Construction on a modest two-storey building at the northwest corner of Market Street and The Esplanade is nearing completion, bringing the major redevelopment efforts on Market Street by Woodcliffe Landmark Properties closer to realization. The structure, which will become a restaurant with a large patio on the pedestrianized Market Street once finished, is the last building under construction as part of the Market Street redevelopment. UrbanToronto Forum member thedeepend recently captured these images of the progress, shown below.

The new building at The Esplanade and Market Street. Photo by thedeepend.

Redevelopment has coordinated the aesthetic of Market Street. Photo by thedeepend.

Below, courses of stone i the facade line up with brick counterparts in the building to the west. Meanwhile, last season's work on the sewer along Esplanade means that the sidewalk is a mess for another year. Work resumes on the sewer when cool weather returns, and the sidewalk should be looking good next summer.

Showing the poor state of the sidewalk on The Esplanade.

The redevelopment, designed by Taylor Smyth Architects, has significantly improved the properties along the west side of Market Street between Front and The Esplanade. Once the restaurant is complete, construction will focus on improving the streetscaping to provide a more attractive setting for restaurant patios and other retail at ground level. Woodcliffe hopes that one day a more fully pedestrianized segment of Market Street - using colourful stone pavers reminiscent of the historic era of the St. Lawrence Market's founding - will come about as well. A rendering of that proposed full treatment of the street is below.

Rendering of the streetscape after redevelopment showing paving detail.

For more information on the Market Street redevelopment, visit our page in the UrbanToronto dataBase, linked below, or to join in on the discussion, choose the associated Forum thread link.