The long-anticipated move of the Saturday Farmers' Market into the new St Lawrence Market North building is set for April 5, marking the return of fresh food and local vendors to their newly constructed home at Front and Jarvis streets in Downtown Toronto. The five-storey civic building, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners for the City of Toronto, replaces the previous single-storey brutalist market building from the 1960s with a modern, multi-purpose facility that adds courts and other civic functions to the upper floors. Since UrbanToronto's last update in August, 2023 which focused on exterior progress, interior work has now brought the project virtually to completion. Today, we take a quick look inside, with the second floor now accessible by the public as fitting out continues.

The five-storey structure is marked the its bright orange fins over the steel-framed glass facade and its double-hip roofline – one over each of the structure’s two barn-like volumes separated by an open atrium space. Concrete pilotis at grade support the floors above.

Looking northwest to St Lawrence Market North, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Lachlan Holmes

Venturing inside, we look through the atrium to the glazed north wall and its view of the buff-brick south wall of adjacent St Lawrence Hall. Within the atrium, blue-painted steel beams support the upper-level walkways that line the interior, with orange-painted bridges spanning the building’s west and east sides. The walkways are bordered by glass balustrades. Below, an orange metal staircase descends to the Market Hall level, flanked by concrete-clad pilotis.

Looking north towards St Lawrence Hall, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

The east side's second floor houses the Court Services Counter, while the third floor contains the Toronto Police Service offices, and the fourth and fifth floors accommodate courtrooms and related facilities. The ground floor reveals the Market Hall with movable tables arranged in a temporary pattern. 

The east wing, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

Meanwhile, the west side's third floor accommodates City of Toronto Court Services, with large window onto the walkway. The fourth floor includes a series of courtrooms and early resolution rooms, while the fifth floor contains additional courtrooms. The red brick of the south market building can be seen through the glass wall on the opposite side of Front Street.

The west wing, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

This seating area, located in the southwest corner of the east side, overlooks Front and Jarvis streets. The orange aluminum fins, seen through the floor-to-ceiling glazing, cast shadows across the polished terrazzo floors; the fins are meant to cut down on solar heat gain. Above, the ceiling features linear metal baffles. The seating area is outfitted with black perforated chairs and tables.

Seating area, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

Looking along the second-floor walkway, we see the steel framework and colour palette of orange and blue with exposed corrugated metal decking forming the underside of each walkway. 

Second floor walkway, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

At the north end of the Market Hall, a section of the historic 'porcupine drain' from the earliest market building on the site is showcased, preserved beneath a glass floor panel. This stone drainage tunnel, dating back to 1831, was uncovered during archaeological investigations. The exposed stonework, illuminated by recessed LED lighting, reveals the drain’s distinctive jagged profile, which earned it the 'porcupine' nickname. Surrounding the display, stainless steel stanchions with tensioned cables protect the drain while offering visibility.

Porcupine Drain, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr

With interior fit-out entering its final stages, the 25.3m-tall North Building continues to progress towards its various openings this year.

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.​​​