The one-story structure is zoned to 115 feet, which means that a 10-story building can be built with 75 feet of frontage where an underwhelming little stubby thing has stood in the heart of the GSM since 1923.
So call up your bank pistoleros and tell them you've got a bead on 82,000 square feet downtown.
The buildings at 1383 to 1389 St. Catherine belong to Catcres Holdings which is listed since 2003 under the name of tax lawyer Robert Raitch. A company called JLL is fielding bids.
The businesses currently ensconced in the premises include the souvalki-licious Kojax whose late-night guy served up plenty of tasty meals and plenty of free analysis of Dustin Hermanson for the top guy at Coolopolis long before Coolopolis came to be.
The commercial tenants might be able to block any proposed demolition simply by pointing at the expiry dates on their leases.
But upcoming street renovation Armageddon might persuade those entrepreneurs to come to terms.
If borough council greenlights a 10 story structure on the property they'd be well-advised to insist owners include a public rooftop terrace where people could bask in the sun, which they no longer can do since the Loblows Selfridge folks demolished the Hotel de La Montagne to replace it with a huge structure.