St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence is a downtown neighbourhood bounded by Yonge Street, Front Street, Parliament Street and the rail embankment to the south; local associations use a wider area reaching north to Queen Street East. Much of the land was once part of Toronto's harbour, filled in for port and industry; it was the first industrial area of the town of York.

By the 1960s the industry had declined. In the 1970s the City turned the area into a planned residential neighbourhood, influenced by the urbanist Jane Jacobs; parts were only completed in the 1990s.

• St. Lawrence Market is the neighbourhood's focal point for food shopping.
• The Esplanade runs through the middle and is lined with restaurants, cafés and hotels.
• David Crombie Park (about 1.6 ha, at 131 The Esplanade) forms the green "spine" of the neighbourhood and is also a walking route towards the Distillery District.
• Historic buildings such as the Gooderham (Flatiron) Building, converted former warehouses and performing arts venues, including the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and Meridian Hall.

The neighbourhood is often cited as an example of a mixed-income, mixed-use, walkable community.

• Subway: King station (Line 1) is at the western edge on Yonge Street, and Union station (Line 1, GO Transit and UP Express to Pearson Airport) is a short walk west.
• Streetcars: the 504A King streetcar runs along King Street to the Distillery Loop, and the 503 Kingston Rd streetcar also uses King Street.
• Ontario Line (planned): a Distillery District station at King and Berkeley streets is planned on the Ontario Line, which Metrolinx expects to open in the early 2030s.

The planned neighbourhood mixes subsidized and market housing, mostly rowhouses and low-rise apartments, along with lofts in converted older warehouses.

There is no official rent figure for St. Lawrence alone; Statistics Canada's experimental data put the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Toronto at $2,660 a month in the first quarter of 2026. Ontario's rent increase guideline (2.1% in 2026, 1.9% in 2027) does not apply to units first occupied after November 15, 2018, which includes many newer condominium rentals.

David Crombie Park provides open space in the middle of the neighbourhood, and the Distillery District is within walking distance. Check your designated schools with the TDSB's Find your school tool.