Madison Avenue Lofts, 380 Macpherson Ave: Hydro Site Lofts Below Casa Loma

Madison Avenue Lofts is the building I suggest to buyers who want real loft ceilings in midtown without paying Yorkville prices. Burnac finished it in 2009 on a former Toronto Hydro site below Casa Loma, with exposed concrete ceilings as high as 14 feet on the lower floors and a far bigger amenity package than most loft buildings. There is one thing you have to check on every suite here, and it is the direction it faces. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Hard-loft volume in a new-build shell

The site was a Toronto Hydro storage facility, according to blogTO, and the building that replaced it was designed with an art deco feel. One loft-specialist site calls it a hard and soft loft conversion; what you see today is concrete construction with exposed concrete ceilings and columns and a deco-inspired exterior. Either way, if you want brick and timber, look at the older conversions closer to Dupont.

The ceiling heights are the reason to buy here. One source puts them at about 14 feet on the lower floors and about 10 feet on the upper floors, and blogTO measured 12 feet in a top-floor penthouse. Floor-to-ceiling windows run with them, so the lower floors in particular have a volume you rarely find in a building from 2009.

The original finishes included Scavolini kitchen cabinetry, granite counters, stainless appliances and marble-tile bathroom counters, with laminate flooring. Many suites will have been updated since, so judge each one on its own condition. Laminate in particular is often the first thing owners replace.

Layouts and the penthouse level

With 211 suites across six storeys, this is a wide, low building with long corridors and lots of suites per floor. Sizes start around 545 sq ft for a compact one-bedroom and run to about 1,570 sq ft by condos.ca’s range. The current listings span one-bedroom-plus-den suites in the 600s through two-bedroom suites in the 800s to a large three-bedroom.

The top floor is where the interesting layouts are. blogTO profiled a sixth-floor penthouse with a solarium and a terrace, a combination you will not find on the lower floors. If you want outdoor space, the penthouse level and ground-floor suites with patios are the short list.

Lower floors trade height for light. A 14-foot ceiling on a north-facing lower floor can still feel darker than a 10-foot suite higher up with an open view, so walk the suite at the time of day you would actually use it.

The size of the building works in your favour in two ways. With 211 suites sharing the costs, a major repair hits each owner far less than it would in a 19-suite Annex conversion. And because suites trade fairly often, there are usually real comparables in the same building, which makes pricing an offer far less of a guess than in the boutique lofts nearby.

The rail line and the south side

Here is the honest part. Macpherson Avenue runs along a rail corridor, and blogTO noted that some south-facing suites overlook the tracks, which can be noisy. That does not make this a bad building. It means a south-facing suite and a courtyard-facing suite are very different homes, and they should be priced differently.

If you are sensitive to noise, visit in the evening, stand on the balcony and listen for a while. Weekday mornings are worth a second visit too, because rail traffic does not follow your viewing schedule. Ask the seller whether the windows have been upgraded and how often trains pass. Courtyard and north-facing suites avoid most of this.

The neighbourhood around it has changed a lot. This stretch between Spadina and Davenport was industrial, and new residential buildings have filled it in; blogTO notes a separate townhouse and loft complex was built next door. The City of Toronto Archives is nearby on Spadina Road, Casa Loma is just up the hill, and Dupont’s shops are a short walk. The data panel on this page covers transit and Walk Score.

What Madison Avenue Lofts costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $834 per square foot. That sits at or below most of the small Annex conversions a few blocks south, several of which average $900 or more per square foot. Part of the gap is scale: a 211-suite building trades far more often, and its average includes rail-side and lower-floor suites as well as the best ones. For loft ceilings in midtown, it is one of the more accessible entry points.

Five suites were listed for sale when I wrote this, with asking prices from about $599,000 to about $1,395,000. Two-bedroom suites in the 800 to 899 sq ft band were asking roughly $789,000 to $829,000. Asking prices are not sale prices; the sold data panel on this page shows what has actually traded.

Monthly fees on those listings ran from about $675 to $1,397, and the average across active listings works out to roughly $1.04 per square foot. That is on the high side for a mid-rise, but the fee covers heat and water, and it is carrying a 24-hour concierge, steam saunas, a theatre and a rooftop terrace. If you will not use the amenities, this is not the cheapest building to own; if you will, the numbers look better. For a suite-specific valuation, use my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Madison Avenue Lofts

For a loft building, this is a full amenity package: a 24-hour front desk, a gym with change rooms and steam saunas, a theatre and a shared rooftop terrace with barbecue. You are paying for that in the fee, so make sure it matches how you live.

Jatin’s honest take on Madison Avenue Lofts

Madison Avenue Lofts — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yorkville, the Annex and Midtown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.