Toronto music fans were alarmed this week to discover a gaping hole at 484 Spadina Ave. where the Silver Dollar Room used to be, but fret not: it will be back, in recognizable form and as a live-music venue. The heritage designation applied to the property last year when it looked like the city might lose one of its most beloved clubs still stands. New owners Fitrovia Real Estate, which acquired the property and the adjacent Waverly Hotel from original developers the Wynn Group earlier this year, were only able to tear down the Dollar on the understanding that they must satisfy some very strict heritage criteria upon reconstruction. Yes, the Silver Dollar will now be part of a 15-storey residential complex, but by law it’s at least going to have to look an awful lot like the Silver Dollar as we remember it before it went dark on May 1 of last year after one final blast of thunder from local punks METZ. Although, truth be told, no one would likely complain too much if the washrooms get a little spiffed up during the rebuild. In any case, Trinity-Spadina Councillor Joe Cressy, who worked tirelessly to preserve the Dollar when it looked like Toronto might lose a living piece of its musical history last year, says there’s no cause for concern. The Silver Dollar will return, and how it returns must be approved by the city. “It has to be called the Silver Dollar. The original sign has to be used. The original bar and the original floor have to be in the same positions, and the original photos back on the wall. And it has to be a commercial venue,” Cressy tells the Star, adding that the new owners have met with him Toronto’s music-sector development officer, Mike Tanner, to confirm “that the built form is coming back and that it will be coming back as a live-music venue, not simply as a commercial venue that occasionally has music.” Acoustic layering is being incorporated into the new design “like they do in Austin,R ...
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