Former Toronto Coach Terminal to see apartments, plaza as part of huge redevelopment

It’s been a few years since the former Toronto Coach Terminal closed to travellers, but municipal officials have unveiled a massive redevelopment plan that will see hundreds of new apartments and other uses on the 1.3-acre site.

Located west of Bay Street and east of Chestnut Street just north of Dundas Street West, the former bus transportation hub will be home to two new purpose-built apartment rental towers.

Officials said the Kilmer Group and Tricon Residential will build 873 rental units, and 290 of the units will be classified as “affordable.”

They said the first tower at 610 Bay St. is expected to be finished in early 2029 while the larger building at 130 Elizabeth St. is set to finish in early 2030. During a news conference, a representative said they hope construction will start in late 2025.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow welcomed the new development, adding some of the apartments could provide a living option for nearby hospital workers.

“For several decades there were very, very few rental units being built,” she said, noting most of the building has been focused on condo units for sale and more rental units need to be added.

“We want to emphasize it.”

As part of the design, the old Toronto Coach Terminal bus bays and all of the main building’s heritage features will be incorporated into the new structure at Bay Street.

A rendering provided by CreateTO, the municipal corporation charged with developing City-owned assets, appeared to show commercial businesses where the buses parked.

Other features as part of the redevelopment include:

• A 23,000-square-foot Toronto Paramedic Services multi-function hub with approximately 10 to 15 vehicles, 15 staff that can be deployed anywhere in the city
• University Health Network will operate a “state-of-the-art organ repair centre” needed for liver, kidney, lung and heart transplants
• Geothermal, sustainable energy system

Where Elizabeth Street runs between the two former terminal buildings, officials said there will be a new pedestrian plaza to “create an urban oasis and incorporate a series of ‘outdoor rooms.'” A representative later said the plaza will have lush, green spaces within it.

“This is a place that has always been about connection and what is planned for the site will build on that legacy in so many more ways,” Vic Gupta, the head of CreateTO, said.

He said there aren’t any additional, net-new costs to the City of Toronto as the added value of the property through development will offset costs. Officials added the corporations building the project are getting low-cost financing assistance through CMHC.

The former Toronto Coach Terminal opened in 1931 and had art deco styling. Gray Coach Lines, Toronto Greyhound Lines and Colonial Coach Lines were among the earlier users of the facility. Eventually, GO Transit and other bus companies still operating today moved into the facility.

However, GO Transit began moving out in the 1990s and early 2000s in favour of servicing Union Station (first through roadside boarding and then through the eventual Union Station Bus Terminal). The remaining bus companies eventually joined GO Transit. The facility closed in mid-2021 as it started falling into disrepair.