In the current issue of The Grid, we took you inside the Junction headquarters of Rue Morgue, a world-class horror-culture publication that’s currently operating out of a century-old funeral home near Dundas and Keele. Aside from housing the magazine’s editorial and creative team, the office also boasts a private screening room (converted from the old chapel), a studio for Rue Morgue’s popular podcast, a back lounge (featuring, among other things, a pool table, working bar and Clive Barker painting) and oodles and oodles of horror swag.
Over the past 15 years, Rue Morgue has had a number of homes, and moved to its current location at 2926 Dundas St. W. in 2004. However, it was recently brought to The Grid’s attention that Rodrigo Gudiño, founder of Rue Morgue and, incidentally, the building’s owner, has put the property up for sale—though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s looking to move. “Yeah it’s listed, but basically I just want to see what it’s worth,” confirms Gudiño. “Real-estate agents often have different answers on how much something will sell for, so I just wanna see what it’s worth practically. If I get enough interest and it attracts the right offer we’ll see what happens.”
On the market for nearly a month now, the building consists of several multi-use rooms spread throughout the 8,000 sq. ft. property (including a large luxury apartment on the second floor), and is currently listed at a sale price of $2.2 million. Moreover, the listing alludes to potential development opportunities, stating that the current zoning allows for upwards of 22,000 sq. ft. of space at 2926 Dundas St. W. And though the building is not designated as a heritage site, realtor for the property Jake Koseleci hopes a potential buyer looking to expand the space would opt for adding to the current property as opposed to tearing down the whole building. “We’re not trying to encourage anyone to tear it down,” Koseleci says. “There’s actually a huge parking lot in the back that could be developed.”
As for who would move into the former funeral home and horror headquarters, broker of record for the property Sal D’Angelo says there’s been a good deal of interest from local tech start-ups, and there’s even been an offer made by an unnamed magazine. “It is a pretty unique building, so I think it will appeal to somebody who’s pretty eccentric,” adds Gudiño. That said, fans of the magazine can rest assured that even if Gudiño does get an offer he can’t refuse and Rue Morgue abandons its Junction offices, the publication will always have a home somewhere in Toronto.
