Toronto Life Square is no more, as signage removed

Toronto Life has succeeded in its drawn-out struggle to have its brand name removed from the downtown Toronto building that is now being called 10 Dundas East. What had been Toronto Life Square (which was not a square, but a commercial mall) at the northeast corner of Yonge & Dundas, now has bland signage saying 10 Dundas East or nothing at all, according to a story in the Globe and Mail.

The building was placed in court-ordered receivership this spring after its owners, a subsidiary of PenEquity, could no longer finance their $280-million in debt. At the same time Toronto Life magazine's parent company, St. Joseph Communications, was locked in a court battle to have the magazine's name removed from the project. That process now looks complete.

“St. Joseph Communications was successful in winning the arbitration with PenEquity, so our name is no longer associated with that space,” St. Joseph's spokeswoman Marta Sinyard said in an e-mail yesterday.

Toronto Life logos on billboards, doors and elevators have disappeared, replaced in some cases by large black rectangles that resemble the redaction boxes that hide sensitive information on government documents.

Building staff who used to wear Toronto Life logo shirts are now wearing plain grey shirts, according to a clerk who works in the complex, and video screens now flash a purple 10 Dundas logo. Only the website, www.torontolifesquare.com – and signs in the TTC's Dundas subway station – continue to boast the stylish red Toronto Life logo.