2G Lofts, 2 Gladstone Ave: A 55-Suite Building at Queen and Gladstone

2G Lofts is the small building I suggest to buyers who want West Queen West at its most local. Streetcar Developments finished it in 2011 as the first building on the Gladstone block, it has only 55 suites, and it sits across the street from the Gladstone Hotel. The questions here are about fees and the neighbourhood around it, not about the building itself. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first building on the Gladstone block

Two Gladstone was the first of four projects Streetcar and Dream built on the block north of Queen between Gladstone Avenue and Dufferin Street. It stands at the southeast corner of the site, directly opposite the Gladstone Hotel, and was finished in 2011. Eight Gladstone, Twenty and the Carnaby tower followed.

The four buildings are organised around a pedestrian mews running from Peel Avenue toward Queen Street, lined with shops and services, with a Metro among the planned retailers. A new park was planned along Dufferin with access to the West Toronto Railpath. Buying here, you are buying into a finished neighbourhood rather than a building waiting for one.

TACT Architecture designed the complex. 2G itself is a quiet mid-rise of eight storeys that keeps the scale of Queen Street, while the 20-storey Carnaby tower to the west was deliberately set back from the low-rise Gladstone frontage.

Small, efficient suites in a 55-suite building

Condos.ca records suites from about 527 to 1,078 square feet. Most of what trades is one-bedroom and one-plus-den in the 500 to 700 square foot range, with a few two-bedroom plans at the top end. These are efficient city suites, not sprawling lofts, despite the name.

The size of the building is the real feature. With only 55 suites, you share elevators and hallways with few neighbours, and owners tend to know one another. UrbanToronto reported 54 units at construction; condos.ca lists 55, likely reflecting the final count.

The other side of small is that each owner carries a larger share of any big repair. A building completed in 2011 is now entering the stage where balconies, roofing and mechanical equipment start to appear in the reserve fund study, so read it closely.

For the right buyer, the compact plans are a strength. A well-laid-out one-plus-den here can work as a home office without the price of a full two-bedroom, and in a small building the corridors and lobby feel more like an apartment house than a tower. Look for a den with a door or a window if you plan to work from it every day.

A high fee per square foot, explained

Current listings average about $1.23 per square foot in fees, which is high for a building of this age. Part of the reason is what is included: common elements, heat, air conditioning, insurance and water. Parking is not listed as included, so confirm whether a suite has a space and how it is paid for.

The other part is scale. Fixed costs such as insurance, management, the elevator contract and the front-door systems are spread across 55 suites instead of 300. That is the honest price of living in a boutique building, and it is worth weighing against the privacy and quiet that come with it.

Ask the manager for the fee history and the most recent budget. A small building with a high fee and a healthy reserve fund is a better bet than one with a low fee that has been held down by deferring work.

Queen and Gladstone, day to day

This is the end of Queen West where the street is still about galleries, bars and small restaurants, with the Gladstone Hotel and the Drake a short walk apart. The Queen streetcar is at the corner, and the shops along the mews behind the building, where a Metro was planned, are meant to cover daily errands. Check what is open today before you count on it.

A rail corridor runs close to the block, and forum commenters raised noise and vibration as a question during construction. If you are sensitive to train noise, visit at different times of day and ask the manager what owners report. A rooftop deck gives you outdoor space with a view over the neighbourhood.

The block has also changed what this corner is. When 2G was approved, the site behind it was described as derelict and underused. Today it is a complete mixed-use pocket with a grocery store, a mews and a park, and that context is a large part of what you are paying for when you buy at 2G rather than in a standalone building elsewhere on Queen.

What 2G Lofts costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $985 per square foot. That is above the older King West loft buildings to the east and in line with what newer, smaller buildings on West Queen West command.

At the time of writing two suites were listed for sale, asking from $519,000 to $589,000. Monthly fees on those two listings ran from $641 to $838.

With two listings and no rentals in a 55-suite building, supply is thin, and the sold aggregates in the data panel are the better benchmark. When you compare with a newer building, add back its heating and cooling bills and your parking cost; the gap in monthly cost is usually smaller than the fee alone suggests.

Building specifications

Amenities at 2G Lofts

The amenities are a rooftop deck, a party room and a meeting room, with barbecues permitted. There is no gym in the list, so plan on one of the many studios along Queen West.

Jatin’s honest take on 2G Lofts

2G Lofts — 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.