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1K Union Station Revitalization Marks Decade Since Bay Concourse Closure
Ten years ago Saturday, or August 16, 2015, the Bay Concourse at Toronto’s Union Station closed its doors, ending decades of use as one of the city’s busiest transit halls, beginning its journey to become… one of the city’s busiest transit halls once again, albeit in a much improved and dramatically altered state. Marking the anniversary, UrbanToronto Forum contributor WB62 found a video walkthrough from that final day of operation, posting screenshots from it alongside photos he recently took to provide modern-day comparisons, offering a side-by-side look at how the station has changed.
The closure was part of the City of Toronto–led Union Station revitalization, designed by a team including NORR Architects & Engineers Limited, EVOQ Architecture Inc., and Zeidler Architecture, working in collaboration with Metrolinx. Taking place while GO passengers used the brand-new-at-the-time York Concourse instead, behind temporary walls the multi-phase program expanded concourse capacity, restored heritage spaces, and created new retail and PATH connections. Reopened in 2021, the Bay Concourse is barely recognizable but better than ever, even while ongoing platform and concourse upgrades under Metrolinx’s Union Station Enhancement Project continue to reshape the country’s busiest station.
Looking east along the Bay Street moat in 2015, access into Union Station from the TTC Union subway station was via a wide exterior stairway and narrow doors set into Union Station’s heritage facade. A decade later, the moat has been enclosed under a steel-and-glass canopy, creating a bright, weather-protected space over a newly accessible pedestrian hall, gently sloping from the subway station down into a new lowered floor in the train station. The space now offers more spacious circulation with many more doors into the new concourse and its exapnded retail area. Original masonry remains behind a new bridge.
In its pre-revitalization state, the Bay Street Concourse was a dim, low-ceilinged passage with aging finishes, fluorescent lighting, and crowded circulation routes. Now, the ceiling height has been increased, lighting upgraded with continuous LED strips and pot lights, and circulation paths widened to handle greater volumes. The concourse is directly above the new lowered retail level, with connection to other concourses, market areas, and the new food court.
The westward view along the Front Street Promenade shows fast-food outlets under a gap-marred drop ceiling, with narrow ramps and stairways feeding toward the VIA concourse. Today, the rebuilt promenade is anchored by a grand stair and paired escalators, framed by glass, steel, and stone finishes. Natural light filters down through the new glass atrium, while improved wayfinding directs passengers toward trains and PATH connections.
The older Bay Concourse, seen here looking south, was marked by exposed ducts. In the rebuilt concourse, the closest thing to the same vantage point is from a new floor above, revealing ceilings with integrated lighting, modernized columns, and large-format digital departure boards that improve clarity and circulation. Escalators and stairs now connect directly to the new retail level below, dispersing foot traffic more effectively.
The Bay Concourse, before its closure, was characterized by exposed utilities. In its rebuilt form, the concourse has been modernized with clean wall treatments, integrated lighting, and digital departure boards. Wider circulation paths, barrier-free access, and direct connections to the retail level below connect the space with the wider station.
In its pre-revitalization condition, the east-facing view of the Bay Concourse showed a hall with exposed ductwork leading toward the former Air Canada Centre entrance. Structural columns have been reclad, and PRESTO machines are seen to the left and right.
Before the rebuild, the Bay Concourse connection to what was then the Air Canada Centre featured bare walls, exposed pipes, and dim lighting. The revitalization has transformed this area with expansive waiting areas featuring seating integrated around columns, while prominent signage now directs passengers toward platforms, the PATH, and what is now Scotiabank Arena.
More scenes from the station can be found in @WB62’s posts in the thread, here.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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