8 Oxford Street Condominiums: A 30-Suite Boutique in Kensington Market

8 Oxford Street is one of the very few condominium buildings you can buy into inside Kensington Market itself. It is five storeys and 30 suites, built in 2001 on a short side street off Spadina, and it gives you something the towers along Spadina and College can’t: a small building on a market street. It also has quirks, starting with laundry, that rule it out for some buyers. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small building inside a protected neighbourhood

Kensington Market was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2006, and the City’s Official Plan does not anticipate much change in the neighbourhood. In practical terms that means very little new condo supply inside the market. Most of what you can buy nearby sits in towers on the edges, along Spadina, College and Dundas.

8 Oxford is the exception: a five-storey building on a residential side street, a few steps from Spadina, with only 30 suites. That scale is the appeal. You know your neighbours, the elevator lineup is short, and the street feels like the market rather than an arterial road.

The builder listed on condos.ca is an individual, Cham, Siu Leun, rather than a branded development company. That is not unusual for small infill buildings of this era, but it does mean there is no developer track record to look up. The building’s own 25-year history, in its reserve fund study and minutes, is your track record.

Layouts: generous rooms, but check the laundry

Suites run from about 515 to 1,004 square feet, which is roomy for this pocket. A current listing describes the building as low-rise boutique rather than a tower shoebox, and lists balcony or patio space with some suites.

Here is the quirk. The same listing notes that the suite it describes has no ensuite laundry, and that the building has shared laundry facilities on the fourth floor. I have not been able to confirm whether every suite is the same, so ask directly for the unit you are considering. For many buyers, especially families or anyone who works from home, a shared laundry room is a deal-breaker; for a student or a buyer who mostly uses the suite as a downtown base, it may not be.

Parking is another thing to verify. Condos.ca lists a parking garage, and the listing mentions that parking rental and bike storage are available in the building. Parking is not in the fee here, and not every suite comes with a space, so price it in if you need one.

What the fee covers, and what it doesn’t

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance and water as the fee inclusions. That is a short list. Heat, hydro and parking are not on it, so you should expect to pay those separately and should ask the seller for a year of utility bills.

In a corporation of only 30 suites, every major repair is shared among very few owners. A roof, an elevator overhaul or a garage repair costs roughly the same whether a building has 30 suites or 300, so the per-suite share can be large. That is not a reason to avoid small buildings, but it is the reason the reserve fund study matters more here than in a large tower.

The daily reality off Spadina

You are at the eastern edge of the market, where the side streets of Victorian houses meet the bustle of Spadina and Chinatown. The University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital and the shops along Augusta, Baldwin and Kensington Avenue are all walkable, and the market’s car-free Pedestrian Sundays have run on and off since 2004.

Expect noise, deliveries and crowds on weekends; that is the price of living in one of the city’s busiest neighbourhoods. A suite facing away from Spadina will be calmer. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, food and parks in more detail.

Pricing: thin data, so be careful

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $875 per square foot. In a 30-suite building, that figure can move a lot on a single sale, so treat it as a rough guide rather than a benchmark.

There was only one suite listed for sale when I wrote this, so I won’t quote its price or fee. One listing tells you very little about the building as a whole, and the size of the suite, the laundry situation and whether it includes parking will each move value more than the market average.

Resale here also depends heavily on the details of each suite. A one-bedroom of about 515 square feet and a two-bedroom close to 1,000 square feet in the same building will attract very different buyers, and a suite with its own laundry and a parking space will sit in a different price bracket from one without either. When I price a suite in a small building like this, I look as much at comparable suites in nearby low-rise buildings in the market as at this building’s own history.

Remember that the fee here covers less than many older buildings do. When you compare 8 Oxford with a tower that includes heat and parking, add your own utility and parking costs back onto this building’s fee before deciding which is cheaper. For a proper comparison on a specific suite, book a call.

Building specifications

Amenities at 8 Oxford Street Condominiums

There is no amenity package to speak of, and you should not expect one in a 30-suite building. What you get is a secure entry, a garage with rentable parking and bike storage; Kensington Market and the University of Toronto supply the rest.

Jatin’s honest take on 8 Oxford Street Condominiums

8 Oxford Street Condominiums — 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.