875 Queen East: A Full-Block Leslieville Mid-Rise With a Rebuilt Facade

875 Queen East is the building I point to when someone asks what new Leslieville should look like. It fills an entire block of Queen Street between Booth and Logan at seven storeys, it kept a piece of the old street by rebuilding a Victorian storefront at the corner, and it puts you right on the strip rather than near it. It is also a young corporation with a busy, mixed-use ground floor, and that shapes what you should check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A whole block, built to look like several buildings

Most mid-rise condos on Queen East sit on one or two old lots. This one runs the full block on the south side of Queen between Booth Avenue and Logan Avenue, which is why it reads as a real piece of the street rather than an infill.

OFFICEArchitecture handled the size by breaking the facade into projecting and recessed volumes in two tones of red brick. At street level that creates a rhythm of narrower shopfronts, closer to the old Queen East pattern of small stores than to one long glass wall. The upper floors step back, so from the sidewalk the building feels lower than seven storeys.

Note one quirk in the data: condos.ca lists the floor and suite counts the wrong way round. The project was planned, built and reported as seven storeys with 122 suites, and that is the figure I use.

The corner that came back

The site used to hold Woodgreen Church, a 1958 building that was demolished in early 2017, and a three-storey Victorian retail building at the Logan corner that had housed a pharmacy. Rather than lose that corner, Harhay had the old building taken apart in late 2016 to make room for shoring and excavation, then had its facades rebuilt as part of the new base.

The rebuilt portion uses a darker brick so you can tell old from new, and a corner storefront was rebuilt into the podium. The marketing material describes it as Empire-style; the planning-era coverage simply calls it Victorian. Either way, it is the detail that keeps the building tied to the neighbourhood’s history.

The redevelopment also included new space for the Red Door Family Shelter, a long-standing community organization that was previously based in the church. It has its own entrance on the Booth Avenue side, separate from the condo lobby. Ask the property manager how the shared parts of the site are divided under the declaration, since mixed-use buildings split costs between residential, retail and other components.

Suites: what was planned and what trades

At launch, the plan was one- to three-bedroom suites from about 448 to 1,289 sq ft. Condos.ca shows a range of roughly 697 to 1,365 sq ft based on suites it has recorded, so the two sources do not line up exactly. The smallest launch plans may simply not have come to market yet, or some suites may have been combined. Always confirm the size against the floor plan in the status certificate rather than a listing.

A one-bedroom-plus-den was among the recent listings, and a den is worth having here if you work from home. Suites on the Queen side look over the busy strip, while those facing south or onto Booth and Logan look over quieter residential streets. Visit the suite at the time of day you would actually use it, and listen for streetcar noise if you are on the Queen side.

I have not found published ceiling heights, parking ratios or locker counts I would rely on. Ask whether the suite you want comes with parking and a locker, because in a 2019 building on a streetcar strip, many suites do not.

Living on the strip, not near it

The selling point is simple: you walk out the door onto Leslieville’s main street. Cafes, restaurants, bakeries and independent shops line Queen East in both directions, and Jimmie Simpson Park, with its recreation centre and sports fields, is close by. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks in detail.

Two things are changing nearby. The Ontario Line is under construction through South Riverdale, with a Riverside–Leslieville station planned on Queen East to the west. Over the next few years that means construction disruption, then a much faster link downtown. I would treat it as a long-term plus with a short-term cost.

The trade-off of living above 16,000 sq ft of retail is activity. Deliveries, restaurant hours and weekend crowds are part of daily life. For most buyers who choose Leslieville, that is the point.

What 875 Queen East costs to own

Condos.ca does not publish a reliable average per square foot for this building, and with only a handful of resales a year in a 122-suite building, any single number moves a lot. The fairer benchmark is other boutique mid-rises on Queen East built in the last decade, such as Sync Lofts and Riverside Square to the west, adjusted for size, exposure and whether parking is included.

At the time of writing there was one suite for sale and two for rent, which is too few to quote a range. Maintenance fees have not been published as a full schedule; look at the fee for the specific suite and ask what the fee includes, because I could not confirm the inclusions. In many buildings of this age, hydro and water are metered separately.

This corporation is still young, so its fee history is short. Ask how much the fees have risen since registration and whether the first reserve fund study called for increases. For recent results, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 875 Queen East

Condos.ca lists no amenity package here, and this is not a building you buy for a gym or a pool. The amenity is the street: Queen East’s shops and restaurants, and Jimmie Simpson Park nearby. Ask the manager for the current list of shared rooms, since boutique buildings sometimes add or change them after turnover.

Jatin’s honest take on 875 Queen East

875 Queen East — 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.