Info-Tech Research Group Acquires the Masonic Temple

After MTV Canada announced the relocation of their studio facility to 299 Queen Street West, leaving Toronto’s historic Masonic Temple vacant and vulnerable to destruction, Ontario-based technology firm, Info-Tech Research Group, swooped-in for the purchase at $12.5-million on June 17th, 2013. But this is not the first time the Masonic Temple has exchanged ownership: since its construction in 1918, this building has been under the reign of Rosedale Group in 1996, CTV in 1997, MTV in 2011, and now Info-Tech for 2013.

Over the course of a century, the threat of transforming 888 Young Street into a condominium-highrise has been an on-going dilemma. If it had not been for the building’s addition to the Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1974, placing it under the Ontario Heritage Act‘s protection, it is very possible that the building’s demolition would have already occurred. Thankfully, Info-Tech intends not to dismantle, destroy, or decommission this famous venue; rather, the company wishes to embrace it.

The Masonic Temple will house approximately 150 Info-Tech employees. The various meeting rooms in the office-space will adopt the names of some of the famous acts that previously took the stage: Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. Each year, Info-Tech will host a black tie event, in which rock groups will perform for customers, employees, and supporters for a charitable cause. Kicking off their celebrations, Info-Tech wishes to throw a night party to gear-up for the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Info-Tech’s decision to purchase the Masonic Temple was multi-faceted, in that design and functionality were not the only two factors in play. One reason for moving into such an iconic Toronto structure is to awe and impress foreign clients. As a global leader in IT research and analysis, maintaining an up-scale facade could have several benefits. Whichever the primary reasoning had been to take this building as their new satellite office, the Masonic Temple stands to see another day.