BStreets Condos, 783 Bathurst St: Hariri Pontarini Below Bloor

BStreets is the building I show to buyers who want the Annex without paying Annex house prices. It is a nine-storey Hariri Pontarini design on Bathurst just south of Bloor, with a brick base that fits the street and a suite mix that leans small. The design is better than the price suggests; the parking supply is the catch. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Hariri Pontarini building that respects the street

Hariri Pontarini Architects, the firm led by David Pontarini, designed BStreets for Lindvest. The base is dark grey brick, picking up the masonry of the old houses and storefronts around it, and the upper floors switch to white precast panels and step back from the street.

UrbanToronto’s project file describes irregular cubic modules on the front and a deliberately uneven roofline meant to echo the rhythm of the small shops along Bloor. Archello’s project page adds that the step-backs follow the zoning envelope. The result is a nine-storey building that reads smaller than it is from the sidewalk, which is rare for a 195-suite project.

The site was a former Catholic school, according to UrbanToronto. At launch the project won a BILD award for high-rise project of the year, and the interiors were done by Cecconi Simone, with black shaker and wood-grain kitchen doors and small glossy tiles in the bathrooms. Many suites will have been renovated since, but that is the original standard.

Small suites, two-storey suites and six lane homes

At launch, the suites ran from about 380 square feet to a little over 1,250. That is a wide spread, but the weight is at the small end. Current listings include studios and one-bedrooms under 500 square feet, which tells you a lot about who lives here: students, young professionals and investors.

The upper floors include two-storey suites with terraces, according to UrbanToronto’s project file. If you want something that feels more like a home than a studio, these are the units to watch for, though they come up rarely.

Then there are the B.streets Lane Homes: six townhomes along Loretto Lane, each with its own address and front door. They are part of the same corporation but live very differently from the tower suites. If you are looking at one, ask how the corporation allocates costs between the townhomes and the main building.

I could not confirm ceiling heights from a reliable source, so check the floor plan and measure during a viewing.

If you are buying one of the small suites, judge it on storage and furniture fit rather than square footage. Bring the measurements of your bed and sofa, open every closet, and check whether a locker comes with the suite. In a 400-square-foot studio, a locker and a well-planned closet are worth more than an extra few feet on the floor plan.

Parking is scarce here, by design

UrbanToronto’s 2012 construction report gave the plan as 56 parking spaces for 195 suites, and said the low ratio made sense given the subway and streetcar nearby. The final count may differ, but the point stands: most suites here do not come with parking.

That is fine if you do not drive, and it keeps prices lower. It also means a suite that does include a space is a different product, and it will carry a premium on resale. Confirm in the status certificate whether parking and lockers are owned, deeded or exclusive-use, and do not assume either comes with a suite.

Condos.ca’s fee inclusions are common elements, heat, air conditioning and building insurance. Water and parking are not on that list, so ask how water and hydro are billed before you compare this building’s fee with another’s.

Bathurst below Bloor, and what is changing

You are a few steps from Bloor Street West, the University of Toronto’s western edge and the Annex’s side streets of Victorian houses. Bathurst south of Bloor is still mostly low-rise, and UrbanToronto expected BStreets to bring small-scale retail to this stretch, which it did.

The bigger change is across Bathurst. The former Honest Ed’s site at Bloor and Bathurst has been redeveloped as Westbank’s Mirvish Village, which UrbanToronto reported was rising by 2020. It brings a large amount of new rental housing and retail to the corner. More people means more shops and services, but also more construction traffic while it finishes.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, parks and nearby food in detail.

Lower per square foot than the address suggests

Condos.ca puts BStreets at about $842 per square foot on average. That is below Mosaic on Spadina at about $873 and The Europa on Palmerston at about $864, and a little above 707 Lofts on Dovercourt at about $819, all from condos.ca. For a 2014 Hariri Pontarini building this close to Bloor, I think that is reasonable.

Four suites were listed for sale when I wrote this, from studios and one-bedrooms under 500 square feet up to a two-bedroom in the 700s. Asking prices ran from about $380,000 to $785,000, with monthly fees from about $352 to $796.

Across those listings the fee works out to about $1.23 per square foot, which looks high. Part of that is the small-suite effect: fixed costs are spread over fewer square feet, so studios always look expensive per foot. Compare the dollar amount, and remember that heat and air conditioning are included. For recent sold figures, see the data panel or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at BStreets Condos

The package is practical rather than showy: a concierge, a gym and a party room. For a building full of small suites, the concierge and parcel handling are what residents use most, and the gym saves a membership for people who do not have room for one at home.

Jatin’s honest take on BStreets Condos

BStreets 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.