Tenants of 213 Sterling Rd. are eclectic and spirited
Artists not the only ones vulnerable to the area’s sudden renaissance
Artists aren’t the only ones in the gentrification crosshairs. An eclectic mix of independent activity has infused 213 Sterling Rd. with character, a character that could soon change as tenants decide whether to pay higher rents or move out. The axe-throwing club At 213 Sterling, the Battle Axe Throwing League, faced with a significant increase, is renting its space on a month-to-month basis while it looks for a new home. The contractor Thomas Carroll, an independent contractor, moved into 213 Sterling in December 2010. His initial rent, for a 2,300-square-foot space, was $1,600. Over his first five years, his rent increased less than 3 per cent a year, to $1,900 in 2015. In January 2016, he was notified rent would increase to $3,423 monthly. He’s moving out in February. The circus school Heather Kentner’s Cirque-ability is one of the building’s long-standing tenants and the space she occupies, with its soaring ceilings and huge windows, makes possible an array of activities, from children’s birthday parties to adult fitness training.
Kentner said she would try to negotiate lease renewal terms that allow her to stay.
“(Thombar Inc.) is running a business, so I understand,” she says.
“It’s great the area is developing, but unfortunately this is what always happens.” The photographer Robert Goshgarian, a commercial photographer, is paying $2,700 a month for his 2,000-square-foot, double-height studio. In February, rent increases to $5,100. He’s decided to stay. “I can’t move to Downsview. It would kill my business,” he says. The sports club Addy Mahadeo’s Just 4 Fun Sporting Club, the building’s largest tenant, occupies 17,000 square feet of space on the main floor. He pays $15,000 per month in rent, plus tax. In 2016, the landlord raised his rent to $45,333 per month; unable to pay that amount, Mahadeo extended his stay for six months at the lower rent while the landlord works to find a new tenant.