Liv Lofts, 75 The Donway W: An Office Tower Turned Condo at Don Mills

Liv Lofts is one of the few office-to-residential conversions in North York, and it sits right on top of the Shops at Don Mills. You get concrete office-building bones, a concierge and a rooftop deck, and you walk out the door into the area’s main shopping street. The fee per square foot is on the high side, so the numbers need a careful look. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An office building, not a new tower

The most important thing to understand about Liv Lofts is that it did not start life as a condo. Building databases record the tower as completed in 1971, as a mixed residential and retail building today, and a project listing describes it as a conversion of an existing office building into a 15-storey condominium with about 12 suites on a typical floor.

That history explains the loft name. Office floor plates and structure are different from those of a purpose-built residential tower, and conversions usually trade on the volume and solidity of the original frame. I could not confirm ceiling heights from the sources I reviewed, so measure the specific suite rather than assuming loft-height ceilings throughout.

There is a small conflict in the records worth noting. Condos.ca lists 14 floors, while a building database and the project listing describe 15. The difference may come down to how the ground-floor retail level is counted, but it is a reminder to rely on the declaration and the status certificate for the details that matter.

Office-to-condo conversions remain uncommon in Toronto, so there are few direct comparables. That cuts both ways: the building offers something different from the glass towers going up around Eglinton, but appraisers and buyers have less to measure it against, and parts of the structure are far older than the 2015 registration date suggests.

Who built it, and why it matters

Condos.ca lists Cadillac Fairview Corporation as the developer. Cadillac Fairview owns the Shops at Don Mills, and Liv Lofts was described in a project forum as the second residential development completed at the centre. The same project listing credits FRAM and Giannone Petricone Associates, without spelling out who did what.

For a buyer, the practical point is that the building is tied into a large retail property run by a major landlord. That has upsides, such as a well-maintained public realm around you, and it means your daily surroundings are shaped by decisions made by the mall’s owner as well as your own condo board. Ask the status certificate and the declaration about any shared facilities or cost-sharing agreements with the commercial component.

Layouts: from micro-suite to large two-bedroom

Suites range from about 394 to 1,325 square feet, which is a wider spread than most buildings this size. The small end is a compact studio that suits a first-time buyer or an investor, and the large end is a full-size family suite. Most of the market here sits in between, in one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den plans.

Converted office buildings can produce some unusual layouts, including deep plans where the interior of the suite is a long way from the windows. Before you fall for the finishes, walk the suite at different times of day and check how much natural light reaches the den and the bedroom.

On the plus side, a building that started as offices was built around a concrete commercial frame, which many buyers find more solid than lightweight new construction. Even so, ask the manager and owners about sound transfer between suites and from the retail below.

Daily life at the Shops at Don Mills

This is the location’s whole case. You come downstairs into an open-air shopping street with restaurants, shops and services, and the Don Mills neighbourhood around it is one of Toronto’s original planned postwar communities. The panel beside this review shows the parks, food and transit options in detail.

The bigger change is to the south. The Eglinton Crosstown, Line 5, opened in February 2026 along Eglinton Avenue, and the planned Ontario Line is designed to meet it at Don Mills and Eglinton, which would make the area a much bigger transit node. That should help both commuting and long-term demand, but it also means more construction and more density in the wider area for some time yet.

Pricing: fair per square foot, high per fee

The building averages about $763 per square foot, which is a premium over Accolade at 181 Wynford Drive, at about $696, and reflects the location on the Shops at Don Mills. Two suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking between $574,000 and $575,000, so active pricing is tightly clustered.

The fee is where you need to look harder. Active listings carry fees of about $1.07 per square foot, and the inclusions are thin: heat and water only, according to listing data. That is noticeably higher per square foot than Accolade at 181 Wynford Drive, a nearby Tridel tower whose fees run around $0.83 and also include parking.

A higher fee is not automatically a problem. Concierge service, an older converted structure and retail integration all cost money to operate. But a gap of $0.20 or more per square foot adds up to hundreds of dollars a year even on a modest suite, so compare the full monthly carrying cost against alternatives before you decide.

Building specifications

Amenities at Liv Lofts

The amenity package is compact: concierge, a gym, a party room and a rooftop deck. In practice your real amenity is the shopping street downstairs, and Beanfield Fibre availability is a genuine plus if you work from home. Having a staffed front desk also helps with parcels in a building that sits above a busy retail street.

Jatin’s honest take on Liv Lofts

Liv Lofts — frequently asked questions

Looking at York Mills, Don Mills, Lawrence Park, Bathurst Manor and midtown-north Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.