Downtown Toronto will soon have a new iconic live music and event venue operated by Live Nation Entertainment and Drake. The city needs this more than ever.

What many don’t realize is that discussions started with the world renowned operator and the landlord’s agents, Rami Kozman and Greg Evans of the Behar Group, back in early 2015.

Finally in 2018, the Behar Group, working on behalf of the landlord, finalized a lease at 1663 Queen Street East in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood, a 30,000 square foot entertainment venue that was formerly home to Woodbine Off Track Betting. At the time it was revealed to much fanfare that Live Nation, one of the largest concert promotors in the world, had planned to turn the premises into a landmark 2,500 capacity concert hall, one of only a handful of mid-size concert venues in Toronto’s east end.

With construction slated to be completed this summer, Live Nation has now announced a partnership with world famous Toronto-born rapper, Drake, to operate the venue as ‘History’. The venue will include a general admission area as well as reserved seating configurations, and will host upwards of 200 events each year.

Although an opening date for venue has not been announced, acts have already begun to be booked with the earliest being a performance by American hip-hop recording artist, 070 Shake, on October 16. For more information, visit History Toronto.

“We’re very proud to have been a part of this very complex and ambitious deal, which will contribute to the cultural fabric of the city. I’m looking forward to attending events at History in the near future. Our client, the landlord, was very pleased with the results in the end, and I’m confident that the Behar Group’s Landlord Services team is well positioned to help other landlords and operators navigate the complexities of leasing and selling entertainment venues throughout the GTA and Ontario. While we can’t promise that we can bring tenants like Live Nation and Drake to every property we represent, we will always endeavour to bring the most suitable tenant on the best terms possible.” says Rami Kozman, Senior Director of Landlord Services