Published September 2023
The Working Centre campus at 256 King East has been undergoing significant renovations as we prepare the spaces for a substantial re-creation. There are three paths of change that we have been navigating.
The first is the necessity of moving Worth A Second Look Furniture and Housewares Thrift Store from the main floor of 97 Victoria N to make way for the housing construction project that will start in early October 2023.
The good news is that Worth A Second Look will relocate to 37 Market Lane where formerly Recycle Cycles and the Green Door Used Clothing Boutique operated from. Worth A Second Look will have two integrated retail spaces on the two floors with two entrances, one off Market Lane and the other off King Street East through the laneway behind 256 King East. We will also have news soon on the opening of the Green Door at 54 Queen Street South.
The second path is the re-locating of Recycle Cycles from 37 Market Lane to 256 King East Unit B. The community bike shop will have 6 public access bike stands on the main floor. The basement has been transformed into a bike shop designed to refurbish and repair used bikes. The new Recycle Cycles Community Bike Shop will be opening in early October in its new space.
The third path has been the uncovering of substantial structural issues as we started renovations at 256 King East. The first problem area was related to a deteriorating back wall that had been compromised by a change in grading of the parking lot some 30 years ago. For various reasons the whole back structure where the walk-in cooler and freezers were located required either re-bricking or repointing. Other structural repairs followed including shoring up the front basement foundation, and the replacement of large window lintels on the side of the building. Finally, we decided to complete the restoration of the front façade which we had been doing in a piecemeal way since 2015. As of October 1st, we are still waiting for the new coolers/freezers which will enable the completion of the Fresh Ground kitchen and the long awaited re-opening of Fresh Ground Café.
It will be an exciting Fall as these three projects redevelop together in their new spaces.
