OUT WITH THE OLD
East-end antique store closing to make room for condominium development,
A stained-glass window from 1882, a 1966 blue Piaggio scooter, hundreds of doorknobs, dozens of old cameras and a finger from a high priestess mummy.
These are just a few of the things you can find when they wander into the Salvage Shop on Kingston Road.
But the store, which stocks antiques of every variety and can only be described as organized chaos, may be closing down for good. Owner Roy Clifford and his collection of antiques are being asked to leave to make way for a new condominium.
Core Development Group recently purchased Clifford’s store and the adjoining Kingston Road strip of stores for $5 million, according to property records.
A mixed-use condominium will be built on the land, with retailers on the ground-level and residential spaces on top, according to Bryan Nykoliation, president of Core Development.
“We’ll be working with the current individual business owners to determine their specific needs and if we can work with them collaboratively, we will try to come up with an optimal solution,” Nykoliation said.
Clifford said he’s been given six months to vacate the premises, and about two months have already passed.
But his store, filled to the brim with antiques, is not the only space he has to worry about emptying. The items he has on display are only a third of his collection, he said.
“I have four buildings along here jammed full of stuff,” he said. “Plus I have a 53-foot transport trailer, a 30foot trailer, a 16-foot trailer and my old van in the yard and they’re all full. So six months doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not enough time.”
Clifford launched his business in September 2001 and moved to his current location more than 10 years ago. The loss of the Salvage Shop will devastate not just him but Torontonians too, Clifford said.
“People throughout the city have beautiful things in their homes from my store and they come and brag about compliments they got.”
According to shopper Chris Riley, everybody in the area knows Clifford. “He’s a staple in this area,” Riley said.
But not just Torontonians would be affected by the closing of the store. Clifford has another big client: Hollywood set designers.
“We do a lot of movie rentals,” Clifford said. “I’m one of the main resources for the hardware. It’s surprising how authentic the movie people want their hardware to be but they do.” Items from his store can be spotted in Cinderella Man, 16 Blocks, Total Recall and the Saw movies.
“And Murdoch Mysteries loves using that mantle over there,” Clifford said, gesturing to a piece in the front of his store.
Clifford has started a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising enough money to move his antiques to a new property and set up business there. The money he’s been making since he opened his store, he said, has been going toward rent. As of March14, his GoFundMe had raised about $2,000 of his $35,000 goal.
“It’s the only thing that can save me, I think. Otherwise I’ll have to go out of business,” Clifford said.
“If a move doesn’t happen, I’ll have to sell off as much as I can but I’ll take a major loss. Mine isn’t the type of stuff you can sell in an auction. It’s the kind of stuff that sells over time.”