Castlepoint Numa Developments (“Castlepoint Numa”) announces an extended lease commitment from Pride Toronto and Zeidler at its landmark Auto BLDG in Toronto’s Lower Junction Triangle. After outgrowing their existing spaces in just over two years, Pride Toronto has doubled down, expanding from roughly 4,000 sq ft to 8,000 sq ft, while Zeidler has expanded their space by 25 percent. Now 90 per cent occupied, the Auto BLDG draws a unique ecosystem of businesses in the arts, technology, and creative sectors.

Located in the heart of Toronto’s Junction Triangle south of Bloor Street and North of Dundas Street, the Auto BLDG is an important piece of Toronto’s architectural and industrial heritage. Photography Credit: Michael Muraz.

"The Auto BLDG is a truly iconic office space that fosters a culture of inclusiveness, artistic expression and collaboration,” says Harley Valentine, Partner, Castlepoint Numa Developments. “We are pleased that both Pride Toronto and Zeidler have extended their commitment to the Auto BLDG, a move that reinforces our belief that even though we are in a hybrid environment, a well-located, well-designed, sustainable office space that fosters community building will continue to meet the needs of modern tenants.”

Pride Toronto, a not-for-profit organization that celebrates the history, courage, and diversity of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, made the Auto BLDG its headquarters in 2020. With its staff count already doubling in size, and continuing to grow, additional space was needed to foster a collaborative environment coupled with smaller meeting rooms for private meetings. The turnkey, open-concept space supports the organization’s expanding programming, including community working sessions, parade logistics and a safe space for external 2SLGBTQI+ agencies.

“Over the last few years, Pride Toronto has seen immense growth and the Auto BLDG has been our home base. While we quickly outgrew our original space, we were not ready to say goodbye to this location and community,” says Bobby MacPherson, Director of Operations, Pride Toronto. “During our time here, we’ve had an opportunity to create and grow relationships with the Auto BLDG community, including the likes of MOCA and Akin Collective. This building has a strong history of arts and culture, and Pride Toronto looks forward to continuing this legacy for 2SLGBTQI+ generations to come.”

With this lease extension, Pride Toronto is excited to continue to grow their programming in a safe space for their team and external 2SLGBTQI+ agencies. Retrieved from Pride Toronto Archives. Photography Credit: Ian Lawrence Photography.

Zeidler moved into the Auto BLDG in January 2020. The expansion of their office space comes with immense growth in the architecture firm’s business, across Canada. As an award-winning adaptive reuse heritage project, the Auto BLDG aligns with Zeidler’s reputation as sustainable and responsible architects.

“The Auto BLDG has many linear embodiments to the values of our firm, from adaptive reuse and sustainability to fostering a collaborative community for arts and culture,” says Edward Chan, Partner, Zeidler. “This space is representative of how we want to work, offering opportunities for collaboration, spontaneous interactions, and open discussions. We were originally drawn to the Auto BLDG because of the area’s renaissance, which represented how our firm was growing and changing. As our work in Ontario continues to expand, we wanted to stay within the confines of this building to maintain and grow the culture created at the Auto BLDG.”

With this new lease extension, Zeidler Architecture have expanded their office space by 25 per cent. Photography Credit: Daniel Ehrenworth.

Located in the heart of Toronto’s Junction Triangle south of Bloor Street and North of Dundas Street, the Auto BLDG is an important piece of Toronto’s architectural and industrial heritage. Built in 1919, the neighbourhood landmark structure was adaptively reused to support office space for those in the creative, cultural and digital sectors. The Auto BLDG features state-of-the-art amenities, including private rooftop terraces for 9th and 10th floors, at-grade eateries, high speed internet connectivity, secured bike room, storage facilities and more.

An industry-leading real estate developer, Castlepoint Numa has a rich history in transforming and fostering mixed-use communities in Toronto. The company acquired 8 acres of land in the Lower Junction Triangle in 2008 transforming the former aluminum foundry site into a transit-focused, mixed-use neighbourhood with a focus on drawing commercial and cultural businesses, as well as the introduction of public parks and plazas.

To learn more, visit www.autobldg.com.

Castlepoint Numa
Founded in 1988, Castlepoint Numa is a pioneering, full-cycle real estate development firm. With a community-first, values-based approach, they've earned a reputation for transforming even the most difficult and overlooked sites into thriving neighbourhoods, cultural hubs and award-winning architectural icons. Their work is distinguished by an unwavering commitment to community, collaboration and reverence for the people and neighbourhoods they serve. With a globally recognized portfolio of ambitious, cutting-edge properties, they're known for their focus on heritage re-use, brownfield and waterfront revitalization, and mixed-used developments.