Hepbourne Hall, 110 Hepbourne St: 21 Lofts in a Church Hall and Manse

Hepbourne Hall is one of the smallest and oddest buildings I can show you in the west end, and I mean that as a compliment. It is a converted Presbyterian church hall and manse on a side street just south of Bloor and Dovercourt, with only 21 suites, stone turrets on the front and some genuinely unusual floor plans. It is also self-managed, which changes what you need to check before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A church hall with stone turrets

The building dates from the early 20th century and was built as a meeting hall and manse for a Presbyterian congregation. The Gothic front, with its stone turrets and stone window surrounds, is still the reason people stop on the sidewalk.

When the Toronto Star’s architecture critic Christopher Hume reviewed the conversion in 2004, he gave it an A and called it an admirable example of reuse. His one complaint was that the newer brick added on top does not match the red masonry below, and you can still see that line today. I would rather you notice it from the street than be surprised by it on a showing.

Bob Mitchell, the developer, was behind a number of character conversions in Toronto, and this one has his fingerprints: the effort went into the shell and the suites rather than into lobbies and finishes in the common areas. Expect the hallways to feel plain.

The corporation was registered in 1991, so Hepbourne Hall has been a condominium for more than three decades. That is a long ownership record, and it cuts both ways. You can see how the building has been maintained over a full cycle, but some of the systems installed at conversion will be at or past the end of their expected life, so ask what has already been replaced and what is still original.

Big, irregular suites

This is the opposite of a micro-unit building. Condos.ca lists suites from about 750 to 2,000 sq ft, which is very large for a 21-suite conversion. Because the suites were carved out of a hall and a house rather than laid out on a grid, almost no two plans are the same.

That irregularity is the attraction. Some suites have the volume of the old hall, others have the proportions of the manse rooms, and the best of them have layouts you cannot get in a new building at any price. The weaker ones have odd corners and rooms that are hard to furnish.

When I tour a suite here, I measure the usable space, not just the stated square footage. Ask for a floor plan, check ceiling heights room by room, and look at how much of the area sits under sloped ceilings or in mezzanines.

Suites this size also change who buys. The larger plans compete for space with a small semi-detached house, so the building appeals to people who have outgrown a typical condo. With only 21 suites, listings are rare whatever the market is doing.

Self-managed, with parking in the fee

Condos.ca lists Hepbourne Hall as self-managed, meaning the owners run the corporation themselves rather than hiring a property management company. In a 21-suite building that is common and often works well, because fees stay low and owners have a direct say.

It also means the quality of the building depends on a handful of volunteers. Before you buy, I want you to read the status certificate, the reserve fund study and recent board minutes, and to ask who handles bookkeeping, repairs and emergencies.

The fee includes common elements, water, building insurance and parking. Heat and hydro are not listed, so ask how the suite you are looking at is heated and what the owner has paid through a winter. In a century-old masonry building with large windows, that bill can be meaningful.

Three church conversions within a few blocks

Hepbourne Street sits in a pocket that has an unusual concentration of converted churches. The Church Lofts at 701 Dovercourt Road is a short walk away, and West 40 in the former Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Cyprian is just north of Bloor on Westmoreland Avenue.

If you love this kind of building, see all three. Hepbourne Hall is the smallest in feel, with big suites and parking in the fee; the Church Lofts has the three-storey atrium and the stained glass; West 40 is the newest conversion and has the largest units of the three. Bloor Street West, with its shops and the subway, is a few minutes north.

What Hepbourne Hall costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $852 per square foot. Bear in mind that this is a 21-suite building where only a sale or two happens in a typical year, so the average reflects very few transactions and a lot of variety in layout.

There were no suites listed for sale or for lease when I checked, which is normal here. Buyers who want in usually wait, and the best suites can sell to someone who has been watching the building for months. Because suites are large, per-square-foot pricing tends to sit below small-suite buildings nearby, so compare total price and layout, not only the average.

If you want to know what a particular suite is worth, I can pull recent sales here and at the nearby church conversions through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Hepbourne Hall

There are no shared amenities beyond the basics, and the common areas are plain. What you are buying is the suite, the building’s facade and a parking space covered by the fee, which in this part of the west end is worth a lot.

Jatin’s honest take on Hepbourne Hall

Hepbourne Hall — 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.