55C Condos, 55 Charles St E: Small Suites, Big Rooftop, Yonge and Bloor

55C is the building I show buyers who want a brand-new tower a short walk from Yonge and Bloor and who are realistic about suite size. MOD Developments marketed it as Bloor-Yorkville; the City puts it in Church-Wellesley, and the address sits right on the line between the two. What you get is a 50-storey architectsAlliance tower, a big rooftop and a lot of small, efficient suites. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The last development site on Charles Street

Charles Street East has been lined with towers for decades, and MOD’s co-founder Gary Switzer described this as the last development site left on the street. Before 55C, the land held a nine-storey, 76-unit apartment building and a three-storey, 24-unit building. MOD began demolition in 2020 once presales passed its threshold, and existing tenants were given the right to return to the new building.

The project grew on the way. In 2020 it was described as 48 storeys and 551 suites; the finished tower is 50 storeys, about 167 metres, with 665 suites. That growth came mostly in more compact units, which shapes everything about owning here.

Because of the tenant return commitment, some suites in the building are likely to be replacement rental units. That is common on redeveloped rental sites. Ask how those units are held and how they share common costs, which the status certificate and declaration should explain.

MOD is a Toronto developer founded in 2009 by Gary Switzer, who previously ran Great Gulf’s high-rise division, and Noorez Lalani. Its earlier downtown work includes Five Condos at 5 St. Joseph, built with Graywood, Massey Tower on Yonge Street and Waterworks on Richmond Street West, several of them built around heritage pieces. That track record is worth knowing, and worth asking about, when you weigh a building that has only been occupied for a few years.

What architectsAlliance did with the tower

The six-storey podium is wrapped in curtain wall glass and aluminum panels and steps back twice before the tower begins. Above that, the tower reads as a set of vertical stripes broken by horizontal boxes that either push out or sit in from the face, with glass balcony guards inside the projecting boxes.

An earlier sawtooth balcony pattern was dropped during the City review, and the south side now groups white-tinted balconies together. The result is calmer than the first renderings, and on Charles Street, with older slab towers on both sides, it stands out without shouting.

The bigger neighbour is to the north. The One at Yonge and Bloor rises far higher, and for north-facing suites it changes the view. South and east exposures look over the low-rise blocks toward the lake and the downtown skyline, and those are the ones I would prioritise.

Layouts: built for efficiency

Suites start at about 335 square feet and top out near 1,006, so even the three-bedrooms here are compact. MOD’s original mix ran from studios through one- and two-bedrooms to a small number of three-bedrooms, and the active listings cluster between 450 and 800 square feet.

A 335 square foot studio is a pied-à-terre or a student suite, not a home for two. In a one-plus-den, check whether the den has a door and a window or is simply a nook; in a two-bedroom under 800 square feet, measure the second bedroom against an actual bed and desk.

The flip side is price of entry. At this size, you can own a brand-new tower suite this close to Yonge and Bloor for far less than a larger suite in an older Yorkville building. Just be clear that you are paying for location and the building, not for space.

Charles Street, day to day

Charles is a quieter residential street tucked between Yonge and Church, but it is one block from the Yonge and Bloor crossroads. Bloor Street shopping, Yorkville’s restaurants, the University of Toronto and the hospitals on University Avenue are all within reach on foot or a short ride.

The Church Street village is a few minutes east, with its own bars and restaurants. That is the energy of the neighbourhood, and it is a plus for most buyers who end up here. The transit, school, grocery and park details are in the data panel on this page.

Pricing: you pay for the address, not the square footage

Active listings here average about $0.82 per square foot in maintenance fees. That is typical for a new downtown tower with two amenity levels and 24-hour concierge, though listing records don’t say what the fee includes, so check whether heat, water or air conditioning are covered or metered separately.

At the time of writing, eight sample active listings were asking between about $416,000 and $1,000,000, with monthly fees between about $449 and $862. That spread runs from studios to three-bedrooms. With around 16 suites for sale and 12 for rent at once, buyers have room to compare, and the sale and lease medians in the data panel are a better anchor than asking prices.

New buildings often start with fees set by the developer’s first-year budget. I would ask how fees have changed since registration and what the reserve fund study projects, especially with a large rooftop amenity to maintain.

Building specifications

Amenities at 55C Condos

MOD’s plan split the amenities between the eighth floor, with lounges, a kitchen and dining room, study space, a gym, steam rooms and barbecues, and a roughly 20,000 square foot indoor-outdoor rooftop with fire pits. In a building of small suites, those shared rooms are your dining room and your guest room, which is why they matter more here than in a building of large units.

Jatin’s honest take on 55C Condos

55C Condos — frequently asked questions

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