Toronto's futuristic new $128 million market building is finally about to open

Toronto has waited a quarter-century for the new St. Lawrence Market North Building to open at the corner of Front and Jarvis, and after decades of planning and construction, an opening date has finally been announced for the long-awaited landmark.

A notice posted in the window of the new building at 92 Front Street East offers the first public confirmation of an opening date following a never-ending cycle of waiting, planning, construction and even more waiting.

The notice informs the public that the opening is now just a few weeks away.

"We're Moving! Starting April 5, find the Saturday Farmers' Market in the new St. Lawrence Market North Building at 92 Front St. E. Fresh food, local vendors, same great market!"

Yay, ! The new St. Lawrence Market north market opens April 5
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The new five-storey replacement building for the North Market building will provide a permanent space for the Farmer's Market (housed in a temporary tent since 2016) on its ground floor, while the upper floors will house new Toronto Court Services courtrooms and administrative offices.

Market tenants and patrons have endured years of construction and delays, while cost overruns have swelled the project budget to a staggering $128 million.

The City of Toronto first floated plans to replace the 1967-built North Market building on the northwest corner of Front and Jarvis all the way back in 1998, and it would be another dozen years between that late '90s conception stage and the crowning of a winner in an international design competition in 2010.

It wasn't until the mid-2010s that the process finally got underway with the demolition of the former North Market, followed by unexpected archaeological excavations that would drive up project costs and add delays to the construction timeline.

The St. Lawrence Market North building features a design from London-based Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners — helmed by legendary British-Italian architect Richard Rogers — working alongside Toronto-based Adamson Associate Architects.

That design would undergo substantial revisions in the following years, straying from the original vision. Project visionary Richard Rogers would pass away in 2021, ultimately never seeing the design come to fruition.

But after lots of waiting, the City finally announced this past December that the building would open in spring 2025.

At that time, the City stated that "staff have been transitioning to the new North Market building. In the spring of 2025, the new court and administration offices are expected to start public operations and events for the North Market will begin."

That vague date is now confirmed to be April 5, 2025.

The temporary tent that has housed the market for years will soon be vacated. A City representative told us earlier this year that Toronto "is currently developing next steps for the temporary market structure at St. Lawrence Market, including preparation of the existing lot for public use once the structure is removed."

City representatives say that the initial planning of these next steps is expected to be complete by late spring, meaning the structure could come down in the months that follow.