East Lofts, 138 Princess St: architectsAlliance Design at a Fair Price

East Lofts is the newest of the boutique soft lofts around King and Sherbourne, and on price per square foot it is currently the most affordable of them. Harhay built it in 2010 to a design by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, which is more architectural pedigree than you usually find in a building of 127 suites. The question is whether a fee that covers so little offsets that. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A dark brick building on a former storage site

East Lofts replaced a three- to four-storey red brick storage building at King and Princess.

The design is a six-storey base with a six-storey setback above it, so the building reads as mid-rise from the sidewalk even though it reaches 12 storeys. The base is clad in dark, almost black brick, an unusual choice in a neighbourhood of red brick, with tall vertical glass above.

Inside, the lobby is finished in marble. It is a small, quiet entrance, not a hotel-style lobby, which fits the boutique scale.

Same builder as Abbey Lane, a different product

Harhay also built Abbey Lane Lofts a few doors west on King. Abbey Lane is a 29-suite building from the early 2000s with very few amenities. East Lofts is larger, newer, and adds a party room and a meeting room, while keeping the open-plan soft-loft approach.

The architect is the bigger difference. architectsAlliance is one of the better-known firms in Toronto residential design, and the massing here, the setback, the brick base and the vertical glazing, shows more care than most mid-rise buildings of its era.

When the project launched, it reportedly sold about 50 of its 129 planned units in four days, which tells you buyers valued this corner even before it was built.

Layouts, from compact one-bedrooms to two-level suites

Suites range from about 480 square feet to roughly 2,146 square feet. Most are one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den plans, but the building also includes two-level suites, and the size range tells you there are some genuinely large units at the top end.

In the compact suites, look carefully at the den. In many soft lofts of this period it is an open nook, not a room with a door, and it may not take a bed. Measure it rather than trusting the listing label.

Two-level suites are the most distinctive units here. They give you the loft volume people come to the building for, but check the stair design and whether the upper bedroom is fully enclosed.

The fee covers the basics only

East Lofts’ maintenance fee includes common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, air conditioning and hydro are on the owner. That is worth noting because Mozo and The King East, both nearby, bundle heating and cooling into the fee.

So a lower fee per square foot here is not automatically cheaper. Ask the seller for a year of utility bills and add them to the fee before you compare.

Beanfield fibre is available in the building. The amenity list also shows pet restrictions, so read the declaration and rules before you buy if you have an animal.

What a 127-suite building means day to day

At 127 suites, East Lofts sits in a useful middle ground. It is large enough that the cost of a roof or elevator repair is shared across a meaningful number of owners, and small enough that elevator waits are short and you will recognise most of your neighbours within a year.

The flip side is that a building this size does not carry the staff of a big tower. Ask how parcels are handled, whether there is a concierge or security presence and at what hours, and how quickly the manager responds to service requests. Those details shape daily life more than any amenity list.

Turnover is also worth asking about. A high share of tenants can change the feel of a small building and affect how easily the board reaches quorum. The automatic panel on this page shows the owner and renter mix.

The neighbourhood around King and Princess

St. Lawrence Market is an easy walk west, and the Distillery District is a short walk east. Sugar Beach and the waterfront at the foot of Lower Jarvis are close by. The financial district is reachable on foot or by the King streetcar.

The downtown east is changing quickly, with new towers along King and Ontario Line construction in the area. The panel on this page has the current transit and walkability figures.

How East Lofts compares on price

The building average is about $744 per square foot, the lowest of the soft-loft buildings I track on this stretch of King East. Abbey Lane averages about $783, Mozo about $806 and The King East about $837.

Part of that discount reflects the fee structure, since you are paying for your own heat and cooling, and part reflects the smaller one-bedroom suites that make up much of the building. For an architect-designed 2010 building, it is still a reasonable entry point into the downtown east.

There were no suites for sale when I reviewed the building. With thin inventory, recent resales of the same layout matter more than the average. Ask me for a building sold report before you set a price.

Building specifications

Amenities at East Lofts

The amenities are light: a party room, a meeting room, visitor parking and a security system. That keeps the common costs down, but plan on a gym membership. For many buyers at this price point, a lower common cost matters more than a lounge they would rarely use.

Jatin’s honest take on East Lofts

East Lofts — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.