SQ at Alexandra Park, 38 Cameron St: Tridel and Teeple at Queen

SQ is the building with the yellow balconies just off Queen and Spadina, and it was the first piece of one of the biggest neighbourhood rebuilds in downtown Toronto. You buy here for Tridel construction, a strong amenity floor and a location that keeps improving around you. The fee covers less than you might assume, and that is the thing to understand first. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first phase of the Alexandra Park rebuild

Alexandra Park has been a public housing community since the late 1960s. The revitalization is a partnership between the City of Toronto, Toronto Community Housing and Tridel, replacing aging housing for existing residents and adding market condominiums, parks and a reconnected street grid. UrbanToronto called SQ the most prominent part of Phase One.

That context matters to a buyer in two ways. First, the neighbourhood around you is still changing: later phases include more condominiums, affordable and rent-geared-to-income housing, a community centre, a central park and new streets, including a reconnected Grange Avenue. SQ2 at 80 Vanauley Street followed this building, and MRKT Alexandra Park on Denison Avenue is one of the newer phases.

Second, it means you are buying into a mixed-income community by design. Some buyers see that as the best thing about it; others want a building surrounded only by other condos. Walk the blocks around Cameron and Vanauley at different times of day and decide which you are.

Silver cladding, yellow balconies

Teeple Architects gave SQ a silver-white aluminum skin, a dark window wall and bright yellow balcony panels that project from the facade in a cubist pattern. UrbanToronto described the shapes as distinct, and that is fair: it is one of the more recognizable mid-size buildings in this part of downtown.

Those projecting balconies give many suites real outdoor space and a bit of shelter from the neighbouring balconies. At 14 storeys, the building is tall enough for upper suites to see over the Queen West low-rise, but not so tall that it feels like a podium-and-tower development.

Tridel’s reputation is mostly about construction quality and after-sale service, and in my experience its buildings resell well because buyers trust the name. That does not replace a status certificate review, but it is a reasonable starting point.

Layouts from one-bedroom to three-bedroom

At launch, blogTO reported suites from about 521 to 1,331 square feet in one-bedroom, one-plus-den, two-bedroom and three-bedroom layouts. Condos.ca now gives about 552 to 1,331. Most of what comes up for sale is one-plus-den and two-bedroom, with three-bedroom suites much rarer.

Union31 did the interiors. I could not confirm ceiling heights from a reliable source, so check the floor plan and measure during a viewing. On one-plus-den plans, check whether the den has a door and a window; dens without either work as offices but not as bedrooms.

Parking was not described in the launch material I found. Confirm in the status certificate whether a suite includes a parking space or locker, and whether either is owned or exclusive-use.

What the fee does not include

Condos.ca lists only common elements and building insurance as included. That means heat, air conditioning, water and hydro are likely billed to you separately, through suite meters or a sub-metering company. Ask for recent utility bills for the suite you are buying, because they belong in your monthly budget alongside the fee.

This is why fee comparisons can mislead. A building such as 210 Simcoe, where condos.ca lists heat, water and parking as included, will show a higher fee per square foot than SQ while costing you about the same, or less, all-in.

Day to day, the location is the easy part. Queen West’s shops are a short walk south, Spadina’s Chinatown and Kensington Market are to the east and north, and the Financial District is close enough that many residents walk to work. Market 707, the row of shipping-container food stalls at Scadding Court that blogTO highlighted at launch, sits a few blocks west, at Dundas and Bathurst, and is the kind of small local place that makes this pocket feel like a neighbourhood rather than a condo cluster.

The flip side is that Queen and Spadina is a busy, loud junction, and the blocks inside Alexandra Park are a building site in places while later phases go up. Suites facing into the community and away from the main streets are quieter, but may look onto construction for a while.

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

Above its neighbours, for the Tridel name

Condos.ca puts SQ at about $1,009 per square foot on average. That is well above SQ2 next door at about $878 and above 9T6 on St. Patrick Street at about $827, both on condos.ca. Some of that gap is the newer-condition, smaller-suite mix; some of it is the first-phase building with the best-known design.

Seven suites were listed for sale when I wrote this. One-bedroom and one-plus-den suites in the 500 to 699 square foot range were asking about $568,000 to $598,000, and two-bedrooms in the 700 to 899 range about $680,000 to $690,000. A three-bedroom was asking considerably more. Fees across the listings ran from about $549 to $922 a month.

That is about $0.94 per square foot in fees, covering only common elements and insurance. Add utilities before comparing it with other buildings. For recent sold figures, see the data panel or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at SQ at Alexandra Park

The launch package described by blogTO was generous for a 14-storey building: separate steam rooms, a whirlpool, a yoga studio, a theatre, a private dining room and a rooftop terrace with a hot tub. Confirm what is still operating, but the rooftop and the wellness rooms are the parts residents use most.

Jatin’s honest take on SQ at Alexandra Park

SQ at Alexandra Park — 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.