Bay Street Corridor

Around the Neighbourhood

Cultural landmarks: the Toronto Reference Library on the eastern edge at Yonge and Asquith, the University of Toronto’s St. George campus to the west, and the hospitals and research towers of the Discovery District running up University Avenue.

Hot local spots: this is expense-account and after-work territory more than a local strip, with Yorkville’s restaurants and the Eaton Centre both a short walk and the Financial District’s PATH lunch counters below ground.

Parks & green space: Barbara Ann Scott Park at College Park is the main local green, with Queen’s Park and the University of Toronto lawns just west and the Village of Yorkville Park to the north.

Your Typical Neighbour

The corridor is all business. Bankers, lawyers, consultants, doctors, professors and a large student population fill the towers, and children are the exception rather than the rule. The neighbourhood packs close to 17,000 people into a small footprint, the bulk of them renting (69%), and the working-age 25-to-64 share runs well above the Toronto average, which tells you most of what you need to know about the pace of life here. Incomes span widely, from students in shared units to penthouse owners in the glass towers.

Source: City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profile, Bay-Cloverhill, 2021 Census

What We Love

You can walk to your office, your gym, the subway, the hospital and the Eaton Centre without crossing a parking lot. Some of the newer towers are genuinely striking, with amenities and views that justify the price tag, and the convenience of living dead-centre downtown is the entire point. If you thrive on the hustle, this is the address for it.

What We Don't Love

The white noise of the core never fully stops, even high up. Street level is short on the everyday neighbourhood basics, so a proper grocery run or a quiet local coffee takes more effort than it should. And parking, when you insist on it, will cost you more here than almost anywhere else in the city.

Real Estate

This is a condo neighbourhood, top to bottom, from older towers to the glass-and-glitz luxury builds of the last fifteen years. The St. Regis Toronto at 325 Bay, the former Trump Tower, rebranded in 2018 and remains one of the tallest and most amenity-heavy addresses in the country. The side streets between Bay and Yonge still hold a few large old houses, but demand has converted most of them to commercial and retail use, with the odd character suite above a storefront for rent. Investors and renters make up a big share of the market here. New to the market? Start with our First-Time Buyer guide.

(Current prices and days on market appear in the live statistics block below, updated quarterly.)

Schools

There are very few schools that fall within the borders of this neighbourhood. There are options close by, but given the true nature of the career-focused and less family-oriented population, this may not come as a surprise.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Church Street Junior Public School
Lord Dufferin Junior and Senior Public School
Kensington Community School
King Edward Junior and Senior Public School
Ogden Junior Public School
Orde Street Public School
Market Lane Junior and Senior Public School
Jesse Ketchum Junior and Senior Public School
Ryerson Community School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Ryerson Community School

For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Toronto school map.

Transit

Transit is the corridor’s whole pitch. Line 1 stops at College, Dundas and Queen are all within walking distance, Line 2 runs along Bloor to the north, streetcars cover Queen, Dundas and College, and Union Station and the PATH are a short walk south. Drivers reach the Gardiner quickly via University Avenue, though between the parking cost and the congestion, most residents don’t bother with a car.