1181 Queen West Condos, 1181 Queen St W: The Wedge Beside the Gladstone

1181 Queen West is the building I point to when someone tells me every new condo on Queen West is a box of one-bedrooms. It is a sculpted 15-storey wedge on a triangular lot beside the Gladstone Hotel, finished in 2023, with irregular floor plates and suites that run well past 1,500 square feet. The shape is the story, and it is also what you need to understand before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A wedge on a triangular lot

Most new towers on Queen West are rectangles set back above a podium. 1181 is different because its site is a triangle at the corner of Queen and Sudbury, and BDP Quadrangle shaped the building to fit it. UrbanToronto describes a wedge form whose upper floors terrace and angle toward the taller buildings to the east.

At street level the building keeps a street wall scaled to the low-rise heritage buildings along Queen. Above that, the floors step back to the south, which the architects say was done partly to frame the historic Gladstone Hotel next door. The exterior mixes white brick, stone, aluminum and concrete, which sets it apart from the darker towers around it.

The site used to hold the Gladstone Cafe, a former doughnut shop that spent its later years as a film set. Demolition started in 2019, the excavation went three storeys down for foundations and parking, and the building was completed in 2023. BDP lists completion as 2022, while the corporation registered in August 2023.

Large, irregular suites with terraces

The architect’s own description is the clearest guide to who this building was for. Irregular floor plates were used to create large suites with adjoining terraces, pitched as an alternative to a single-family house for people who want to stay in the neighbourhood.

Condos.ca records suites from about 542 to 1,719 square feet. That top end is rare for a 15-storey building on Queen West, where most new projects cap out well below it. Because every level takes a slightly different shape, two suites with the same bedroom count can feel very different, and terraces vary a lot from floor to floor.

Irregular plans have real benefits, such as corner glass and outdoor space you cannot get in a standard tower. They also bring angled walls and corners that are harder to furnish. Bring your floor plan to the showing and check where your sofa, bed and dining table actually go.

The design targeted Toronto Green Standard Tier 2, and BDP reports that the design-stage energy model showed more than 50 per cent energy savings compared with a code-minimum building. That is a modelling figure, not a measured one, so ask the seller for actual hydro bills.

Buying into a young corporation

TSCC-2989 was registered in August 2023, so the corporation is only a few years into running the building. That is the period when the first-year budget, set by the developer, gets tested against real operating costs, and when the first reserve fund study replaces early estimates. Fee increases in the first few years are common in new buildings for exactly this reason.

A complex exterior also needs watching. Stepped terraces, angled glass and a mix of brick, stone and metal look good, but each joint between materials and each terrace over a suite below is a place water can find its way in. Ask whether any warranty claims for the common elements have been filed, and how they were resolved.

On the positive side, a building of about 120 suites with a good share of larger, owner-friendly plans tends to attract people who intend to stay. That usually means engaged owners and a board that cares about maintenance, which is exactly what you want in the early years.

Queen and Sudbury, day to day

This is the western gateway to the West Queen West strip. The Gladstone Hotel is next door, the Drake is a short walk east, and the galleries, cafes and shops between Gladstone and Ossington are on your doorstep. Trinity Bellwoods Park is close enough to be part of a weekend routine.

The trade is activity. Queen Street is busy into the night, and the Gladstone and the bars along this stretch draw crowds on weekends. Suites facing Queen will hear more of that than suites on the south and east sides, which look toward the taller buildings to the east. Visit at different times of day, and ask about window performance if you are sensitive to noise. Transit and school details are in the data panel.

Pricing at the top of the neighbourhood

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,166 per square foot. That is a premium for this part of Queen West, and it reflects a new building with large, terraced suites and a design you cannot replicate on a standard lot. Larger suites with big terraces are the reason the average sits where it does, and they are also the hardest to compare, so price each one on its own floor plan and outdoor space.

Four suites were for sale when I checked. The one-bedroom listings asked roughly $420,000 to $600,000, and the two-bedroom listings were both close to $1.1 million. Maintenance fees across those listings ran from about $650 to $1,170 a month, which works out to roughly $1.16 per square foot.

That fee level is on the high side for a building this new. Fees cover common elements, building insurance and water, so heat and hydro are not listed as included and should be budgeted separately. With only about 120 suites sharing a concierge, gym and a complex exterior, there is less scale to spread costs, so read the budget and compare it with the reserve fund study. My building sold report can show what suites have actually traded for.

Building specifications

Amenities at 1181 Queen West Condos

The amenity list is short: a concierge and a gym. For the buyer this building targets, the real amenity is the private terrace, and the lean shared package means you are not funding a pool or party floor.

Jatin’s honest take on 1181 Queen West Condos

1181 Queen West Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Queen West, Trinity-Bellwoods, Kensington and Little Italy more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.