A HISTORIC OFFICE tower built in the 1950s is on the market and could be converted to condominiums.

The 20-storey tower, known as the Imperial Oil Building, is located at 111 St. Clair Ave. West. Built in 1957, aspects of the tower are heritage-protected, including the lobby, which is clad with Lorado Chioso marble, gold mosaic tiles and Tennessee marble. Two murals by Canadian artist York Wilson line the walls on either side of the hall from the the lobby to the elevator banks, that portray oil production throughout the course of history.

The exterior walls and roof-top observation deck are also heritage aspects of the building.

“The building will be sold as is, and anybody can do what they want with it,” said Peter Barnicke, the senior vicepresident of DTZ Barnicke. “A number of people have looked at it for residential conversion.”

The location is prime for residential development, with easy access to public transit and other infrastructure. Coun. Michael Walker would support the conversion, but there’s only one problem.

“It’s built like a tank,” said the councillor’s executive assistant, Chris Sellors. “There are two elevator bays; two huge, separate boiler systems that can still run now even though they’re 60 or 50 years old. It would be hard to retrofit.”

Barnicke said there is no listing price for the site.