Toronto Public Health’s (TPH) building on Victoria Street, which is home to the long-running The Works supervised injection and harm reduction program, has been sold to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).
Part of the City of Toronto’s plan to “unlock the potential” of its office assets, the deal also includes the sale of an adjacent three-storey office building at 38 Dundas St. E.
The City of Toronto said it intends relocate TPH’s administrative offices over the next 24 months to one of its core civic centre hubs. That exact location has yet to be disclosed.
A dental clinic as well as The Works and a number of other services currently operating out of the 11-storey building at 277 Victoria St., just northeast of Yonge-Dundas Square, will also be moved within that time frame.
“CreateTO, in partnership with TPH leadership and their partners, will continue to support the relocation of these critical services over the next two years to ensure continuity of care and minimize the impact on residents and TPH clients,” the city said in a June 12 news release.
Toronto Centre Coun. Chris Moise, chair of the Board of Health, said the plan to maintain services at that site until a “suitable new home is identified” is “reassuring.”
“I look forward to working with City Staff to find a space with wrap-around services to support our residents better. I’m also excited to see how Toronto Metropolitan University will utilize the sites in its future expansion plans, helping to expand TMU’s presence in the city’s core,” he said.
Funds from the sale of these two downtown properties will be used for “city-building priorities, like new affordable housing,” the City of Toronto said, “while also benefiting TMU and its long-term growth plans.”
The city-owned sites are being sold to TMU as part of the ModernTO Workplace Modernization program, which will see 55 of the City of Toronto’s office spaces consolidated into roughly 15 sites. This will be done by ending leases and selling eight of its “high-value” properties for “repurposing or redevelopment.”
The plan is to create office hubs within key civic buildings like City Hall, Metro Hall and civic centres in Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke, among other initiatives, the city said in a June 12 news release.
“Through the ModernTO program we are optimizing and modernizing the City of Toronto’s office space – this is the right and responsible thing to do,” Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said.
“This transaction with Toronto Metropolitan University will help expand and revitalize the school’s campus. At the same time, the funds are put back into ModernTO to help support the delivery of affordable housing and other key city-building initiatives that are desperately needed.”
ModernTO was created in October 2019 with the goal of modernizing the city’s administrative spaces, reducing government spending, and strategically using its unlocked office assets.
In April, Toronto City Council directed Create TO, which was formed in 2018 to manage the city’s $27 billion real estate portfolio, to start working to reduce its owned office assets.
