Adrenalin junkies flock to warehouse
From the outside, 213 Sterling Rd. looks like any other warehouse — squat, red-brick, nondescript.
But with spaces ranging from 900 to 12,000 square feet in the building near Lansdowne Ave. and Bloor St., you won’t find ordinary storage units. Home to the Moloney Electric Company (an electrical transformer manufacturer) from 1920 to 2008, the building has recently been colonized by other businesses, mostly catering to adrenalin junkies.
In one unit is the Backyard Axe Throwing League. Originally started in founder Matt Wilson’s backyard (hence the name), it moved in last winter. With 128 official members, BATL runs league nights four times weekly and hosts private events Thursday through Sunday. Wilson and his staff coach beginners on how to throw an axe.
Down the hall at Just 4 Fun Sporting Club, Addy Mahadeo also encourages physical exercise, but with fewer weapons. Here, space equivalent to two high school gym courts can be rented out by the hour, seven days a week, for basketball, soccer, dodge ball and floor hockey. There are scheduled drop-in times, and Mahadeo rents the facility out for parties.
The Centre of Gravity is one of two circus-training studios here. Since last fall, Jen Georgopolous has been teaching Krav Maga martial arts, Vaudeville theatre, and flexibility training to clients. With 30-foot ceilings to work with, there is plenty of room for aerial acrobatics.
The building has also been used as a venue for art and fashion shows, parties, and galleries, as well as office space for a variety of creative enterprises. Any other outfits looking to set up here will have to wait — 213 Sterling is fully leased.