Bakery Lofts, 2 Minto St: A Tiny Leslieville Conversion With Roof Decks

Bakery Lofts is a very small loft conversion in Leslieville, and one of the hardest to buy into. It is a former commercial building on a dead-end street off Eastern Avenue, turned into six or seven suites in 2012, with concrete floors and counters and private rooftop decks. It is also self-managed and tiny, which is both the charm and the risk. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A real conversion on a quiet dead end

Bakery Lofts is a conversion of an existing commercial building of roughly 9,500 square feet, according to a loft-specialist profile of the building. It sits at the end of Minto Street, a short dead-end street off Eastern Avenue, so there is no through traffic outside the door.

Despite the name, I have not found a source that confirms the building was ever a bakery, and the profile I relied on doesn’t say. Treat the name as branding until a seller or the declaration tells you otherwise.

The sources also disagree on size. Condos.ca lists seven suites and three storeys; the loft profile describes six suites in a two-and-a-half-storey building, with five offered for sale and a sixth rumoured to have been kept by the developer. Confirm the count in the status certificate.

Concrete, light and a roof of your own

The finishes are what set this building apart. The loft profile describes concrete counters, sinks and floors, and suites with privately accessed rooftop decks. Recent listing descriptions mention polished concrete floors, open plans, a floating staircase up to the roof and large windows.

Sizes vary widely. The original offering ranged from a studio of about 370 sq ft to a two-bedroom of about 1,666 sq ft, so the building covers everything from a first purchase to a family-sized loft.

A private rooftop deck is a rare thing in Leslieville, and the first thing I would inspect. Ask what is under the deck, when the roof membrane was last looked at, and whether the deck and the roof beneath it are exclusive-use or common elements. In a building this small, a roof repair is split among very few owners.

Conversions also raise questions that purpose-built condos don’t. Ask how sound separation was handled between suites, since walls and floors in an old commercial shell were not designed for homes. Ask whether the rooftop decks, stairs and any later changes had building permits, and whether the original structure’s drainage and foundation were addressed during the conversion. The answers will be in the corporation’s records and, often, in the seller’s own files.

Parking, fees and self-management

Condos.ca lists parking among the fee inclusions, along with common elements, heat, building insurance and water. The loft profile, however, says there isn’t enough parking for every suite. Both can be true if parking is included only for the suites that have a space, so confirm whether the suite you want comes with one.

Heat in the fee is helpful in a concrete loft with big windows, where winter heating can be significant. Hydro is not listed, so ask for the seller’s bills.

The building is self-managed, so the owners run it themselves. Ask who keeps the books, who arranges insurance and repairs, when the reserve fund study was last updated, and how the status certificate is produced. With six or seven owners, a single uncooperative one can slow down every decision.

The upside of self-management is cost. There is no management contract to pay, and in a well-run building the fee reflects only the real costs of insurance, heat, water and upkeep. Just make sure the reserve fund is being topped up as the study recommends, not kept artificially low to hold the fee down.

Leslieville from a side street

Condos.ca places the building in Greenwood-Coxwell, near Queen Street East and Greenwood Avenue. By the common definition of Leslieville, which runs east to Coxwell and south to Eastern Avenue, it sits inside Leslieville, and that is the name the building goes by.

Queen Street East’s cafes, restaurants and shops are a short walk north, and the area changes every year. The Ontario Line, now under construction, will add a Leslieville station at Queen Street East, which over time may bring more development to the area. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks.

A dead-end location keeps the street quiet, but check how deliveries, garbage pickup and visitor parking work on a short street with few spots.

Eastern Avenue at this end is a mix of older industrial buildings, studios and newer homes, which is part of what gives a building like this its character. That mix is also why the area keeps changing. Look up any active planning applications on the surrounding blocks on the City of Toronto’s website before you buy, so you know what may rise around you.

What Bakery Lofts costs to own

Condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot for this building, and with six or seven suites there may be a year or more between sales. There were no suites for sale or for rent at the time of writing.

When a suite does come up, the right comparisons are other hard-loft conversions in Leslieville and Riverside, adjusted for the rooftop deck, the parking space if there is one, and the heat included in the fee. A private roof deck and a dead-end street are both things buyers pay for, and they are hard to find in newer mid-rises along Queen.

Because the sample is so small, I would not rely on any automated estimate here. Ask me for the building sold report to see what has actually traded at the address.

Building specifications

Amenities at Bakery Lofts of Leslieville

There are no shared amenities beyond barbecue permission. What you are paying for is the space itself: concrete, light and, for many suites, a private deck on the roof.

Jatin’s honest take on Bakery Lofts of Leslieville

Bakery Lofts of Leslieville — frequently asked questions

Looking at Leslieville, Riverdale, the Beaches, Danforth and Leaside more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.