{"id":20391,"date":"2023-08-05T10:43:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T17:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/shops-filling-out-union-station-while-construction-continues-for-new-platforms\/"},"modified":"2023-08-05T10:43:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T17:43:05","slug":"shops-filling-out-union-station-while-construction-continues-for-new-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/shops-filling-out-union-station-while-construction-continues-for-new-platforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Shops Filling Out Union Station While Construction Continues for New Platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Toronto’s Union Station<\/a> has become our Sagrada Familia, a building that will seemingly never be complete, despite a photo op event during John Tory’s mayoralty that was meant to convince us otherwise. While construction has moved on to new contracts covering new areas of rebuilding, the City’s original plans in fact still remain incomplete. New openings have occurred on an irregular basis in the meantime though, and more are to come.<\/p>\n

Work to build Union Station’s South Concourse progresses, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we dig into some recent additions to the retail offerings at Union Station, a view down to the south end of the Station from the new elevated park that straddles the rail corridor at CIBC SQUARE reveals the largest of the works here currently;\u00a0 excavations of the embankment that the southernmost tracks ran on to create a new South Concourse below and new wider platforms above. Being constructed by Metrolinx<\/a> and the ONTrack Alliance<\/a>, the concourse, while providing access to the new platforms, will also connect the station’s existing York, VIA, and Bay Concourses more directly than they are now, while also connecting to the Scotiabank Arena, southern PATH network, and the Union GO Bus Terminal.<\/p>\n

Work to build Union Station’s South Concourse progresses, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

The new southern platforms, likely to be used mostly by Lakeshore line GO trains, are just the first in a series of overhauls coming to the platform layout at Union Station over the coming years. The intention is to reduce the number of tracks through the station so that platforms can be widened\u2026 and extended at the same time. In conjunction with more modern signalling and optimized track layouts coming to the rail corridor, the new layout will allow the station to handle many more people while yet feeling less crowded. This is all in anticipation of a massive increase in the number of GO trains that will serve the station as GO gradually moves to two-way all-day and electrified service on most of its lines. Combined with several more stations in Toronto, a larger GO network, better connections to TTC rapid transit lines and other transit services throughout the GTA, GO will morph from its primary role as a commuter service to a fully-fledged regional rail service.<\/p>\n

The existing platform and track layout at Union Station, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Willybru21<\/span><\/p>\n

The eventual platform and track layout at Union Station, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Willybru21<\/span><\/p>\n

The fewer but wider platforms will allow much quicker boarding and detraining of passengers, in a safer environment, with more stairs available. The extended platforms will allow double-berthing of trains, one at each end. Some narrow platforms will remain around what will become stub tracks, allowing berthing of less busy routes, such as some VIA routes serving southwestern Ontario. The changeover will take place a couple platforms at a time over several years.<\/p>\n

The Front Street Moat at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the station, most pedestrian corridors are now open and appear substantially as they will for the foreseeable future, other than that they will be lined with more and more retailers \u2014 overseen by Osmington<\/a> and curated by Beauleigh Retail Consultants<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0while wayfinding changes will occur as final sections open. Above, looking east through the sheltered ‘moat’ connection between Union subway station (to the left) and the train station (to the right). Below, the Bay Street Promenade pedestrian corridor to the south of the moat.<\/p>\n

Concourse space at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

The most recent section of hallways to open up is the area known as Union Market<\/a>, between the Union Food Court and the Bay Street Retail sections. The Market area provides simple spaces for independent retailers.<\/p>\n

The Market area at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Both food purveyors \u2014 eat in or take out \u2014 and retailers of all sorts are setting up in this section, with many still to come.<\/p>\n

Independent retailers in the Market area at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Above, the first commercial space in the East Wing is coming together as the Liberty Entertainment<\/a> builds out Blue Bovine, a steak and sushi\u00a0restaurant from the team that runs BlueBlood at Casa Loma, Cibo restaurants, Don Alfonso 1890, and the Liberty Grand at Exhibition Place.<\/p>\n

More retailers and restaurants to come at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Below the space where Blue Bovine is coming together, Union Station’s latest retail coup is a new Canadian flagship location for Kyoto-based % Arabica<\/a>, named for their commitment to premium coffee beans. With over 130 locations worldwide, the caf\u00e9s are known for their special coffee blends, matcha lattees, and sandwiches.<\/p>\n

% Arabica coffee shop at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

The company’s first Canadian location has been drawing crowds at Yorkdale Shopping Centre since it opened last December, designed as a circular, glassy space with a minimalist colour palette and clean aesthetic. The new Union Station location follows the palette and aesthetic, but offers a unique design to showcase and sell the products in.<\/p>\n

Inside % Arabica coffee shop at Union Station, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Located at the north end of the Bay Promenade section of Union Station, and beside the doors to Union subway station, % Arabica boasts a high-profile location, so put a lot into the design, hiring architect Jeremy Barbour of New York-based TackleboxArchitecture<\/a>, famous particularly for Aesop locations around the world, to create something simple but special here. The stratified and textural look here comes from an everyday building material, but used in a non-traditional way. Below, the details in micro are replicated in macro individually lit power-coated steel niches used for the display of % Arabica coffee bags, or as seen below, % branded merch.<\/p>\n

Display alcoves and wall detail at % Arabica, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbour has sheathed the walls of % Arabica in standard gypsum-based wallboard, but used it side-on instead of face-on to reference the layered shale strata of Toronto’s underpinnings, inspired by the underground location. In all, 3452 layers of gypsum wallboard were formed into 172 blocks, or tiles.<\/p>\n

Stacked Wallboard section at the beginning of the milling process, image by Digifabshop_milling<\/span><\/p>\n

The tiles of the layered wallboard were then individually milled to create varied planes across their faces, catching the light to differing degrees and creating texture through shadow.\u00a0With layers adhered together, the wallboard’s backing reads as a thin, cardboard-coloured line, imparting\u00a0notions of time and care.<\/p>\n

Stacked Wallboard section at the end of the milling process, image by Digifabshop_milling<\/span><\/p>\n

How many customers will notice the detail? Most will likely be oblivious to the work here to create the finishings, but at the same time, most should feel the subtly rich, comfortably rumpled, and inviting ambiance that is the result\u2026 which of course, is meant to put you in the best mood to enjoy % Arabica’s drinks and food, and to mirror the care that’s taken in creating them, a wholistic approach that the company applies across its offerings.<\/p>\n

The coffee bar at % Arabica coffee shop, image by Craig White<\/span><\/p>\n

More retail and food service is to come at Union Station, but the question now is which company will match the luxurious but subtle detail at % Arabica? We don’t expect this level of care taken at most shops we enter, but it’s nice to see it happen from time to time, emphasizing the value placed on the shop’s offerings, and its acknowledgement that this is a special location, in this case in the busiest transportation hub in Canada.<\/p>\n

UrbanToronto will continue to follow developments at Union Station, 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 Transportation Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.<\/p>\n

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UrbanToronto has a research service,\u00a0UrbanToronto Pro<\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area\u2014from proposal through to completion. We also offer\u00a0Instant Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n