Greenwich Terrace, 111 Merton St: An Early Office-to-Condo Conversion

Greenwich Terrace is the Merton Street building I mention when a buyer tells me they want a small building with real outdoor space and no podium-and-tower feel. It has 54 suites over five storeys, it began life as an office building, and the south side looks over Mount Pleasant Cemetery rather than another tower. It is also old enough that you need to read the paperwork properly. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One of Toronto’s first office-to-condo conversions

What sets this building apart is its history. Woodcliffe, which lists Greenwich Terrace in its portfolio, describes it as one of the very first office buildings in Toronto to be converted to residential condominiums, completed in 1996. That puts it ahead of the conversion wave that later reshaped King West and the downtown core.

The design team was Wallman Clewes Bergman Architects, with interiors by Gluckstein Design. I could not find the year the original office building was put up or a detailed account of the conversion work, so if that matters to you, ask the corporation for any engineering reports it holds on the original structure.

A conversion lives differently from a purpose-built condo. Floor plates designed for offices tend to give you deeper suites, and the window pattern was not drawn around bedrooms. Walk the specific suite and check where the natural light actually reaches before you fall for the floor plan.

Terraces and the cemetery view

The second reason people buy here is outdoor space. Woodcliffe highlights oversized terraces and balconies, which is the payoff of a stepped, low building, and condos.ca also lists a rooftop deck. In a five-storey building, a terrace can feel like a small garden rather than a ledge in the wind.

The building sits on the north edge of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, so suites facing that way look over mature trees and open ground that will not be developed. On a street where new towers keep arriving, that is a real and lasting advantage, but it applies only to the cemetery side. Suites facing Merton look at a street that is still changing.

Suite sizes run from about 415 to 1,187 square feet, so there are compact one-bedrooms and larger plans with a den. With only 54 suites, listings are infrequent, which means you may wait months for the plan you want.

A 1996 building with heat and parking in the fee

The fee includes common elements, heat, building insurance, parking and water. Having heat and parking bundled helps compare this building fairly against newer Merton towers, where parking is often bought separately and heat is on your own meter.

Small buildings spread fixed costs, like staff, insurance and roof work, over fewer owners. That can push fees per square foot higher than in a large tower, and with only one suite listed for sale when I checked, I do not have a range I can responsibly quote. Get the current budget and the fee for the exact suite from the status certificate.

Condos.ca lists Skywater Property Management. At 30 years old, this building is past the point where original windows, roofing, the garage and mechanical systems come up for renewal, so the reserve fund study matters more here than in a newer building.

Daily life on Merton Street

Merton runs east from Yonge just north of the cemetery, and the walk to the shops and restaurants of Davisville Village on Yonge is short. The cemetery itself works as a large, quiet park for walking, and the Kay Gardner Beltline trail is nearby. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and the Walk Score.

The street around you has changed a great deal. Merton now has a run of mid-rise and high-rise condos and rentals, and more applications keep arriving toward Yonge and Mount Pleasant. Greenwich Terrace is one of the older and smaller buildings on the strip, and that is a large part of its appeal.

Construction nearby is the practical cost of that change. If a suite faces Merton, ask the seller and the manager about current and proposed projects across the street, and check the City’s development application map yourself. A crane next door for three years changes how a terrace feels, even if the long-term view survives.

The other daily reality of a 54-suite building is governance. A small owner group means every special project and every board decision lands on fewer people, which can work very well when owners are engaged. Read the minutes to see how decisions actually get made.

Pricing: a boutique premium per square foot

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $956 per square foot. That is high for a 1996 building and reflects how scarce small, low buildings with terraces have become in midtown. Buyers are paying for the format and the cemetery outlook, not for new finishes.

With only one suite listed when I checked, I cannot give you a range of current asking prices without pointing to a single listing, so I will not. For a real read on value, I would look at the last few closed sales in the building on a per-square-foot basis, adjusted for terrace size and which side the suite faces. Use the sold data panel on this page, or ask me for a building sold report.

When you compare fees, add back parking and heat for any newer building you are weighing against this one. Once you do, the gap is usually smaller than the headline numbers suggest.

Building specifications

Amenities at Greenwich Terrace

This is a small building, so do not expect a pool or a large gym. The rooftop deck and the private terraces many suites have are the real amenities here; most residents use the cemetery, the Beltline and the gyms on Yonge for everything else.

Jatin’s honest take on Greenwich Terrace

Greenwich Terrace — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville and North Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.