St. Joseph Media, publishers of titles including Wedding Bells, FASHION and Toronto Life has acquired Toronto-based award-winning website Torontoist.

Founded in 2004, Torontoist is an online-only news source for the city of Toronto which brings in around 200,000 unique visitors a month, said St. Joseph Media president Douglas Knight. “That number peaks at 400,000 when there are big events in the city like the G20,” he said.

The site is complementary to St. Joseph Media’s existing brands like Toronto Life and will provide great advertising package opportunities, said Knight. “Torontoist does things that Toronto Life doesn’t do,” he said. “It offers intense news coverage of the city, it is winning awards and we like it. By adding Torontoist to our platforms advertisers get an extraordinary reach into the city.”

Torontoist was originally published by city blog network Gothamist until 2008 when the economic downturn hit, said publisher Ken Hunt in a statement. He, along with partners Rob Silver and Amanda Alvaro set up Ink Truck Media Corp. and organized a franchise agreement with Gothamist to keep the site running.

Hunt said the purchase of the site by St. Joseph Media provides Torontoist with resources it needs to survive and thrive. “We need better infrastructure, a better team to be able to grow,” he said. “We need sales support, technical infrastructure and design talent. All the things Torontoist needs to grow St. Joseph Media has.”

The site will remain editorially separate from all other St. Joseph Media properties, including the print and online versions of Toronto Life, said Hunt. “Each of the products has a different voice and perspective,” he said. “None of that will change.”

Torontoist, which didn’t have an office before the acquisition will now operate out of St. Joseph Media headquarters on Queen St. East in Toronto.