One Park West, 260 Sackville St: Regent Park’s Park-View Condo

One Park West is one of the most affordable ways to own a downtown condo with a protected park view. It was the last market condo in the first phase of the Regent Park revitalization, and it looks straight across Sackville Street at the park. The price per square foot is low; the fee per square foot is not, and that is the trade-off to understand. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Part of the Regent Park rebuild

Regent Park was rebuilt in phases starting in the mid-2000s, replacing the original public housing with a mix of market condos, rental and community housing, and new public facilities. One Park West was the last market condo of Phase One, and Daniels sold it out before completion in 2011.

The project combined market and subsidized homes, and coverage at the time noted that the two are indistinguishable from the outside. The 13-storey tower at 260 Sackville is the condo; the three-storey townhomes along Cole and Oak Streets, designed by Graziani + Corazzo, are a separate listing on this site.

Since then the neighbourhood has filled in with the six-acre park, the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, a community centre and the arts and cultural centre on Dundas Street East. Buying here is partly a bet that those amenities keep improving the area, and so far that has been the direction.

The park view, and the small suites

The building faces west across Sackville Street to the park, and coverage at completion described those views as protected. In a downtown market where most suites look into the next tower, a park-facing suite here is the one I would focus on.

To the south, the community housing tower at Dundas and Sackville sits in front of the building. South-facing suites on lower floors look at that tower, not at the skyline, so direction matters more here than in most buildings.

Suites run from about 301 square feet up to roughly 1,001 square feet. Marketing at launch described a range from studios to three-bedroom-plus-den plans, but the resale stock is mostly studios, one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens.

The very small studios are investor products. If you plan to live here, a one-plus-den around 600 to 800 square feet is where the layouts start to work, and a two-bedroom is scarce. Measure the den: in a building from this period, a den is often a hallway alcove rather than a room.

Daniels marketed the building as part of Regent Park’s green push, with clean lines, glass balconies and planting in the design. Over time, how a building like this ages depends more on maintenance than on the original spec, which is why the reserve fund matters.

Daily life in Regent Park

Dundas Street East has a full-size grocery store, a bank and coffee shops within a short walk, and the aquatic centre and park are across the street. Cabbagetown’s Parliament Street shops are a few minutes north.

This is still a neighbourhood in transition, with more phases of the revitalization being built around it. Expect construction on nearby blocks and a mix of market and community housing on every street. The panel on this page covers transit, schools and Walk Score.

What to look for when you tour

Look first at what the suite actually faces. Park-facing suites on the west side are the reason to buy here, and upper floors on that side get the longest view over the trees and toward the downtown skyline. Lower south-facing suites are the cheapest for a reason.

Next, check the amenity floor. The penthouse-level gym and theatre and the party room terrace are the only shared amenities, so see whether they have been kept up. In a building with a high fee per foot, the common areas should show where the money goes.

Finally, ask about the neighbouring phases. Regent Park’s later phases are still being planned and built around this block. The City’s planning applications site will tell you what is approved next door, and what a new tower nearby might do to your light or view.

Low price per foot, high fee per foot

One Park West averages about $701 per square foot, one of the lower figures for a 2010s condo this close to downtown. That is the main reason buyers look here.

The fee is the catch. Across current listings it averages about $1.19 per square foot, which is high for a 13-storey building with a modest amenity list. The fee does cover heat, air conditioning and water, but parking is not in the list of inclusions. On a 700-square-foot one-plus-den, the difference between $1.19 and a more typical $0.85 per square foot is about $240 a month.

Put the two numbers together before you decide. A lower purchase price helps your mortgage, but a high fee lowers what the next buyer will pay and eats into rental returns. Ask why the fee is where it is: shared systems, contracts and reserve fund contributions all play a part, and the status certificate and budget will tell you.

The building’s smaller studios also tend to be harder to resell when fees are high, because buyers in that price range are the most sensitive to monthly costs. That is another reason I steer owner-occupiers toward the larger plans.

At the time of writing there were three active listings asking from $489,888 to $699,990, from one-plus-dens to a two-bedroom, with monthly fees between $799 and $1,033. My building sold report shows what has actually traded.

Building specifications

Amenities at One Park West

The amenities are modest: a penthouse-level gym and theatre, a party room with a dining area and an outdoor terrace with skyline views. The bigger amenity is across the street, where the park and the aquatic centre do what a pool deck would in another building.

Jatin’s honest take on One Park West

One Park West — 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.