The corner of the Kormann House that faces the intersection has a distinctive bevel cut out of it.
The Kormann Hotel was a 3 storey brick building built on the southwest corner of Sherbourne Street and Queen Street in Toronto, Ontario. The hotel was built in 1897, and was considered luxurious, when built.[1][2]
By the 21st Century the building had been abandoned, and was considered an eyesore.[2][3][4][5] The Globe and Mail wrote that, due to "crime and prostitution", the intersection where it was located was considered one of the least desirable in the city.
Toronto designated the building a protected heritage structure in 2007.[2][6]
In 2008 real estate developer Brad Lamb announced plans to redevelop the building into a ten floor condominium.[3][4] However, no work started on the project.[7]
In 2021 the construction of a new subway station, Moss Park station, across the street from the building, triggered another plan to redevelop the building, and neighbouring properties, into a 97 metre condominium.[8]
↑
Kevin McBride. Illustration Sunday: Kormann House Hotel, Torontoist, 2008-07-13. Retrieved on 2022-05-18. “Cited for its “design value as a representative example of a late 19th century corner hotel,” the Kormann House is included in the Toronto Heritage Property Inventory.”
↑ 3.03.1
Sydnia Yu. Historic hotel anchors stylish building, Globe and Mail, 2008-06-20. Retrieved on 2022-05-18. “For more than a century, the Kormann House Hotel has been situated across from Moss Park at Queen and Sherbourne streets, which - rife with crime and prostitution - is considered one of the least desirable corners in the downtown core.”
↑
Chris Bateman. 5 historic Toronto buildings that could use a makeover, Blog TO, 2014-09-05. Retrieved on 2022-05-18. “Instead, the corner building opposite Moss Park sits abandoned, its windows partially bricked up and the patchy white and grey paint peeling off the exterior.”
↑REASONS FOR LISTING: 229 QUEEN STREET EAST, City of Toronto. Retrieved on 2022-05-18. “The Kormann House Hotel is an important local feature that anchors the southwest corner of Queen Street East and Sherbourne Street. Near the northeast corner of the intersection, the row of shops (1889) at 216-232 Queen Street East is recognized on the City’s heritage inventory, and the neighbouring portions of the Carlyle Block (1892-1893) at 234-242 Queen Street East are designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.”
↑
Jacob Rutka. Why was Kormann House never built?, The Grid TO, 2012-11-06. Retrieved on 2022-05-18. “A company called KC Developments sought to turn the old heritage building at the southwest corner of Queen and Sherbourne into a 10-storey, mixed-use residential building, with 60 condo units and retail on the ground floor, keeping the historical façade intact, of course.”
mirror