Toronto's brand-new $128M market building might end up costing millions more

The saga of Toronto's new St. Lawrence Market North Building just won't end, as the $128 million landmark that took a quarter century to realize is now at the centre of a heated back-and-forth legal battle between the City and the contractors that slowly brought the plan to life.

Opened in April 2025, the new market building at the northwest corner of Front and Jarvis faced numerous delays and cost overruns, and the joint venture of contractors (known as BAJV) responsible for building the new market claims to have incurred "damages and extra costs incurred during construction," and is suing the City for close to $83 million, citing delays on the project for the added costs.

But the City is firing back with a countersuit of its own, filing a Nov. 6, 2025 Statement of Defence calling the claims "exaggerated, excessive and too remote for recovery," while asserting that "the City is not responsible to pay any further compensation to BAJV."

The City argues that the BAJV contributed to the very delays they seek damage for, alleging actions including "failure to follow and update construction schedules, failure to properly manage and coordinate the work of subcontractors, and other failures to manage and perform the work in accordance with the contract."

Further to their claim that the contractors are trying to pull a fast one, the City is saying that the claimants are the ones who should actually be handing over money, and is seeking $8,307,084.19, plus HST, in damages from BAJV.

If the countersuit fails and the City is held liable for the damages sought by BAJV, the already-ballooned project cost of $128 million could increase to a staggering $211 million.

@blogto After 25 years, St. Lawrence Market's farmers market finally has a permanent home in Toronto 🥗🧑‍🌾 #Fyp #Toronto #StLawrenceMarket #FarmersMarket #NorthBuilding ♬ original sound - blogTO

It's a fitting epilogue for a building that inched its way towards the finish line, accumulating costs along the way.

The latest drama for the market building at 92 Front St. E. follows decades of planning and construction, numerous delays and an ever-increasing price tag that tested the public's collective patience.