kotsy
Senior Member
I immediately assumed it was unfinished too. I hope I'm right. It looks too awful to leave it like that.
Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR
grey
Senior Member
I think it would work. The St Lawrence Market has fairly terrible hours if you work 9-5. It's better suited to retirees and tourists. Unless you really make a habit of visiting on Saturday, it's not convenient, even if you live nearby and work downtown.
DavidH
Senior Member
Metrolinx owns the GO concourses - outright via strata rights, not just a lease - which means that the detailed design of the York Concourse was entirely up to them. In addition, they also own the train shed, the Union Station Rail Corridor, and their office space within the building.
Does anyone know whether they also own the teamways? If ownership hasn't been transferred to Metrolinx, the teamways will belong to the City and the finishing decisions will belong to the City rather than Metrolinx.
We may simply be looking at separate decisions made by separate entities. "They" may not be the same "They" who are responsible for the concourse.
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nfitz
Superstar
St Lawrence market is very convenient if you work nearby. Easy enough to wander in during lunchtime, or better yet a break (less crowds). Looking at the clientele mid-week (at least in the winter), it's not mostly retirees.
I can't see there being much of this at Union. Perhaps a single greengrocer might do well, but I can't see there being butchers and fishmongers.
TOareaFan
Superstar
I think you are right....I believe "food market" is being used differently at Union than it is intended to be used at St. Lawrence.
One will be a food market with primarily cooked/prepared food and perhaps the odd smattering of unprepared food...the other is mostly unprepared food with a smattering of prepared food.
nfitz
Superstar
I'd assumed "food market" meant grocery store!
the lemur
Senior Member
I passed through it again just now and I suspect they may just leave it as it is. It's not intended to encourage people to hang around and aside from a few remnants of previous use (one wall near the north end has 'No Parking' stencilled on it), it seems like all the fixtures are in place: monitors, lighting, security cams, garbage bins, etc. I think the most they might to do improve it would be a coat of paint.
TOareaFan
Superstar
Honestly, I think by food market (in this setting) they are using it in the new modern, replacement for food court, meaining.
mdrejhon
Senior Member
La Marche?
RichTree?
Or a hybrid, in some cities I've visited, there's quite a few hybrid crosses between St. Lawrence Marketplace and a La Marche. One that both sells takeout containers and take-home groceries. I've seen a few of those botique/luxury hybrid foodmarkets. Kind of a Longos-style but a little more like La Marche (but more open and separate cash registers for each food station) with more premium food options.
Less farmer market, more commercial, but still botique. It could be one that is open to third party food vendors who are able to meet operating criteria (e.g. fancy type booth rather than generic farmer market booth). It could be one operating entity that sets up multiple booths, or it could be a "mega-sized" version of La Marche that is optimized to takeouts. Either way, it would probably have a distinctly different flavour than St. Lawrence Marketplace, more optimized to fast service of commuters who want to pick up quick lunch/dinner takeout on their way to/from work.
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TOareaFan
Superstar
No....I think it is intended to be a fancier version of what we commonly call a food court....that is a bunch of prepared food outlets around a variety of seating arrangements. It may include restos like marche or RichTree but it is not limited to them.
I may be wrong on this but "food market" is a term that has been co-opted to rebrand food courts as something nicer/better sounding. look at the first tenants announced....they are not "markets" they are restaurants selling burgers and chicken and the like.
Grimace
Active Member
That's not what the Toronto Life article says. It says:
"And that’s not all. With 165,000 square feet of new retail space planned at Union, “food and beverage will occupy approximately 65%” of that, according to Lawrence Zucker, President and CEO of Osmington Inc., the company responsible for leasing the city-owned retail spaces, most of them below-ground. Thirty thousand of those square feet—about the size of a floor of First Canadian Place—will consist of a St. Lawrence–type fresh market."
So 65% of 165,000 square feet (about 100,000 square feet) will be food and beverage, and 30,000 of those square feet will be a St. Lawrence style fresh market.
The people keep referring to Grand Central as inspiration, so I read this as suggesting Grand Central market, which is a St. Lawrence style fresh market with butchers, fishmongers, patisseries, green grocer, chocolate vendor, etc.
grey
Senior Member
Hahah, yeah let me just take this 3 kg of raw fish back to the office kitchenette...
LNahid2000
Senior Member
There are many times when I have gone grocery shopping on my lunch, taken my perishable groceries back to the office fridge, and then taken my groceries home at the end of the day. A lot more convenient than going after work when I have free time on my lunch.
nfitz
Superstar
I've certainly stuck a kilo in the office fridge before. Well wrapped. Probably far less scary than some of the long-forgotten lunches growing in there ...
If your after bread products, there won't be any left by early afternoon - so morning or lunchtime trips are a must.
UrbanAffair
Senior Member
Question about Union Station's exterior walls: Is this work complete in regards to restoring the walls? Does anyone know if they will still wash them later? They look good, don't get me wrong, but kind of dirty still at the same time. Not sure how they would be washed, but wondering if this is to come still.