One Cole, 1 Cole St: Regent Park’s First Condo, With Sobeys Downstairs

One Cole was the first market-priced condo in the Regent Park revitalization, and for a few years it was a bet on a neighbourhood that did not exist yet. Daniels opened it in 2010 with a full-size Sobeys, a bank and a coffee shop at its base, and the area has been rebuilt around it since. Today it is one of the better-value ways to own east of Jarvis, if you understand the fee. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The building that started the new Regent Park

Regent Park was built after the Second World War as a large public housing community with almost no private retail. Its long redevelopment, led by Toronto Community Housing with Daniels as the development partner, replaced the old blocks in phases with a mix of rental, social housing and market condominiums. One Cole was the first market condo to finish.

That timing matters for buyers today. Early purchasers took a risk on the area and were rewarded with low prices; owners now live next to a much more complete neighbourhood than the one they bought into. UrbanToronto noted that before the redevelopment, the area had no large grocery store or bank. One Cole’s ground floor brought both.

Two blocks, townhomes and a sky park

The building is not a single tower. It is a 19-storey tower and a nine-storey block, with townhomes along the quieter north side. The City of Toronto gave it an urban design award in the tall residential category, and the jury singled out how the north-side massing steps down to a residential scale next to the new townhouses.

The best amenity is outdoors and above the street: an elevated park of about 21,500 square feet on the podium roof, continuing Regent Park’s tradition of open space. Condos.ca also notes that the building won a Green Toronto Design Award in 2010, and the project is listed with the Canada Green Building Council as registered under LEED Canada for New Construction at the Gold level.

If green performance is part of why you are buying, ask the corporation what certification was ultimately achieved and how the systems have been maintained. A 2010 green building is only as good as its last fifteen years of upkeep.

The mix of a tower, a lower block and townhomes also means suites in different parts of the complex live quite differently. Townhome and low-block owners trade height for a quieter, more residential feel and easier access to the street, while tower suites trade on light and views. Price them as separate products, even though they share one corporation.

A grocery store in the building

The retail podium is what sets One Cole apart from most east-end condos. A full-size Sobeys anchors the base, with a bank, a coffee shop and a phone store reported alongside it when the building opened. Doing your weekly shop without crossing a street is a daily convenience people underestimate until they have it.

It also has costs. A busy grocery store means delivery trucks, early-morning loading and foot traffic at the corner. Suites facing Dundas or Parliament on the lower floors will feel that more than suites higher up or on the north side. See the suite at different times of day.

Retail tenants can change, so treat the current store line-up as today’s picture, not a promise. The commercial units are usually owned or leased separately from the residential corporation; the status certificate will explain how shared costs are split.

Layouts and who lives here

Suites run from about 435 square feet to roughly 1,275, so the building is mostly studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, with a smaller number of larger plans and the townhomes. It is a practical building rather than a showpiece: efficient plans, mid-height floors and views that improve sharply above the surrounding mid-rises.

The later Daniels buildings nearby, such as One Park West and the One Park Place towers, are the natural comparison. They are newer and in some cases closer to the central park, and they generally ask more per square foot. One Cole’s argument is a lower entry price, a building with a longer track record you can actually examine, and the grocery store downstairs.

Around it, Regent Park now has a large central park, an aquatic centre, an arts and cultural centre and a steady pipeline of new buildings in the later phases. The panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks in detail.

Price per square foot and the fee

One Cole averages about $803 per square foot, which sits below the newer towers in Regent Park’s later phases and well below buildings closer to Yonge. For a 2010 Daniels building with parking in the fee, that is a reasonable entry point to downtown ownership.

Fees across current listings work out to about $1.03 per square foot. That looks high until you read the inclusions: heat, air conditioning, water and parking are all covered, along with common elements and insurance. In a building where you pay heat, cooling and parking separately, a $0.75 fee can end up costing you more.

At the time of writing there were four active listings asking from $339,900 to $749,000, from a studio to a two-plus-den, with monthly fees from $406 to $833. One suite was listed for lease. Ask whether a specific suite actually has a parking space, because the inclusion only helps you if the unit comes with one.

Building specifications

Amenities at One Cole

The amenity list is short, but the elevated park is the kind of outdoor space most downtown buildings cannot match, and guest suites help if family visits often. There is no pool here, which is part of why the fee stays reasonable given everything it covers.

Jatin’s honest take on One Cole

One Cole — 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.