Nursing Lofts, 33 Price St: A 1950s Nurses’ HQ Turned Summerhill Condo

Nursing Lofts is one of the few condo buildings in Summerhill with a real back story. The brick building on Price Street was built in the 1950s as a nurses’ association headquarters, and in 1996 it became a small residence where no two suites are alike. It has no gym and no pool, and the people who buy here do not care. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From nurses’ headquarters to condominium

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s own history records that construction began on its office building at 33 Price Street in the 1950s, that it moved in in 1956, and that it moved its head office to University Avenue in 1995.

Accounts differ on the details. The Globe and Mail described the building as home to the Ontario Nurses’ Association for about 40 years until 1996, and condos.ca calls it the former residences of a nursing association. The RNAO’s record describes an office building rather than a residence, which is the version I would trust, but the story is the same: a 1950s institutional building converted to condominium suites in 1996.

The Globe also reported that the building is heritage-designated, with a brick exterior. Confirm what that designation covers before you plan window or balcony changes.

No two suites alike

Because the suites were carved out of an office building, the plans are irregular. The listing agent quoted by the Globe said every unit in the building is unique, and the featured suites had ceilings over nine feet, deep window sills, built-in bookcases and French doors to Juliet balconies.

Sizes run from about 468 sq ft to about 1,442 sq ft, so there is a genuine range here, from a compact pied-à-terre to a full two-bedroom. Sources also differ on the count: condos.ca lists 19 suites, while the Globe article said 20. In a building this small, that kind of discrepancy usually comes from a combined or split suite, and the status certificate will settle it.

With unique plans, you cannot assume a neighbour’s layout tells you anything about yours. Get the floor plan, measure the rooms, and check where the windows face.

Conversions of institutional buildings also differ from purpose-built condos behind the walls. Ask how sound separation between suites was handled in the 1996 conversion, where the plumbing stacks run, and whether any suite has had recent water or window work. A good property manager in a building this size will know each suite’s history.

An all-in fee and surface parking

The fee at 33 Price includes heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance, common elements and parking. For a 1990s conversion, that is a generous inclusion list, and it makes monthly costs easy to predict through a Toronto winter.

Parking here is surface parking rather than a garage, according to the Globe’s description of a featured suite, which also came with a locker. Listing data shows visitor parking as well. Surface parking is simpler to maintain than an underground garage, which matters in a 19-suite corporation, but confirm which space is assigned to the suite and whether a locker comes with it.

Heat and air conditioning in the fee usually means shared building systems rather than a separate furnace in each suite. Ask how each suite controls its own temperature, how old the central equipment is, and when the reserve fund study expects it to be replaced. In a 19-suite corporation, that replacement is one of the largest single costs the owners will face.

Price Street and Summerhill

Price Street is a short residential street just off Yonge in Summerhill, and the building faces the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club. That outlook is one of the building’s quiet strengths: you look across at the club rather than at another tower.

The building is small and low, so it reads as part of the street rather than a landmark. For buyers moving from a house, that matters: you keep the feeling of a residential block, with a short walk to groceries, cafés and the shops along Yonge, without the upkeep of a garden.

The area mixes Rosedale’s house streets with Yonge Street shops and restaurants, and the Thornwood buildings at Scrivener Square are close by if you want to compare a newer, larger option. Transit, schools, food and parks for this address are shown in the data panel on this page.

Pricing: a premium for character and location

Nursing Lofts averages about $1,295 per square foot on condos.ca. That sits at the upper end of Summerhill’s older buildings: The Rosehill at 70 Rosehill shows about $1,341 and Thornwood One at 20 Scrivener Square about $1,351, while 5 Rosehill shows about $842 and The Orion at 1231 Yonge about $908.

In other words, buyers here are paying near-new-tower money per foot for a 1950s building. The reasons are scarcity, the heritage character, the Rosedale-Summerhill location and the fact that heat, cooling and parking are in the fee. With only 19 suites, the average also rests on a small number of sales, so the smaller suites can swing it.

There were no active listings when I checked. When a suite comes up, compare it against similar-sized suites in Summerhill’s boutique buildings rather than against downtown towers. For the real sales record, ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Nursing Lofts

There are no recreation facilities on site: no gym, pool or party room. You are paying for the building, the suite and the address, and keeping fees focused on the essentials.

Jatin’s honest take on Nursing Lofts

Nursing 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.