Word spread this weekend of a new Chanel boutique opening in Toronto, though its neighbours were more baffled than excited by the news. The location of the French couture house's latest showroom? 1822 Danforth Ave., between Coxwell and Woodbine - right next door to the neighbourhood pest control business.

An image of the new storefront, bearing the iconic interlocking-C logo and the words "opening fall 2014", ended up posted on Reddit. "Look up gentrification," one Redditor remarked. (A Chanel boutique in your average residential neighbourhood would probably be filed under 'seriously?', but we digress.)

Others floated the possibility that the incongruous location was a pop-up shop for the brand's grocery-store-inspired Fall 2014 collection, which debuted on a Paris runway flanked with shelves of Chanel-branded cotton swabs, detergent and potato chips. (If that were true, the unusual location, more suited to a real-deal corner store than a Mink Mile-style boutique, would have been a pretty fantastic choice.)

As it turned out, the sign was indeed phony. Art of the Danforth is currently underway in the neighbourhood, and the imaginary Chanel storefront appears to be an offshoot of this project, which asks residents to reimagine what the area would look like after undergoing heavy gentrification.

Upon hearing of the signs, representatives from the brand were up in (boucle-jacketed) arms. "We've advised our legal services and we'll be investigating this," Chanel's public relations director, Virginie Vincens, told Canadian Business. "We would never go in that area." (Danforth residents, don't take that too personally; brands like these avoid being associated with anyone who's not an heiress, a very famous actress, or Cara Delevingne.)

Expansion within Toronto likely wouldn't have been in the cards for the French fashion giant. With existing boutiques in high-end spots like Yorkville and Yorkdale, Chanel's as visible as it currently needs to be in the city - if you're about to pick up a new 2.55, it's really not a problem to venture out of your neighbourhood. But if Chanel Marts ever really do materialize in cities worldwide, I would clean up in aisle No. 5.

Photo via Reddit.