You can now own a piece of Toronto's music history; the El Mocambo, the city's legendary music venue on Spadina Avenue, is up for sale with a price tag of $3.95 million. The venue which opened in 1948 and saw its fair share of notable musicians including The Rolling Stones, is almost 11,000 square feet, zoned for about 450 people and includes a liquor licence. According to the ad, the building has redevelopment potential and can be turned into student housing, a fitness club or boutique hotel. In 2012, the venue was sold to the owners of Cadillac Lounge on Queen Street and 99 Sudbury from its latest owner, Abbas Jahangiri. (You might remember Jahangiri for his recent listing of his over-the-top $2 million dollar mansion in Parkdale).
Are the owners selling in order to fund their rumoured new project? In October, Curbed reported the El Mo owners were planning to turn a vacant building in Parkdale into a boutique hotel or restaurant. The building at 1302 Queen St. was formerly Club OV, a bar that closed around 2004 and was previously a hotel. That building was listed for $3.9 million, selling in 2011. When the El Mo does sell, what will happen to its newly restored neon palm tree sign? Will Torontonians petition to save another famous neon sign? Wait and see.
· The El Mocambo is up for Sale at Almost $4 Million [blogTO]
· This Crazy Parkdale Mansion is a Gilt-y Pleasure at $2M [Curbed Toronto]
· Is There a Boutique Hotel Coming to Parkdale? [Curbed Toronto]
· How The Sam Sign Looks on Ryerson's New Student Centre [Curbed Toronto]