Wrigley Lofts

History of Wrigley Lofts

William Wrigley Jr. made his first move outside the United States in Toronto in 1907, with a small plant on Scott Street. Business grew fast, and in 1915 the company built a purpose-built factory on Carlaw between Queen and Dundas, designed by the Toronto architects Prack & Perrine after Wrigley's main plant in Chicago. The south building at 235 Carlaw was finished in January 1916. Its near-twin to the north, 245 Carlaw, which holds the lofts, was started that fall; sources put its completion anywhere from 1917 to 1919. For a time it was the tallest factory in the neighbourhood.

Workers here turned chicle, sugar and mint oils into Spearmint, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit, kept the floors cold so the gum wouldn't get sticky, wrapped it in airtight wax paper and shipped it across Canada by rail; men worked the machines and women packed the gum. With Chiclets being made a few blocks away on Logan Avenue, Leslieville called itself the chewing-gum capital of Canada. Wrigley's was known as a good employer and paid more than the going rate during the First World War.

In 1963 Wrigley Canada moved to a new plant on Leslie Street north of Eglinton, and a series of businesses took over the Carlaw buildings. The north building became Wrigley Lofts in 1998, opening with 79 units from about 300 to over 3,000 square feet, and a small one-storey extension was converted later. The south building is still commercial. Inside are 16-foot concrete ceilings, fluted mushroom columns and huge warehouse windows, a lobby and freight elevator that look much as they did a century ago, and no balconies; the factory front is untouched. Wrigley's Chicago plant was partly demolished in 2013, which makes the Toronto pair rare survivors.

Stories you'll hear

“Built in 1907.” That's the year Wrigley came to Toronto, on Scott Street; there was nothing on this Carlaw site until 1915.

Before the official conversion, the story goes, artists were living and working in the empty factory, and some studios were sold before the 1998 conversion. It's a good story, but nobody has confirmed it.