Kingston & Co., 1100 Kingston Rd: Teeple Design, Workshop, Car Wash

Kingston & Co. is the building I point to when someone tells me Scarborough condos all look the same. It is a terraced, award-winning Teeple Architects design on Kingston Road, with a workshop and tool room, a car wash and rooftop garden plots, which almost nothing else nearby offers. It also rarely has a suite for sale, and that tells you something. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A terraced building on the old Alpine Hotel site

The site was the Alpine Hotel before TAS and Main and Main redeveloped it. Construction started in October 2015, and the building was handed over in 2018. Teeple Architects designed it as a terraced wedge, so the massing steps down toward the neighbouring low-rise houses instead of presenting one flat wall.

The finish is textured precast concrete on most elevations. On the south side, the balconies are set into the facade and their walls alternate between muted yellow and orange, a detail that gives the Kingston Road frontage some colour without shouting.

The design was recognised with an Award of Merit at the 2021 Toronto Urban Design Awards. When blogTO reviewed it at launch, it compared the approach with Code Condos on St. Clair West, another mid-rise that was asked to fit into a low-rise street.

Amenities built for people who make things

The amenity package is the real difference here. Alongside a gym and yoga studio, there is a workshop and tool room, a car wash bay and a pet wash. On the roof, the terrace includes garden plots for residents, with views that, from the upper floors and roof, take in Lake Ontario and the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant.

Condos.ca also lists concierge, guest suites, a rooftop deck, visitor parking and bike storage, and confirms Beanfield Fibre is available. TAS describes the bike parking as ample, which is useful when the lake is close enough to reach by bike.

These are amenities that people actually use. A workshop is rare in Toronto condos, and it is the reason a certain kind of buyer, the one who builds furniture or fixes bikes, will choose this building over a newer one.

Many floor plans, and outdoor space for every suite

Kingston & Co. was sold with an unusually wide set of floor plans, about 72 to 75 depending on the source, from studios to three-bedroom-plus-den suites. At launch, every suite was planned with outdoor space.

The size figures vary by source. Condos.ca shows about 377 to 1,527 square feet, blogTO’s launch summary gave 407 to 1,439, and UrbanToronto gave 423 to 1,428. Suite counts also moved during sales, from 140 or 150 at launch to the 144 the developer and condos.ca now report. Use the registered floor plan for the suite you are looking at.

With that many plans, two suites of similar size can live very differently. Look at where the terrace sits, which way it faces, and how the stepped massing affects light and privacy on your floor.

Daily life in Kingston Road Village

The building sits above the Beach in the stretch locals call Kingston Road Village, and TAS describes the lake as a short walk away. Shops and cafés sit at the base of the building, with about 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail planned at launch.

For a big grocery run or a mall, most residents drive or take the bus north. The transit panel on this page shows the nearest stops and stations.

This end of Kingston Road is changing. When the building launched, the street had few condos and some tired storefronts, and blogTO argued that a project like this could bring new energy. By 2019, UrbanToronto was describing Birch Cliff as on the verge of a mini condo boom, with Core Development’s Birchcliff Urban Towns going up further east at 1665 Kingston Road. Expect more construction along the street over the coming years, which brings noise for a while and more shops and neighbours afterwards.

What Kingston & Co. costs

Condos.ca shows an average of about $903 per square foot here. That is high for Scarborough and closer to east-end Toronto pricing, which reflects the design, the amenities and the walk to the lake.

There were no suites listed for sale at the time of writing, so I cannot give you a current asking range. That scarcity is common for buildings that owners like. Use the building sold report to see recent aggregate results before you make an offer.

When a suite does come up, buyers here are usually comparing it with two things: newer mid-rises along Kingston Road and the Danforth, and older towers closer to Victoria Park. Against the newer stock, Kingston & Co. tends to offer more character and a better amenity list. Against the older towers, it costs more per square foot but carries far less near-term repair risk, because the building is still young.

The fee includes common elements, heat, building insurance and water. Heat in the fee is a meaningful saving in a building with this much glass and terrace exposure, and it keeps winter costs predictable. Hydro is on you, and parking is not on the condos.ca inclusion list, so ask whether the suite comes with a space and what it costs.

Building specifications

Amenities at Kingston & Co. Condos

Few 144-suite buildings carry a workshop, a car wash and a pet wash as well as a gym and rooftop gardens. They are practical rooms that save you money and trips, but they also need maintenance, so look at how the budget funds them.

Jatin’s honest take on Kingston & Co. Condos

Kingston & Co. Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.