Lippincott Living, 56 Lippincott St: Eight Designer Mews Townhouses

Lippincott Living is not really a condo building. It is eight narrow, modern townhouses set along a private mews off a side street near College and Bathurst, designed by the people who usually do interiors for big condo towers. You get a house-like home under a condo corporation, and the rarity cuts both ways. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Designed by people who design condo interiors

The developer, Blurredge Group, was formed by Elaine Cecconi and Anna Simone of the interior design firm Cecconi Simone, together with architect Brad Netkin of Netkin Architect. According to The Globe and Mail, this was the first time the two designers took an equity stake as developers rather than just designing the interiors.

The site already had approval for a conventional row of eight townhouses. The partners threw that plan out and Netkin drew a new one that fits the lot closely: a mews, with the houses set along a shared walkway and gardens rather than lined up on the street.

That history matters when you buy. Cecconi Simone chose the original layouts, finishes and colour palettes, so a suite that still has its original kitchen and bathrooms is a known design, not builder-grade stock. Ask what has been changed since 2010.

The Globe also reported that buyers could purchase the furniture and decor chosen for the homes, down to an optional custom dining table. That tells you who the project was aimed at: people who wanted to move in with little more than their clothes. Some original pieces may still be in place, so ask what is included in a sale.

Narrow, tall and bright

The houses are no more than about 14 feet wide, so they live vertically over three storeys. The main floor has 10-foot ceilings, and in the third-floor primary bedroom the roof slopes up to about 10 feet at the window end. In a narrow house, that height is what keeps the rooms from feeling tight.

The homes face south, and the design used solar shading to manage that sun. A green wall runs along the length of the site, and the mews layout was meant to give each terrace some privacy from the neighbours and from the low apartment building to the north.

At about 2,000 sq ft, these are family-sized homes. The catch is stairs. Three floors of living with no elevator is fine for most buyers, but it is a real issue for anyone with mobility concerns, a baby and a stroller, or plans to age in place.

The build method was unusual too. Netkin told the Globe the houses would use precision panels made in a factory and put up on site, with the frame up within about two weeks of the foundations. Prefabricated panels can mean tighter tolerances and less waste, and that was the pitch.

It also means you are buying a less common building method, now about 15 years old. I would want a home inspector who understands the system to look at the envelope, the joints between panels, the roof and the terraces, and I would read the reserve fund study for how those items are planned for.

A condo townhouse, not a freehold

Because the homes are registered as a condominium, you own your unit and share the common elements with seven neighbours. That is different from buying a freehold row house on the next street. The corporation, not you alone, decides on exterior work, and part of your monthly fee goes into a shared reserve fund.

The upside is that big shared costs like the garage and the building envelope are planned for and split. The downside is less control: you cannot change the facade or a terrace without approval. Read the declaration so you know exactly which parts are yours and which are common elements.

A side street between Kensington and Little Italy

Lippincott is a quiet residential street, and that is the appeal. College Street and Little Italy’s restaurants are a short walk north, Bathurst is just west, and Kensington Market is a short walk east. You are living in a house neighbourhood, not on a commercial strip. College gets busy on summer weekends, but a side street like this one stays calm.

The University of Toronto campus and the hospitals on University Avenue are within reach to the east, which is part of why this pocket holds its demand. For transit times, schools and Walk Score, see the data panel on this page.

Pricing a building with only eight homes

Condos.ca puts the average at about $842 per square foot. On a 2,000 sq ft townhouse, that works out to roughly $1.7 million, which puts these homes in competition with renovated semi-detached houses in the same area rather than with condo apartments.

There were no active listings when I checked, and that is normal. With eight homes, sales are rare, and one sale can swing the average a lot. Rather than rely on the building’s own history, price these against recent sales of modern townhouses and renovated semis nearby, adjusted for parking and outdoor space.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance and parking, and you pay your own utilities. On an eight-unit corporation, a single repair is shared by very few owners, so the size of the reserve fund matters more here than in a 300-unit tower. My building sold report can pull the recent numbers for you.

Building specifications

Amenities at Lippincott Living

There is no gym, pool or concierge here, and that keeps the shared costs lean. What you are paying for is parking, a shared walkway and gardens, and the upkeep of the building envelope.

Jatin’s honest take on Lippincott Living

Lippincott Living — 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.