Cabin Toronto, 45 Dovercourt Rd: 25 Stacked Townhouses in Wood

Cabin is not a condo in the way most people picture one. It is 25 two-level townhouses stacked on top of each other in a six-storey wood-and-metal building, a few steps off Queen Street West, with no gym, no party room and no concierge to fund. For the right buyer that is exactly the appeal. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A house format, stacked six storeys high

Curated Properties built its name on townhouses. When it bought this site in 2014, land for a conventional row of townhouses in this part of the city was scarce, so the company stacked them: two-storey homes placed on top of two-storey homes, three layers high. The result is 25 suites in a building that reads more like a cluster of townhouses than a condo.

That matters day to day. Most suites have their own stairs inside, with living space on one level and bedrooms on the other. You get the separation of a house, which is hard to find in a downtown condo, especially one this close to Queen West.

Skyrise lists the project as two buildings, and the developer said at launch that the only shared spaces would be the corridors and elevators. Every suite was planned with a private balcony, terrace or rooftop. In practice, your outdoor space is your amenity.

Wood, and one of the first of its kind

Ontario raised the height limit for wood-frame buildings from four to six storeys at the start of 2015. Cabin was announced that summer, and the trade press at the time placed it in the first group of six-storey wood-frame projects to use the new rules.

RAW Design, led by Roland Rom Colthoff, gave it a facade of wood and metal cladding, with the two-storey units stepped and expressed on the outside and varying shades of wood across the frame. Mason Studio did the interiors, and the developer described finishes and millwork by Toronto craftspeople and lighting from local makers. The cottage idea runs through the whole building, from the name inward.

Wood construction is a perfectly good way to build, but it changes what I look at in a resale. I want to know how the building handles sound between suites, and how the exterior wood is being maintained. Both should show up in the reserve fund study and the board minutes.

Suites from 480 to over 1,500 square feet

Condos.ca puts the suite range at about 480 to 1,554 square feet. The developer pitched Cabin at buyers moving up from a one-bedroom condo who wanted more space and a house-like layout, and the plan mix included a handful of three-bedroom suites.

With only 25 suites, a particular layout may come up for sale once every few years. If you want a three-bedroom or a rooftop suite, be patient and ready to move quickly when one appears.

The smaller suites at the bottom of the range are worth looking at carefully. A two-level layout under 600 square feet can lose a lot of space to stairs, so walk it in person and see how the furniture actually fits.

Also think about who will live in the suite over time. Interior stairs suit young couples and families well, but they are a real drawback for anyone planning to age in place or anyone with mobility concerns. If that is you, look for a single-level plan or choose a different building.

Position in the stack matters as well. Depending on where it sits, a suite was planned with a private garden or terrace, a balcony, or a rooftop. Each comes with a different mix of privacy, light and street noise, so decide which you value most before you start viewing.

Off Queen, not on it

This short stretch of Dovercourt Road sits just south of Queen Street West, near the Drake and the West Queen West galleries, shops and restaurants. The developer chose it to be close to that strip without facing it, and that is the right way to think about it: you get the neighbourhood without the noise of a main street at your window.

The trade-off is that West Queen West keeps changing. Galleries and independent shops come and go, and mid-rise condos keep replacing low buildings along Queen. A side-street location protects you from most of that, but expect construction somewhere nearby for years to come.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks in detail.

Priced like a townhouse, with a condo’s fee structure

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $926 per square foot. That is high for this part of the city, but you are paying for a house-style layout, private outdoor space and a small, new building. Mid-rise condos with conventional layouts nearby often trade for less per square foot.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, hydro and parking are not listed as included, so budget for them on top. With no pool, gym or concierge to run, fees should stay lower than in an amenity-heavy building, but in a 25-suite building every repair is shared among very few owners.

When you compare price per square foot, compare like with like. A two-level suite with a private rooftop should be measured against other townhouse-style homes in the area, not against a one-bedroom in a tower. Outdoor space is not counted in the interior square footage, yet it is a large part of what you are paying for here.

I am not citing individual listings here because there are so few at a time. For a current price range and recent sales, ask me for a building report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Cabin Toronto

There is no amenity floor here, and that is deliberate. Your private outdoor space does the job a rooftop lounge would do elsewhere, and you are not paying monthly to heat a pool you never use.

Jatin’s honest take on Cabin Toronto

Cabin Toronto — 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.