in favour of designating the entire property as a heritage site, protecting the entire building, including the landmark signs. The entire building was designated because the Ontario Heritage Act has no provisions to protect store signs. The site at 347 Yonge Street was a valuable piece of property and was purchased by Ryerson University in early 2008. The site sat vacant for several months before the spinning records were lit again at Nuit Blanche on October 4, 2008, although Ryerson owned the building at the time. On January 18, 2008, Ryerson University acquired the property for future expansion of its nearby campus. On October 4, 2008, the iconic neon signs were lit for the last time as part of Toronto's Nuit Blanche festivities. The removal of the signage commenced shortly after the final lighting, and by mid-March 2009 the building had been partially demolished. About a year after the lighting of the records at Nuit Blanche, demolition of the structure began. The building was demolished in early 2010. The new Ryerson Student Learning Centre (SLC) opened on February 23, 2015, on the old Sam's site. The closing of the flagship store left two Ontario-based franchise stores in operation, one in Sarnia and one in Belleville. The Sarnia store closed in 2009; the last remnant of the Sam the Record Man retail empire is now one former franchise store that remains open under the Sam the Record Man name in Belleville as an independent store. Sign preservation at Yonge-Dundas Square Under a heritage preservation deal with the city, Ryerson University was expected to restore the spinning record signs and incorporate them into the new Student Learning Centre on the former Sam's site. However, the university later stated that the signs were not compatible with their designs for the new building. In July 2014, city council approved a revised agreement with Ryerson, whereby the university would pay to install and maintain the sign atop a city-owned building at 277 Victoria St., two blocks southeast of the original location. In July 2017, Ryerson announced that restoration of the almost half-century-old neon signs had started in June, and they would be ready for display over Yonge-Dundas Square in the fall. The re-installation has now been completed. References External links Sam The Record Man, Belleville Music retailers of Canada 1937 establishments in Ontario 2007 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct retail companies of Canada Companies that have