289 Sumach Street Lofts: Ten Homes in the 1890 Women’s Medical College

289 Sumach Street is a building with a real place in Toronto history: it was the Ontario Medical College for Women, built in 1890, when women had very few places to train as doctors. Today it is ten loft suites with exposed brick, posts and beams, and it is run by the owners themselves. Units come up rarely, and when one does, the questions you ask about a self-managed heritage building matter as much as the finishes. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The Ontario Medical College for Women

The building opened as the Ontario Medical College for Women in 1890, at a time when women had very few routes into medicine in Ontario. Its graduates went on to practise at the Women’s College Hospital and Dispensary, which opened in 1911 in a small house on Seaton Street because most hospitals still excluded women doctors from their staff.

The Cabbagetown South Heritage Conservation District, adopted by the City in 2005, lists 289 Sumach as a designated property under the name Ontario Women’s Medical College. In practice, that means the exterior is protected, and changes to windows, doors, masonry or the roofline will need heritage approval.

For an owner, that protection works both ways. It safeguards the character that makes the building special, and it can make exterior repairs slower and more expensive because materials and methods need to suit a heritage building.

That history is also why the building looks the way it does. It was designed as a public institution, not a warehouse, so it has more formal brickwork and proportions than the factory lofts nearer Queen and King. Few buildings in the city let you live inside a piece of Ontario’s medical history.

Brick, beams and catwalks inside a Victorian institution

The interior was reconfigured into ten private homes in the 1980s, and the corporation was registered in 1985. The Globe and Mail described one second-floor suite with original exposed brick walls, posts and beams and wood ceilings, and a sky-lit staircase leading up to a catwalk that splits the upper level into a fireside living wing and a dining and kitchen wing.

That suite was about 1,500 square feet, while condos.ca shows a single size of 954 square feet in its data. With ten suites carved out of an old institutional building, sizes and layouts vary a lot, so do not rely on a building-wide figure. Ask for the floor plan and the registered area of the suite you are considering.

Expect the quirks that come with a conversion of this age: rooms shaped by the original walls, stairs inside many suites and windows placed for a college rather than a condo. For many buyers those quirks are exactly the point.

A self-managed building of ten owners

This building has no property management company. Condos.ca lists it as self-managed, and the Globe described very low turnover. In a self-managed corporation, the owners themselves handle the budget, contractors, insurance renewals and the reserve fund, usually through a small volunteer board.

That can keep fees down and decisions quick when owners work well together. It also means the quality of the records depends on the volunteers. Before you buy, read the minutes and the reserve fund study, and ask who keeps the books, who arranges repairs and how the board handles disagreements.

The Globe noted suites with in-suite laundry, a locker and parking in a garage at the back of the building, and parking is listed among the fee inclusions. Confirm that each of those comes with the specific suite.

Insurance deserves special attention in a heritage building. Ask for the corporation’s current insurance certificate and whether the coverage reflects the cost of rebuilding with heritage-appropriate materials. Also ask whether the board has a written plan for the next major repair, and how it intends to fund it.

The edge of Cabbagetown, by Riverdale Park

Sumach Street runs through the eastern edge of Cabbagetown, near Riverdale Park and the Don Valley. The streets around the building are lined with Victorian houses, many of them in the same heritage district. It is one of the quietest residential pockets in downtown Toronto.

Parliament Street’s shops and restaurants are a short walk west, and the Regent Park revitalization to the south has added new services in recent years. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, parks and nearby food.

If you are moving from a tower, expect a different rhythm. There is no lobby or concierge, deliveries arrive the way they would at a house, and your neighbours are the nine other owners you will meet at the annual meeting. For most buyers drawn to this building, that is part of the appeal.

Pricing: rare listings, thin data

Condos.ca shows an average of about $1,047 per square foot here. With ten suites and sales that happen only every so often, I treat that as a loose guide. It does tell you that buyers have been willing to pay a premium for heritage character in this location.

Nothing is currently listed for sale or for lease, so I have no current asking range to give you. When a suite comes up, compare it with other heritage lofts in Cabbagetown and Corktown and with Cabbagetown townhouses of similar size, not only with condos.

With so few trades, an appraisal can be a challenge. If you are financing, talk to your lender early and expect the appraiser to lean on comparable lofts in nearby buildings. A strong offer here is about knowing the building, not chasing an average.

Fees include common elements, water, building insurance and parking. Heat and hydro are not on the listed inclusions, so ask for a year of utility bills; tall old rooms can be costly to heat. For recent sold data, see the panel or my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 289 Sumach Street Lofts

Shared facilities are limited to a rear parking garage and a security system, with barbecues and pets permitted. The building itself, and in some suites a private terrace, is the amenity.

Jatin’s honest take on 289 Sumach Street Lofts

289 Sumach Street Lofts — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.