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St Lawrence Market

Now the sun comes out.
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DSCToronto said:
I asked the City why the traffic lights they put up on Front and Scott in the spring are still not working. The answer is, HYDRO!

They told me:

"For Front and Scott, we just got our hydro connection to the signals and are hoping to complete final restoration this week so that we can aim for activation early November."
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Pedestrian hit by car this morning.
My guess is that this will speed up the installation to Monday.
 
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reinventingthewheel said:
When I moved to take a photo of the sign inside, someone who was moving furniture into the building promptly closed the door.
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Saw the group moving an industrial freezer on the sidewalk with a SEIZED sticker on it, so I assume that was coming out and not going in.. 😋
mburrrrr said:
Pedestrian hit by car this morning.
My guess is that this will speed up the installation to Monday.
Click to expand...
I'm going to sound like an old curmudgeon but it's crazy how fast some cars go on that section of Front b/w Yonge and Church. I sat in Berczy for a few minutes on the weekend and a few cars wanted to have a quick rip.
 
reinventingthewheel said:
Looks like the Bank of Upper Canada Building (252 Adelaide E) has a tenant moving in. Caught a glimpse of a sign on the wall inside that said “MRKT CAFE”.

When I moved to take a photo of the sign inside, someone who was moving furniture into the building promptly closed the door.
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Interesting! Here's what I found in the Toronto Building Permit Database:

Application: Building Additions/Alterations
Status: Revision Issued
Location: 252 ADELAIDE ST E TORONTO ON M5A 1N1
Ward 13: Toronto Centre
Application#: 25 222040 BLD 01 BA
Issued Date: Oct 10, 2025
Project: Retail Store
Work: Interior Alterations
Description: Rev 01: revision to remove any alterations work, all walls to remain as existing, proposal for change of use only from Office to new Cafe on main floor and new retail store in main floor and basement. Proposal for interior alterations to change existing office to new Retail store on main floor (Suite 100)
 
mburrrrr said:
Pedestrian hit by car this morning.
My guess is that this will speed up the installation to Monday.
Click to expand...
The traffic lights at Scott and Front are finally operational.

Edit: On the revised schedule as reported by @DSCToronto “I asked the City why the traffic lights they put up on Front and Scott in the spring are still not working. The answer is, HYDRO!

They told me:

"For Front and Scott, we just got our hydro connection to the signals and are hoping to complete final restoration this week so that we can aim for activation early November."”

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I guess the pedestrian wasn’t seriously injured last week. They were still carted away on a stretcher but no visible injuries from my view at Berczy Park.
 
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Yesterday the hotel chain Marriot announced they were terminating a long-term agreement with Sonder, the company that manages the short-term stay building at 197 King East in the St. Lawrence Market neighhbourhood. This building has been undergoing extremely intensive and slow restorations since around 2020 and has been looking very nice lately. The last I heard, this business was operational, guests were staying there, but the company was still trying to find a cafe or restaurant to occupy the ground level.

I can't find news on the future of this specific location, but guests at a Sonder in Spain have apparently been kicked out mid-stay, and a post on Reddit suggests Sonder is "no more" and employees have been locked out of all their systems. Sonder properties are no longer available to book on the Marriot website. So it doesn't look good.

This is potentially another blow for that King East strip that deserves much better -- there's a lot more life there now than a few years ago, but still too many vacant gaps, including the former Pizza Forno, the former Hiro Sushi, the former Starbucks at George St that burned, and the moldering in-limbo devastation of the block of businesses that used to be anchored by Betty's bar.

I wonder what could fill this particular space at 197 King E if it does become available.

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CityPainter said:
Yesterday the hotel chain Marriot announced they were terminating a long-term agreement with Sonder, the company that manages the short-term stay building at 197 King East in the St. Lawrence Market neighhbourhood. This building has been undergoing extremely intensive and slow restorations since around 2020 and has been looking very nice lately. The last I heard, this business was operational, guests were staying there, but the company was still trying to find a cafe or restaurant to occupy the ground level.

I can't find news on the future of this specific location, but guests at a Sonder in Spain have apparently been kicked out mid-stay, and a post on Reddit suggests Sonder is "no more" and employees have been locked out of all their systems. Sonder properties are no longer available to book on the Marriot website. So it doesn't look good.

This is potentially another blow for that King East strip that deserves much better -- there's a lot more life there now than a few years ago, but still too many vacant gaps, including the former Pizza Forno, the former Hiro Sushi, the former Starbucks at George St that burned, and the moldering in-limbo devastation of the block of businesses that used to be anchored by Betty's bar.

I wonder what could fill this particular space at 197 King E if it does become available.

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Interesting, the building opened for guests in May 2025 or thereabouts. SEE: Building thread at https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threa...onehenge-studio-jci.30411/page-5#post-2196221 This property was not initially in the Marriot listing and one had to book it on Sonder website. The opening was VERY delayed which certainly cost them lots of $$ (and bookings). This gives more info:

BETHESDA, Maryland—Marriott International, Inc. announced that its licensing agreement with Sonder Holdings Inc. is no longer in effect due to Sonder’s default. As a result, Sonder is no longer affiliated with Marriott Bonvoy, and Sonder properties are not available for new bookings on Marriott’s channels.

Marriott’s immediate priority is supporting guests currently staying at Sonder properties and those with upcoming reservations. Marriott will contact guests who booked directly through Marriott channels, including marriott.com, the Marriott Bonvoy App, and Marriott’s worldwide reservation centers, to address their reservation and booking needs. Guests who booked through a third-party online travel agency should contact those organizations.

With the removal of the Sonder rooms from Marriott’s system, Marriott’s net rooms growth for 2025 is now expected to approach 4.5 percent. There are no changes to the rest of the outlook metrics that Marriott provided on November 4, 2025.
 
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I'm sure it's in here somewhere but I can't find it. What is the construction in front of the Metro on Front Street?
It looks like maybe replacing a hydro vault? It's been going on for a very long time, like I think we're at more than six months now and it's such a small construction site but always blocks of a lane of the road each day.
 
Jonny5 said:
I'm sure it's in here somewhere but I can't find it. What is the construction in front of the Metro on Front Street?
It looks like maybe replacing a hydro vault? It's been going on for a very long time, like I think we're at more than six months now and it's such a small construction site but always blocks of a lane of the road each day.
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Yes, discussed here a while ago. It IS the replacement of a hydro vault and is 'almost finished' - the wooden fencing is (mostly) gone. It is on the sidewalk (and the passageway through the site) not on the road. The condo have been replacing all their brickwork and this was last section and doubtless involved Hydro. I think they started last fall on this area.
 
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DSCToronto said:
Yes, discussed here a while ago. It IS the replacement of a hydro vault and is 'almost finished' - the wooden fencing is (mostly) gone. It is on the sidewalk (and the passageway through the site) not on the road. The condo have been replacing all their brickwork and this was last section and doubtless involved Hydro. I think they started last fall on this area.
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@Jonny5
I noted in January 2025 that the metal fencing had been up for months. I think the wood fencing and permit was shortly after that. February 2025. Excited for a clean look again in this area. They have done a lot work around this building. Lots of roofing and sidewalk/block work restricting access around the building.

The new condo lobby/entrance just east of Metro is done too. Just saw a quick glance of it driving by.
 
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