University Plaza, 140 Simcoe St: A Mid-Size Condo Between Queen and King

University Plaza is the kind of building people walk past on Simcoe Street without noticing, and that is part of its appeal. It is a 16-storey, 320-suite condominium from 2005, close enough to University Avenue and the office core that most owners and tenants walk to work, with a rooftop deck and penthouse-level suites that taller neighbours don’t give you at this price point. It rarely has more than one or two suites for sale, so knowing it before you need it helps. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A mid-size building in a district of towers

At 16 storeys, University Plaza is short by the standards of this part of downtown. The towers around Simcoe, Richmond and University run two and three times its height, and that changes what you are buying. You get fewer neighbours on each elevator, a building where the concierge can learn who lives there, and, on the lower floors, views that are mostly of the buildings across the street.

Plaza, the developer, built it with 320 suites over those 16 floors. That density points to the floor plans: this is predominantly a building of studios, one-bedrooms and compact two-bedrooms, with suites running from about 387 square feet at the bottom of the range to a little under 1,200 at the top. Listings use a PH prefix for the top-floor suites, and one marketing source mentions some two-storey units in the mix.

Layouts and finishes

Marketing descriptions of the building list hardwood floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, ensuite laundry and private balconies as the standard package. That was a strong spec in 2005 and is ordinary now, so expect a lot of resale suites to have been partly updated and price them on what you see, not on the original brochure.

The smallest suites are under 400 square feet. Those work as a first purchase or as a rental investment, but furniture placement is everything, and a bachelor here is a very different product from a one-bedroom-plus-den. If you are looking at a two-storey suite, walk the stairs and think about where the bed goes, how hot the upper level gets in summer and whether a sofa fits up the stairwell.

I could not find a published architect or ceiling height for the building. If ceiling height matters to you, measure it in the suite rather than trusting a listing.

Fees: what is in, what is not

condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water. Hydro is your own, and parking is not on the inclusion list. If a suite comes with a parking space or locker, ask whether it is owned with the unit, how it is described on title, and whether it carries a separate monthly charge.

Heat and cooling in the fee is useful in a building of this age. It keeps your summer bill flat, though it also means the corporation carries the cost and the eventual replacement of the central systems, which is exactly why the reserve fund study matters here.

The daily reality on Simcoe Street

The location is the point. You are a few minutes on foot from University Avenue, the Financial District and the Entertainment District, and close to the Four Seasons Centre and the theatres on King. Many residents walk to work, and the PATH network is close by for winter.

For a buyer, that location also cuts both ways on resale. The people who want this address want it for the commute, so your future buyer or tenant is likely to be another downtown worker. That is a deep pool in a normal market, and a thinner one when office attendance drops, which is worth remembering if you are buying purely as an investment.

It is also a downtown side street with offices and towers on every side. Expect construction somewhere near you most years, very little greenery right at the door, and evening activity that follows the theatre and restaurant calendar. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability, so I won’t repeat the distances.

Pricing, and why there is so little to compare

condos.ca puts University Plaza at about $817 per square foot on average. That is in line with the SoHo Metropolitan’s low-rise building at 350 Wellington, and below the roughly $840 to $875 per square foot the large CityPlace and Harbourfront towers to the south average. For a central address within walking distance of University Avenue, that is a reasonable number.

The difficulty is inventory. At the time of writing there was one suite for sale and four for rent, so I am not going to quote an asking range from a single listing. The rental count is the more telling figure: four leases to one sale suggests a building where many owners hold and rent rather than sell, which keeps resale supply thin and makes the 12-month sale record on this page more useful than whatever happens to be listed this week.

If you are buying here, expect to wait for the right suite, and be ready to move when it appears. If you are selling, the thin supply works in your favour, but the comparables you will be measured against are the CityPlace and King West towers with bigger amenity packages, so price for that.

Building specifications

Amenities at University Plaza

The package is practical rather than resort-style: a gym and sauna, a rooftop deck, party, media and meeting rooms, and 24-hour concierge. There is no pool, so if that matters to you, look at the CityPlace and Harbourfront towers instead.

Jatin’s honest take on University Plaza

University Plaza — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.