Adagio Condos, 771 Yonge St: Menkes Tower Over an 1883 Storefront

Adagio is a brand-new Menkes tower at Yonge and Asquith, one block north of Bloor, and its most interesting feature is the oldest thing on the site: an 1883 brick storefront that was kept and restored at its base. It is a compact-suite building in one of the most central spots in the city, registered in 2025, which means every buyer here is still working with a young corporation and no resale history to speak of. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Victorian storefront holding up a 2025 tower

The low brick building at the foot of Adagio is Langston House, built in 1883 and listed by the city as a surviving example of a late-1800s commercial building. Before construction, many Torontonians knew it as the painted white building with a Kitchen Stuff Plus on the ground floor and a language school upstairs.

During construction the house was kept and folded into the tower’s podium, and the plan called for stripping the white paint to bring back the original red brick. Its symmetrical front and gable roof are typical of Toronto’s first generation of commercial buildings. The non-heritage building next door, a former Tim Hortons at 767 Yonge, was demolished.

This matters to you in two ways. It gives the building a street presence that most new towers on Yonge do not have, and it means part of the base is a heritage structure, so ask how responsibility for its masonry and windows is set out in the declaration and the reserve fund plan.

The ballet connection and the lobby

Menkes leans into a dance theme. The lobby uses polished black marble with white veining, brushed brass arches and velvet furniture in rose and deep green, with tutu-shaped light fixtures overhead. The centrepiece is an archival photograph of Boris Volkoff’s dancers, a nod to the history the developer says inspired the address.

Whether you love that or not is a matter of taste, but it is a distinctive arrival sequence in a part of Yonge Street where many lobbies feel interchangeable. It also signals that the money went into shared spaces at grade rather than a long list of tower amenities.

Boris Volkoff was a Russian-born dancer and teacher who became one of the founders of professional ballet in Toronto, and the name Adagio, a ballet term for slow, controlled movement, fits the theme. It is a better story than most marketing names, and it ties the building to Yonge Street’s past rather than to an invented lifestyle.

Layouts: compact, and priced by the foot

Menkes offered studios, one-bedrooms, one-bedroom-plus-dens, two-bedrooms, two-bedroom-plus-dens and three-bedrooms. Current listings show the full spread: a studio under 500 sq ft, a two-bedroom-plus-den in the 800s and a three-bedroom in the 900s. Those are efficient sizes, and the three-bedrooms in particular are tight by family standards.

Developer specifications list engineered quartz counters, custom cabinetry, porcelain tile in the bathrooms, energy-efficient windows and individually controlled heating and cooling. Finishes vary by suite type, so compare the actual unit to the original purchase agreement schedule rather than to the brochure.

Parking is not listed in the information I could find, and in a building this central with suites this size, many units will have been sold without a space. If you need one, confirm in writing that a deeded or exclusive-use space transfers with the unit.

What daily life at Yonge and Asquith is like

You are a block north of Yonge and Bloor, with Yorkville’s shops and restaurants a short walk west and the Toronto Reference Library just across Asquith. The data panel on this page covers transit and food in detail; the short version is that very few addresses in the city are this central.

The trade-off is noise and activity. Yonge Street is busy at all hours, and the stretch from Bloor to Davenport has seen a wave of new towers, so expect construction nearby for years. Suites facing Asquith or higher up will usually be quieter than low floors on Yonge.

For a car-free owner, this location is close to ideal: groceries, the library, Yorkville, the Rosedale ravines and the subway are all within an easy walk, and the panel on this page has the specifics. If you drive every day, Yonge Street traffic and the cost of a space are worth pricing in before you fall for the address.

Pricing: what new Yonge and Bloor space costs

With registration only in May 2025, Adagio does not yet have a meaningful building average price per square foot. Active listings when I checked asked from under $500,000 to about $1.2 million, which works out to roughly $1,000 to $1,300 per square foot across the sizes listed.

For context, nearby newer towers trade at similar levels: 8 Cumberland averages about $1,170 per square foot and 1 Yorkville about $1,145. Adagio’s heritage base and boutique lobby do not command a big premium over those on resale; size, floor and exposure matter more.

Maintenance on active listings works out to about $1.08 per square foot, higher than the roughly $0.89 to $0.91 at 8 Cumberland and 1 Yorkville. Ask exactly what the fee covers. In a first-year building the budget is the developer’s estimate, and fees often move once the board has a year of real costs. There were also six suites for rent against three for sale, which tells you many owners here are investors.

Building specifications

Amenities at Adagio Condos

The amenity package is practical rather than resort-style: a gym, a co-working lounge, a party and dining room, a pet spa and a terrace with a fireplace and barbecues. There is no pool, which keeps a lid on long-term operating costs and suits a building of small suites.

Jatin’s honest take on Adagio Condos

Adagio Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yorkville, the Annex and Midtown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.