The historic building has stood at the north west corner of Yonge and Davenport Street in downtown Toronto since 1916. As its name would suggest, it served as a home for various Masonic bodies, as well as a concert venue where big name acts like Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones have performed.
More recently the building has housed CTV and, since March 2006, MTV Canada. In March 2013, the building was placed on the market.
Info-Tech acquired the Masonic Temple from Bell Media for a cool $12.5 million. In a press release announcing the purchase, Joel McLean, the Info-Tech’s CEO, said the company plans on maintaining the concert hall and will be looking into opportunities to host an annual Charity Black Tie Concert.
There was speculation that the site would be purchased by a residential land developer and “condofied,” however, because the building is designated under Ontario Heritage Act as a historic site, any new construction would be required to maintain large portions of the existing building.
Is it a strange fit for a IT consulting firm? What would the Rolling Stones make of all of this?
CEO Joel McLean told the Canadian Press that they want the building to impress visitors from outside the country. “We’re consistently inviting company after company into Toronto (and) we wanted something that was spectacular to come see,” he told the Canadian Press.
Sounds like he won’t be having any problems impressing visitors — just look at this roster of bands that have played the Masonic Temple:
David Bowie
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
Smashing Pumpkins
The Pixies
