- A four-minute walk from Union Station gets you to the desk at 1 University Avenue.
- The Assembly Hall runs its own weekly schedule: a lunch and learn one week, a networking mixer the next.
- The community team is on site five days a week, and you notice them mostly in the small emergency that never turns into a bigger one.
- One membership, from a single Day Pass to All Access, covers this building and four more across Toronto, so you’re never locked into one address.
Toronto’s Financial District runs on a particular kind of rhythm. Bank towers, courthouses, and law firms stack up along Bay and King, the PATH hums underneath all of it, and the sidewalks are busy with people who have somewhere specific to be. It’s the part of the city where business gets done, and it wears that reputation comfortably.
On the north side of Front Street and steps from Union Station sits 1 University Ave. WeWork occupies part of this Class A high-rise, close enough to the water that the views alone are worth the commute.
So what does a working day inside it look like?
Getting to 1 University Avenue
Let’s start with the obvious: you have to get there first.
Union Station is a four-minute walk away, which puts GO Transit, VIA Rail, the UP Express, and the subway all within the same short stroll. If you’re coming from nearby Mississauga, Oakville, or anywhere along the GO corridor, you step off the train, and you’re at your desk before your coffee would have gone cold. Flying in? The UP Express connects Pearson to Union Station in under half an hour, so arriving with a suitcase in tow is no great ordeal.
The numbers back up what the map suggests: a Walk Score of 100, a Rider Score of 100, and a Bike Score of 88. Anything in the 90s earns Walk Score’s “Walker’s Paradise” and “Rider’s Paradise” labels. This address holds two perfect hundreds.
Stepping inside
Floor-to-ceiling windows do most of the work here, pulling daylight deep into the space and framing Lake Ontario in the distance. Light like that changes the texture and mood of a long day.
The espresso bar handles the rest of your arrival. Drop your bag, pour a coffee, and settle in. The pantry is stocked throughout the day with micro-roasted coffee, filtered water, and tea, so refills never turn into an errand.
Finding a spot that fits the task
Your workday is dynamic, so your workspace should be, too.
A confidential client call goes in a phone booth, door closed, with nobody to eavesdrop. A founder pulling two teammates together for forty minutes books a meeting room. Someone who just needs three uninterrupted hours finds a quiet corner of the common area and disappears into it.
There’s also a wellness room, available for anyone who needs a few private minutes in the middle of a workday. It’s the kind of room you don’t think about until the day you need it, and then you’re glad the space has one.
By mid-afternoon, you need a brief pause in your workday. The common areas are designed like comfortable lounges rather than waiting rooms, which gives you somewhere to land that isn’t in front of a screen. Ten minutes with a coffee and a different view is often all it takes. You go back to your desk sharper, more focused, and power through the rest of your day.
Lunch, lobbies, and everyone in between
Finding lunch in the Financial District is easy, too. Union Station’s food hall is across the street, and the surrounding blocks are dense with places to grab something quick or sit down if the day allows it.
On your walk back, you’ll probably share an elevator with someone, ask what they’re working on, and even end up trading notes on a problem you’ve been chewing on for weeks. Freelancers and founders share this address with companies fifty times their size. Nobody scheduled that conversation, and nobody could have. It just comes with working from 1 University Ave.
What’s happening this week
Not every day here runs on your own calendar alone. Down the hall from the wellness room, the Assembly Hall keeps its own schedule: a dedicated event space for large gatherings. Check the community board on any given week, and there’s usually something to attend: practical workshops, a lunch and learn with a member, a networking mixer that turns a name you’ve only seen on a calendar invite into a meaningful conversation.
You don’t need to clear your afternoon for it. Pop in for the twenty minutes between your own meetings and leave when you need to. Nobody’s tracking attendance. Just know that work and connection can happen both at your desk and in the room next door.
Someone’s always around to help
The community team at 1 University offers top-notch hospitality. They’re there when a keycard is lost or a printer jams right before a client meeting. Reception, concierge, and security keep the front of house running, while tech services cover the Wi-Fi so an IT issue doesn’t ruin your afternoon.
Business-class printers and office supplies are also on-site so the day a contract needs signing and scanning, you won’t have to leave the building.
Diverse memberships, diverse addresses
How you get in depends entirely on how often you need to be there.
WeWork On Demand is a good introduction to working at 1 University: book a desk for a day and see whether the building suits you before committing to anything. For anyone who wants this to become a routine, WeWork All Access covers a coworking booking a day across hundreds of locations. If privacy is what you or your team need, a dedicated office will be your best bet.
And if this particular building isn’t your closest option, Toronto has four more. There’s 100 University Ave just up the street, 357 Bay Street inside a 1922 landmark, 240 Richmond St W near Osgoode, and 1050 King St W out in King West Village. Same membership, different workspace, whichever suits the day and your calendar.
