Iconic Toronto bookstore Pages gets reprieve from landlord
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | 3:16 PM ET
CBC News
One of Toronto's most important independent bookstores has been spared from having to move from its central downtown location — at least for a few months.
Late last year, Pages, a well-known Toronto bookstore, said rising rents were going to force it to relocate from the building near the corner of Queen Street West and John Street that it has occupied for more than 29 years.
"We're thrilled to be staying until at least the end of August," said Marc Glassman, who runs Pages, in a prepared statement on the bookstore's website.
Pages said rents in the trendy downtown neighbourhood have skyrocketed.
When it opened in 1979, the landlord charged $10 per square foot, but owner Marc Glassman said he now pays six times that amount, or $60 per square foot. And with his current lease about to expire, Glassman was expecting his landlord to follow the neighbourhood trend and impose yet another rent hike.
But the landlord has given Pages a six-month extension on its lease, guaranteeing it won't have to move at least until the end of August.
"I'd like to thank Yoram Birenzweig, vice-president at Pinedale Properties, for allowing us this additional time," says Glassman.
"Most of all, I'd like to thank the community for their well wishes and encouragement over the past few months. It's heartening to realize how many people embrace Pages."
News that the bookstore might have to move prompted a groundswell of support.
In the news release, Pages said it considered itself to be a "cornerstone of the Queen West community since its inception in 1979, when artist-run galleries, punk rock musicians and indie merchants held sway in the neighbourhood."
