Windsor Lofts, 412 Jarvis St: 30 Brownstone-Style Suites, Hydro In

Windsor Lofts is one of the few downtown buildings where the fee pays your hydro, your heat and your parking. It is a five-storey brick building of 30 suites on Jarvis Street just north of Carlton, designed to look like a New York brownstone, and it trades at a lower price per foot than most of its neighbours. There are reasons for both, and you should understand them before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A brownstone on Jarvis Street

From the sidewalk this does not read as a condo. It is brick, five storeys, with small Juliet balconies and white columns at the entrance, deliberately styled after a New York brownstone. On a street of Victorian mansions, rooming houses and 1960s apartment slabs, that low, traditional form fits better than a glass tower would.

The building’s age is a point where sources disagree. The corporation was registered in 2003 with Monarch as developer, but one listing aggregator gives a construction year of 1912. I have not seen evidence that an older structure was converted, and the brownstone styling reads as new construction, so treat 2003 as the working date and confirm with the status certificate.

Thirty suites is a small corporation. You get a quiet lobby and a board of neighbours rather than a corporate tower, and you also get a small number of owners sharing every repair bill.

Soft lofts, bay windows and nine-foot ceilings

Despite the name, these are not hard lofts. Listings describe hardwood floors, nine-foot ceilings and bright bay windows, which is closer to a well-built apartment than an industrial conversion. If you want exposed brick and 12-foot concrete ceilings, this is the wrong building.

Suites run from about 607 to 1,096 sq ft, covering one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and two-bedrooms. That is generous for the price point, and the larger plans are realistic for a couple who both work from home.

Some suites have private terraces, which is the feature to look for. Juliet balconies are decorative rather than usable, so if outdoor space matters, filter for the terrace suites and expect them to command a premium.

The fee covers almost everything; the amenity list is less clear

The fee inclusions are as broad as I see downtown: common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, building insurance, water and parking. Most buildings in this area meter hydro separately and charge for parking on top of the fee, so a fee here that looks high may be the cheaper all-in number.

The trade-off is that utility costs are shared. When electricity and gas rates rise, the corporation absorbs the increase and passes it on through the fee. Ask for the last few years of fee increases and the current budget so you can see how that has played out.

When I compare this building with a newer tower, I add the tower’s hydro bill, its parking charge and any separately metered heat or cooling back onto its fee. Done honestly, that comparison often favours Windsor Lofts, even when its fee per square foot looks higher on paper. Ask the seller for the fee and confirm there are no extra charges billed outside it.

Parking is listed among the inclusions, but not every suite necessarily comes with a space. Confirm on the status certificate whether the suite you are seeing has an owned or exclusive-use space.

Amenity listings for this building do not agree. Condos.ca lists a pool, sauna, gym, concierge and security guard, while another listing site mentions a gym, sauna, barbecue area and 24-hour security but no pool. A pool in a 30-suite building would be unusual, so I would not buy here for it until you have seen it.

Walk the building and ask the manager which facilities are operating. In a small corporation, an amenity that is listed but closed is a cost line in the reserve fund either way.

Jarvis and Carlton, day to day

The building sits between the Church-Wellesley Village to the west and Allan Gardens and Cabbagetown to the east. The Village’s restaurants and bars, the Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens and the Carlton streetcar are within easy reach, and the panel shows the subway and Walk Score details.

Jarvis is a busy arterial with a mix of heritage houses, social housing and rental towers. Some buyers love the character; others find the street too urban. Walk it in the evening before you commit, and look at the exposure of the specific suite, since a rear suite and a Jarvis-facing suite are very different places to sleep.

For drivers, the location is practical: Jarvis runs straight down to the Gardiner and Lake Shore, and having a garage space in the fee means you are not paying for monthly parking elsewhere in a part of town where it is scarce.

Why the price per foot is low

The building average is about $625 per square foot, well below the newer towers around Church and Wellesley and below most hard lofts in the east downtown. Part of that is age and the soft-loft finish, and part is the Jarvis address.

For a buyer, the low per-foot price combined with hydro and parking in the fee makes the all-in monthly cost one of the lower ones for this much space downtown. For a seller, it means pricing to the building’s own history rather than to the glass towers a few blocks west.

There are no suites listed right now, and with 30 suites the building can go months between listings. Set an alert, and see the data panel or my building sold report for recent sold and leased figures.

Building specifications

Amenities at Windsor Lofts

Treat the amenity list as something to verify in person, since sources disagree on the pool. What is certain is a small, quiet building where the fee does more of the work than the amenities do.

Jatin’s honest take on Windsor Lofts

Windsor Lofts — 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.