and what we can expect when they are taken apart and put back together again.”

Chris Borgal, principal architect of Goldsmith Borgal and Company, has over 40 years’ experience working on heritage planning and restoration projects across Canada and the U.S.

“The heritage balancing act is very complex,” said Borgal, who is not involved in the Honest Ed’s redevelopment.

“Heritage preservation has to be blended in a matter that can be economically suitable for the developer but at the same time meet larger civic interests.”

Iconic signs are significant, Borgal added.

“People recognize that corner and that (Honest Ed’s) was a very prominent part of the community.”

Conversations between the city and Westbank Corp. about the signage are only just starting, said Graig Uens, a senior planner with Toronto’s Community Planning department.

“We’ve had no significant discussions but our intent is that something will happen with the sign and that’s theirs as well,” Uens said.

It’s a character piece and “a pretty unique part of that site,” Uens continued. “I am confident that both sides want to see something interesting happen.”

Meanwhile, citizens like Vida Setoudeh have started a petition to save the sign and is encouraging Torontonians to reach out to their city councilors.

“I think it’s important that we do stand up for this; it’s literally a sign of the changing times - how they’re changing at warp speed,” Setoudeh said. “I’m not sentimental but believe cities are spaces for shared memories and experiences . . . this (sign) is one of our icons.”

Mark Garner, the CEO of the Yonge Downtown BIA, said he’s reached out to Westbank Corp. offering to take it for a proposed neon sign museum.

“If no one’s preserving it, are you kidding me? We would take it automatically if the developer wants to take it down and put it into storage until we figure out what to do . . . you just can’t destroy it,” Garner said.

“The conversation we need to have is about how the role of signage is part of Toronto’s legacy, evolution and where we are today.”

A community council meeting to vote on the latest proposal put forth by Westbank Corp. is forthcoming, which will also create opportunities for the public to speak to the application and to city councilors voting on the recommendations.

The latest plans for the proposed redevelopment is now to build 47 buildings, including a 28-storey tower on Bathurst St.

Demolition is set to begin in May.