70-year-old building to be demolished to make way for new GO station in Oshawa, Ontario

Demolition work to make way for the new Central GO station in Oshawa will begin as early as August 18, with five buildings – one with a 70-year history in the city – about to be reduced to rubble to make way for progress.

Delsan AIM Environmental Services will begin demolition of the Tim Horton’s restaurant at 415 Simcoe St. S. – which has been closed since September 15, 2024 – Pets Kingdom at 426 Simcoe, a two-story multiplex building a 428 Simcoe, the two-storey Desjardin Insurance building at 399 Simcoe and All Canadian Awards at 424 Simcoe.

All Canadian Awards has been in the city since 1975 (they moved to the Simcoe Street location a quarter-century later) and has been an institution for hockey dads and moms since, with thousands of budding novice stars getting their ‘1stGoal’ memorialized on a trophy at the shop, which was founded by GM worker Jack Harrison.

The structure was actually built in 1955 and was the home of Baron’s Home Furnishing until the early 2000s when the Baron brothers sold it to All Canadian Awards.

“It will be sad to see the demolition of this historic family-owned building,” Karl Baron told INdurham.

The demolition and removal work will take place Monday to Friday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., though work hours may be extended or rescheduled due to inclement weather, unforeseen circumstances or to advance the work.

Residents should expect some noise and vibration due to construction activities and site lighting may be utilized, which will be pointed away from homes.

Staff will take reasonable precautions to minimize disturbances to residents and commuters and safety signage will be used. Sidewalk closures will also be in place during the front facade demolition with pedestrians re-routed safely to the curb lane.

Short-term lane closures will be carried out daily as necessary, but there are no anticipated road closures. Transit will not be impacted.

It’s been more than a dozen years since plans to extend GO train service to Bowmanville were first floated and eight years since Metrolinx and the former provincial government finally announced they would be building the four new stations, with progress slow since then.

Work has ramped up a bit this summer, with soil testing, geo-thermal work and new watermains under the iconic Albert Street bridge now underway.

Metrolinx is still working on a new alignment for the tracks for the future stations at Thornton Road and the Central Oshawa station on First Avenue that will see the trains swing north from the existing Oshawa GO along a GM spur line to the other side of Highway 401, where they will  follow the CP tracks on their way to the two new Oshawa stations, as well as future stations in Courtice and Bowmanville.

Work on the Albert Street bridge. Photo by Glenn Hendry