At the remarkable speed of eight inches per minute, a beloved community building in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood was moved Thursday morning so engineers can eventually make it part of an Eglinton Crosstown LRT station.

One of the last remaining buildings of the storied Kodak complex at 3500 Eglinton Avenue West, known as Building 9, it was built in 1939 and served as a recreation centre for Kodak workers, at one point even holding a cinema. It has been vacant since 2005.

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said they heard from members of the community that the building should not be destroyed.

“The building meant a lot to them and to the history of the community,” Aikins said.

So they devised a way to incorporate the four-storey structure into the plan for the station.

On Thursday morning, Metrolinx engineer Anders Persson said they flicked a switch and the building, which was mounted on dollies running along several long steel beams, began sliding away so work could begin on the eventual site of the LRT station.

Bleachers were set up for community members to sit and watch the building drift by them on hydraulic power

The building will come to rest about 61 metres away and crews plan to demolish the building’s foundation to make way for rail, platform and roadways needed for the station.

When work is complete, the building will be moved back into place. Persson said the first two floors will be used for part of the station, while the top two floors can be used by Metrolinx or community groups.

The Mount Dennis Station will eventually offer LRT service and links to UP Express and GO Transit bus service.