Old Canada Bread factory photo grouping of opening up of formerly bricked up back windows.

1st much thanks to reader Jimi Fir alerting the blog to this.

The factory now being converted into artist studios has a wonderful transformation at its rear.

The windowed bricked up
For so long are being shod of their bricks.


Inside the northern most space.


Inside looking towards the CPR tracks at doors that once held the opening for the waste doors for the bakery.


Track side view

Wowie Wowie Wowie 130 Cawthra Ave being marketed as mixed use light indiustrial and artist studios

Maple Leaf Foods subsid…Canada Bread has found a new home for it’s Junction production in Hamilton. Now its appears they are setting up their old Junction building for sectionalized and demised leasing for art and design studios.

Maybe a building like 400 Dufferin Ave has been for so many years.

This makes this blog author so happy artist space is do needed so badly in the area, there was a time in the deep dark ages of the Junction in the 80's til mid 90's that there were good spaces for artists in the Junction. Even Keele Centre had some at great rates and a do what you want ways when the building was owned by the CPR division Marathon Realty, this author worked out of there for a long time.

Couple this with a possible condo on the on the old plant site could really enliven the area.





130_Cawthra_Ave_-_LEASE_-Jan_2012 download flyer



[caption id="attachment_10351" align="aligncenter" width="995" caption="buildoing plan"][/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_10354" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Saturday Feb 11 2012 taken down Flour? Tower"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_10355" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Saturday Feb 11 2012 plant interior during equipment removal"][/caption]

Junction commercial bakery businesses going going

Just 20 years ago the Junction had numerous commercial bakeries and related businesses. Keele Centre at 500 Keele St had a huge Weston bakery on the north side of the building.

There was Seven Star Bakery on Jackson Place. The build has now been converted to mews homes.

Maple leaf mills was a huge flour processor with two silo building, one of which is now gone.

Now with Canada bread leaving the Junction Rd area the last of the bakery businesses are gone.

Maple Leaf Foods subsid...Canada Bread has found a new home for it's Junction production

1st thanks to commenter A.F for alerting the blog to this



lines from the article on CB Business (full article here)

Canada Bread picked Hamilton on Wednesday (FEB 17th)  as the site for its massive new bakery. pleased to be growing our presence in Hamilton through this $100-million investment to establish a world-class bakery facility," said Canada Bread president Richard Lan

The company said the bakery will be built on a 10-hectare property in North Glanbrook Industrial Park. The company and the City of Hamilton are working to complete the permitting process and expect construction to start in June.

The federal government will also provide $2 million towards pre-engineering and design activities to build the new bakery.

It's sad the Junction loses jobs and industry, although the author of this post understands the opinions of many in the community who dislike the industry, there is the issue of a balanced economy for the Junction, and new plants must meet stringent rules for emissions and noise.

Canada Bread Junction plant to close as company plans to builds new state of the art plant elsewhere

[caption id="attachment_5873" align="alignright" width="473" caption="Inside the factory"][/caption]

1st this author believes this is not good, and is  really not willing to accept the loss of another Junction industrial business, not that I deride the Canada Bread decision to have a state of the art plant and work their business assets to their needs.

Yet local jobs and the industrial commercial viability of the Junction is at stake presently.



Just last year the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) wrote the following about the community, giving its understanding of the value of mixed use community. Hopefully the cities economic development team will work hard to attract a new business to the building.

Canada Bread factory - be a nosy neighbour

Canada bread truck and driver quickly moving trailer around, next to the lot that once was the Moore Paint factory.

One capital night walk in the Junction is  along Cawthra Ave, just above the tracks and off Junction Rd. Walking down this Ave on a  evening after dark will allow you  view the action at the Canada Bread plant. On some nights  the loading area dock will be open and you can get a view inside plant. This plant get very busy overnight with all the workers working quickly and in industrious manner.

While many people perceive the Junction by viewing and drawing opinions from the retail business sector and the residential  character, viewing the  the industry in the area can provide the complete Junction picture

Ontario Municipal Board cites Junction as something of an anomaly in Toronto

[caption id="attachment_2896" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Text excerpt from the Ontario Municipal Board 6 Lloyd Ave report"][/caption]

yea, the Ontario Municipal Board has a good understanding of the Junction is all about, this opinion [1. http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/e-decisions/pl060854-Oct-21-2008.pdf]  (regarding the old Benjamin Moore plant lands condo development) can be applied to Vine Ave, The Dundas St. West and Jane area, Ryding Ave, Gunns Rd. and  more and with the city of Toronto's want to keep employment uses on historical employment lands companies such as National Rubber Technologies, Corp. (NRT) and Canada Bread.

Yet there remains a problem, the provincial and municipal governments have failed to tackle the issue of co existence of industry and residential is close proximity. If people can buy houses in industrial communities , where the industry is maintaining adherence to all bylaws, rules and  environmental laws, and then attempt to close the industrial plants, we will lose the integrated nature of the city, which the city owes much of it's life too.

Take a look at the NRT fact sheet below and see how green this company is, in it's efforts to work with the problem of used tires, which they convert into long lasting new products.

NRT Fact sheet form the companies site

If you examine the ownership structure of NRT, you can see a well interconnected group of companies, with the financial strength to maintain their plant in the Junction well, causing it to adhere to all codes, and remain here for some time.

Kinder Hook Industries (NY State)  -> KN Rubber - >Koneta, Inc (Wapakoneta, Ohio) <-> National Rubber Technologies, Corp.(Toronto) (previously NRI Industries)