About the Financial District
• The Financial District is Toronto’s ground zero for law firms, investment banks and the movers and shakers than give Bay Street its reputation. From blue suits to big bucks you’ll find it all here. Home to the TSX, Canada’s most prominent stock exchange, The Financial District has the tall towers, the power lunch spots and the private clubs to give any Bay Street boy a sense of worth.
• Toronto’s Financial District is actually quite compact and walkable, even in inclement weather. That’s because of the “PATH” – 27 km (16 miles) of interconnecting passageways under the streets that feature more than 1,200 stores and services. Street entrances to the subterranean walkway are indicated with “PATH” signage.
• Located right downtown, the financial district is now becoming not only a place to work but also a place to live and play. Toronto’s Entertainment, Fashion, and Financial districts are all located within close proximity of one another.
• The skyline is rapidly changing from the current landscape of shimmering office and business towers to several new developments set to rise well above Toronto’s current cast of skyscrapers. Included among these are several 5 star hotel condominiums one of which is the Toronto Shangri-La starting at $1m for it’s smallest offering.
About the Fashion District
• The Fashion District is the name given to the area of Downtown Toronto around the intersections of Queen/Spadina, Spadina /King and King/Bathurst Streets which was the heart of Canada’s garment industry until the early 1990s. Many of these shop worn buildings are finding new life as trendy loft condominium projects and funky office space for the media services, high-tech communications and graphic industries.
• Once known as an area is known for having stores that sell clothes straight from the manufacturers, the area was formerly home to many clothing manufacturing businesses which have now sought cheaper rents in the northwest end of the city. The stretch of Queen from Spadina to Bathurst immediately west of Spadina still contains the remnants of the textile industry with a great many fabric shops.
• No longer the hippest address in town, the original Queen West is now a retail strip fronting global brands like Zara, H&M, Lululemon, Urban Outfitters and the Gap mixed with sneaker shops with a few longtime indie favourites such as John Fluevog Shoes that continue to flourish despite sky-rocketing rents. Still worth visiting, there are still many diverse restaurants and quirky independent shops.
• Further west towards Bathurst, Queen starts to feel more like a residential neighbourhood, with a few cafes and grocery stores. This stretch is due to undergo significant revitalization, as a large parking lot at the corner of Portland Street is being developed into a mix of retail and residential units and a burnedout stretch of street further west is rebuilt in the spirit of what was lost.
• Residential lofts, the downtown condominium and town home building boom, and the massive redevelopment currently underway at the former railway lands have now made it possible for many more people to live, work and play in this urban neighbourhood.
About the Entertainment District
• The Toronto Entertainment District is an area of downtown is concentrated around King Street West between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue. It is home to theatres and performing arts centres, Toronto’s four major-league sports teams, and an array of cultural and family attractions.
• Toronto has emerged as the world’s third-largest centre for English-language theatre, behind only London (West End theatre) and New York (Broadway theatre).”
• With a number of hotel brands it is an urban neighbourhood packed with an array of restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
• The area also has a vibrant business community located in modern office towers as well as transformed and preserved historic manufacturing warehouses, office lofts and artists’ studios.
• The cultural richness of the Toronto Entertainment District is immediately striking. It is an area with layers of history and experience. It is a centre for nightlife, dining, live entertainment and film, professional sports, workplaces, and living. Key to the District’s assets is its enviable location: ringed by the Financial District, the waterfront, Union Station, Spadina Avenue and the historic Queen Street West commercial strip.
• Former warehouses, relics of the industrial heritage of the King-Spadina area, in large part have set the tone for a significant area in the District. Former factory and railway buildings are now loft offices, studios and gallery spaces, restaurants and entertainment venues. The less known underlay to this industrial heritage is a history of grand residences and public structures, including the former location of the parliament buildings.
• What were once empty lots and surface parking areas are increasingly being built up with new condominium and office towers. Most of these new buildings combine a mix of uses, contributing to a diversity of activities in all hours and seasons.
Schools
• The Waterfront School Jr. & Sr., 635 queens Quay West, (416) 393-0684 (Public School)
• Alpha Alternative School Jr. and Sr., 20 Brant St., (416) 393-1880 (Public School)
• Oasis Alternative School, 707 Dundas St. W, (416) 393-9830(Public High School)
• Central Technical School, 725 Bathurst Street., (416) 393-0060 (Public High School)
