East United Condos, 120 Parliament St: 1906 Stables, Heat in the Fee

East United is the newer building I suggest when someone wants Corktown and the Distillery on foot but does not want a 100-year-old loft. It is a 2020 tower by SigNature Communities that spans a block from Parliament to Berkeley, and it kept a 1906 brick stable at its base instead of knocking it down. The other thing that sets it apart is quieter: heat and air conditioning are in the maintenance fee. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A tower that kept the stables

The site runs through the block from Parliament Street to Berkeley Street. On the Berkeley side, the project kept the 1906 Christie, Brown & Co. Stables, a two-storey brick building that once served the biscuit company, and folded it into the base as office space. That gives the Berkeley frontage a heritage face that most new towers in this area do not have.

Architect Ralph Giannone of Giannone Petricone Associates treated the two streets differently. On Parliament there is a bold podium with a double-height ground floor and retail, meant as a modern take on the industrial buildings to the south. A pedestrian mews along the south side links the two streets, and the original plans placed a row of two-storey townhomes along it.

The tower itself is glass and steel above the podium. It launched in 2015 at 21 storeys and finished at 24, and UrbanToronto followed the construction from podium to cladding between 2017 and 2019.

Suites and finishes

condos.ca lists suites from about 350 to 1,370 square feet, which matches the 350 to 1,400 square foot range quoted at launch. Expect mostly one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens, with a smaller number of two-bedroom and larger suites, plus the mews townhomes.

At launch, buyers chose from three finish packages named after the neighbourhoods around it: an earthy, rustic one inspired by the Distillery District, a minimal one inspired by the King East design strip, and a brighter one inspired by the St. Lawrence Market area. On resale, that means two suites of the same size can look quite different inside, so compare finishes, not just square footage.

There is a discrepancy on the suite count. condos.ca lists 329 suites; UrbanToronto’s database and its 2015 launch coverage say 279 residential suites. Count changes during construction are common, but confirm the number from the status certificate, because it matters when you divide the reserve fund by the number of owners.

Heat and cooling in the fee

condos.ca lists common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water as included in the fee. Most towers finished around 2020 meter heating and cooling to each suite, so this is worth noticing. It makes your monthly cost more predictable and means you do not get a separate bill in a hot July.

The trade-off is that you pay for the building’s average energy use, not just your own, and future energy costs flow into the fee. Ask how the heating and cooling system is set up, how the budget has tracked energy costs, and whether the board has looked at sub-metering. Hydro for your own lights and appliances is not on the inclusion list, so budget for it.

Corktown, the Distillery and what is changing

From here you can walk to the Distillery District, St. Lawrence Market and the King East furniture and design strip, and the Corktown Common park and the West Don Lands are a short walk east. It is a neighbourhood of converted factories, newer mid-rises and a lot of construction.

The biggest change nearby is transit. Metrolinx is building the Ontario Line through this area, with a station planned near King and Parliament. Construction will be disruptive for a while, and better transit should help demand once it opens. The automatic panel on this page covers current transit, schools and walkability.

Price per square foot and fee value

condos.ca puts the building average at about $930 per square foot. That is above most of the older Corktown and King East buildings on the same source, such as King’s Court at about $836 and The King East at about $837, and close to The Bartholomew on Sackville at about $905. For a 2020 tower with a heritage base on this block, I think that premium is reasonable.

At the time of writing there were no suites for sale and one for rent, so there are no active asking prices to quote. When inventory is that thin, the last 12 months of recorded sales in the data panel are a far better guide than any asking price. My building sold report breaks those down.

Larger suites are the scarce part of the stock here. If you are hunting for a two-bedroom or something over 1,000 square feet, expect to wait, and be ready to move when one lists, because buyers looking for size in a newer Corktown building do not have many alternatives.

When you compare fees with other buildings, adjust for the inclusions. A fee here that looks higher per square foot than a nearby tower’s may be carrying heating and air conditioning that the other building bills to you separately. Do the comparison on total monthly housing cost, not on the fee line alone.

Building specifications

Amenities at East United Condos

condos.ca lists a gym, rooftop deck, concierge, party room, games room, media room, meeting room and bike storage. At launch, the rooftop was pitched with lounge seating, fire pits and an outdoor theatre, and the indoor spaces included a yoga lounge and a music jam room, so confirm what was built as described.

Jatin’s honest take on East United Condos

East United Condos — 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.