Encore at The Met, 25 Carlton St: Small Suites, Parking in the Fee

Encore is the smaller, younger sibling of The Met on Carlton Street, and it is the building I look at first when a buyer wants a downtown one-bedroom near Yonge and College at a lower price per square foot. It was finished in 2008, its suites are compact, and its fee includes parking, which changes the comparison with its neighbours more than most people realise. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The second act of a two-tower project

Edilcan Development built The Met and Encore on what had been a surface parking lot on the north side of Carlton, east of Yonge. The Met came first at 43 storeys; Encore followed at 33 storeys, and both were designed by Page + Steele. The name is literal: this is the encore to the first tower.

To get the rezoning and the extra density, Edilcan committed to public art, and it spent about $880,000 on three pieces. There is a 40-foot lit walkway under the archway that links the towers to the Granby townlofts behind them, laser-cut stainless steel fencing lit in blue in front of the townlofts, and Adrian Göllner’s Harbinger, a beacon on top of the complex that changes colour with the wind speed.

That art is more than decoration. The archway gives the site a pedestrian connection through the block, and the beacon makes the towers easy to pick out on the skyline. It is one of the better examples in this part of downtown of a developer giving something back in exchange for height.

Compact suites, and who they suit

The suite range here starts unusually small, at about 356 sq ft, and tops out at about 1,821 sq ft. Most of what trades, though, is in the 500s and 600s: one-bedrooms and one-bedroom-plus-dens built for a single person or a couple. That is the core of Encore’s market.

Small suites work when the layout is efficient. Look for a separate bedroom with a window, a kitchen that is not simply a wall in the living room, and a den that can actually hold a desk or a guest bed. In buildings of this period those details vary from plan to plan, so compare floor plans side by side rather than square footage alone.

Encore is also the smaller of the two towers, with 334 suites against roughly 400 at The Met. A smaller building can mean a quieter lobby, though the two buildings share a site, a driveway and much of the street life, so do not expect a boutique feel.

I could not verify ceiling heights from a reliable source. Standard floors in 2008 towers tend to be lower than in newer luxury buildings, so if height matters to you, measure during the showing.

Parking is in the fee, and that matters

Condos.ca lists parking among the fee inclusions here, along with heat, air conditioning, water and building insurance. That is unusual for a building of mostly small suites, and it is one of the main differences from The Met next door, which does not list parking in its fee.

It does not mean every suite has a space. Many small downtown suites are sold without parking, and those owners are paying for a share of the garage regardless. If you do not own a car, ask how the fee is split and whether units without parking pay less. If you do, confirm the parking unit is owned and on title.

Residents online have described the common hallways in the Met complex as plainer than the suites themselves. That is a matter of taste rather than a defect, but if lobby and corridor finishes matter to you, walk the building before you fall for a suite.

Life on Carlton, east of Yonge

Carlton Street east of Yonge is busy and practical. The former Maple Leaf Gardens a block east now holds a large grocery store and Toronto Metropolitan University’s athletic centre, and the university’s campus spreads south. You can live here without a car, which is exactly why so many owners skip the parking.

The area keeps changing. The former Harvey’s building just east of Encore has been under renovation, and the stretch between Yonge and Church has filled in with tall buildings such as The Lexington since the Met complex went up. Before you buy, check the City of Toronto development applications map for anything proposed close to the building, because a new tower can take your light and view.

What Encore costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $743 per square foot, one of the lower figures for a downtown tower of this location. When I checked, two suites were for sale and three for lease. The two sale listings were asking about $449,000 to $475,000.

Fees across those listings ran from about $530 to $669 a month, about $1.00 per square foot. That looks high next to a newer building at $0.70, but remember what is included. Heat, air conditioning and parking would be extra in many newer towers, so compare total monthly costs rather than the headline fee.

With only a handful of listings at any time, the best guide to value is recent sold data for the same layout and exposure. I can pull it for you through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Encore at The Met

The amenity package is modest but useful: concierge, a rooftop deck, a media room and guest suites. For owners of small suites, the rooftop and the media room act as the extra living space the suite does not have.

Jatin’s honest take on Encore at The Met

Encore at The Met — frequently asked questions

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