The Vibe

Bay Street Corridor is literally the downtown core where residents rub shoulders with the high-powered suits, doctors and lawyers of Toronto. With bragging rights for some of the city’s most stunning views, easy access to transportation and close proximity to the city’s most distinguished law firms, banks and hospitals, this is the place to live for the movers and shakers of the city. Living in the gleaming glass towers of the most luxurious condominiums in town places you smack dab in the center of the city’s stunning skyline!

The Story

This vital area was the birthplace to not only the city’s core, but also many of Toronto’s most industrious immigrant communities. As part of the municipal ward of the city of Toronto, this area took on the name the Ward and became the first home to many Jewish settlers from Eastern Europe that migrated to the city in the 1890’s. As the Jewish community grew, they began to settle in the surrounding areas giving way to Italian settlers. As population growth saw the Italian community move to the west, they created one of Toronto’s most vibrant areas, Little Italy.

With ongoing construction in the area, Chinese immigrants arrived and played a major role in helping to build the downtown core. With the completion of the New City Hall many of the Chinese settlers left the Ward moving north to build another popular community, Toronto’s colourful Chinatown. 

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that developers saw the potential of the area for luxury condominiums and today development space is limited! Shiny new luxury condominiums populate the majority of the Bay Street Corridor real estate market, offering a view like no other.

The Convenience

The Bay Street Corridor is within walking distance to the Financial district, the Discovery district, the Hospital district, Toronto City Hall and many local attractions in the downtown Yonge Street area. There’s a mix of residents, investors and the professionals of tomorrow who’re attending Ryerson University and the University of Toronto.

Young professionals flock to this area for its convenience, shopping and amenities. There’s no shortage of restaurants and convenience stores that populate this area as well. You can be sure to find anything from household wares to late night snacks. For those cold wintery days, you’ve got the convenience of ducking underground, where a world of indoor shopping awaits you at Toronto’s underground PATH retail concourse. There you can connect to many shopping areas such as the Atrium on Bay, College Park and much more just waiting to be explored.

Tucked away on very quaint and highly maintained streets, you can find pockets of residential homes and townhouses, just as glamorous and alluring as their high-rise counterparts. Despite being in the middle of the city’s high-rises, the quiet green space of Queens Park offers huge trees, monuments and quiet footpaths where city weary downtown residents can often be found enjoying Tai Chi or Yoga classes on the pristine lawns. You’re also moments away from the waterfront, and a quick ferry ride to the Toronto Islands. Streetcars and mostly buses service this area, which makes it very convenient to get around the city and beyond. For the cyclist enthusiast, there’re bikes along Bay street that you can rent, and many bike racks conveniently located in the financial district, if riding your bike to work is your thing.

The Residents

The majority of those living here are singles or couples without children between the ages of 25 to 34. It’s a young and glamourous crowd where kids are rarely seen, although there are some families in the area. More than half of the residents rent here, probably because of the high price tag affixed to both the condos and the harder to find houses. Because it’s not only close to the financial district, but also two Universities, you will also find some students here, but young professionals are the clear majority who are drawn to the hard to resist lifestyle not to mention the joy of walking to work and to just about anywhere they would want to go!

The Best Part

This is home to the gleaming glass office towers and luxury condos that help make up the Toronto skyline. You’re in the heart of it with access to high class shopping, the financial district and minutes to entertainment both by foot and by TTC.

The Worst Part

This is 100 per cent city living with no relief from the bright lights and noise that make up the downtown core of Toronto. You will be fighting crowds day in and day out, other than the rare moments you might choose to go for a jog early on a Sunday morning!

The Real Estate

In 2017, real estate in this high-profile area ranged from $885,000-$3,206,000 with the average price of $2,045,500. When condos began to pop up in the 90’s, Toronto watched as ritzy buildings filled with the gleam of glass, high security and TO’s royalty added to the allure of this small area which started to rival Yorkville as the place to be. This high priced, high demand area soon became known as one of the most desirable areas in the GTA especially to the young professional crowds looking for the chance to live the dream with impressive amenities that would challenge even the most luxurious downtown hotels. Ironically, this includes valet parking in an area where many residents love the fact they can walk to work. 

The side streets hide some of the best kept secrets with a small selection of houses and townhomes that are overshadowed by their towering neighbours. Although many of these larger homes are now commercial properties, you can still find the odd home for sale as well as some rare rental opportunities above storefronts.

The Schools

As mentioned, this area is strictly business filled with office towers and condos and very little space left for anything else, including schools. Although you will find some options outside of the formal boundaries of the area, within the actual corridor you won’t find anything.