Symphony Place, 71 Simcoe St: 87 Suites Above a Heritage Church Site

Symphony Place is one of the more unusual buildings in the financial district: a condominium tower that rose on the land of a heritage church, with only 87 suites stacked over 23 floors. The Rose Corporation finished it in 1991, across Simcoe Street from Roy Thomson Hall, and the suites are large by any downtown standard. It also trades at one of the lowest prices per square foot in the core, and understanding why is the key to buying well here. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A tower on St. Andrew’s Church land

Symphony Place stands beside St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the Romanesque Revival church at the south-east corner of King and Simcoe that opened in 1876. The church and its manse are designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, and the property has carried a heritage easement since 1981.

The church itself was designed by William Storm in 1875, with alterations in 1907 by Curry, Sproat and Rolph. For an owner at Symphony Place, the practical upshot is that the view and setting immediately around the base of your building are protected in a way few downtown sites are; with the church designated, it is very unlikely to be replaced by another tower.

As the core was redeveloped in the 1970s and 1980s, the congregation sold air rights and rebuilt the south end of its property. Part of that rebuilding was a new condominium tower, and the congregation kept the first three floors of it for its own use. Symphony Place is that tower.

That history shapes the building. With the church holding the lowest floors and the tower sharing its site with a heritage property, Symphony Place is a small, low-density building on a very central corner, and its lobby takes its cues from Victorian stonework rather than from the glass towers around it. In the courtyard there is a 1990 sculpture, Lineal Order by George Boileau, which most passers-by never notice.

Large suites, few neighbours

With 87 suites over 23 storeys, Symphony Place averages fewer than four suites a floor. Suites run from about 797 to 3,105 square feet, so even the smallest one-bedroom is larger than most new two-bedrooms in the area.

The two listings I reviewed sat at opposite ends of that range: a one-bedroom in the 800 square foot band and a large two-bedroom priced like a house. That spread is typical here. With a top size of more than 3,000 square feet, the largest suites here compete with houses rather than with other condos, and they set the tone of the building more than the one-bedrooms do.

This is a 35-year-old building, so finishes depend entirely on what each owner has done. Treat any original suite as a renovation project and price it accordingly.

A fee that covers hydro and parking

The maintenance fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance, parking and water. That is close to all-inclusive, which is now rare downtown.

Across the two active listings, monthly fees ran from about $1,045 to $3,660. In dollar terms those are high, but they are spread over large suites and include hydro and parking that newer towers bill separately. Compare total monthly cost, not fee alone, and look at fee per square foot on the exact suite.

The higher fee is also the main reason the price per square foot here is so low. Buyers capitalise a large monthly fee into a lower purchase price, so the two numbers have to be read together.

King and Simcoe day to day

You are across Simcoe Street from Roy Thomson Hall and a short walk from the theatres on King Street West and the financial district towers. For someone who works on Bay Street or goes to concerts and the theatre, the location is hard to beat.

The trade-off is that this is a working downtown block rather than a residential street. Weekday mornings and event nights are busy, and the neighbourhood is quieter on weekends than many owners expect. Transit, schools and Walk Score are shown in the automatic panel on this page.

What Symphony Place costs per square foot

The building averages about $583 per square foot on condos.ca. That is very low for King and Simcoe. For comparison, the Shangri-La at 180 University Avenue, finished in 2012, averages about $1,229 per square foot, and the St. Regis Residences on Bay Street about $937.

Three things explain the gap: the building’s age, the size of the suites, and the high fee. Large suites always trade at a lower price per foot, and a buyer paying a high monthly fee pays less up front. None of that makes the building poor value; it means you have to look at the whole monthly picture.

A closer like-for-like is the Metropole at 7 King Street East, a 23-storey building from 1997 that also includes hydro and parking in its fee and averages about $795 per square foot. It is newer and has smaller suites on average, which is why it sits higher per foot. Symphony Place is the larger-suite, lower-density alternative in the same price conversation.

When I wrote this there were two suites for sale and one for rent, with asking prices from about $568,500 to $2.95 million. With so few suites, sales are infrequent, so ask me for the building sold report before you set a budget.

Building specifications

Amenities at Symphony Place

The amenity list is short: concierge and security staff, a sauna, party and meeting rooms and visitor parking. In a building of 87 large suites, that is the right package; you are paying for service and space rather than for a pool or a rooftop lounge.

Jatin’s honest take on Symphony Place

Symphony Place — frequently asked questions

Looking at St. Lawrence, the Financial District and Downtown Yonge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.