Platform Condos, 1177 Danforth Ave: A Stepped Mid-Rise at Greenwood

Platform Condos is the building that replaced the Beer Store at Danforth and Greenwood, and it is one of the few new condos on this stretch of the Danforth that feels sized for the street. It is a small, stepped brick mid-rise from 2021 with terraces on the upper floors and a subway entrance close by. The questions are about fees, parking and which floor you buy on. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From a Beer Store parking lot to a stepped mid-rise

Before this building, the southwest corner of Danforth and Greenwood was a Beer Store and its surface parking lot. When the rezoning was filed in 2015 the project was called The Greenwood; it was later marketed as Platform Condos, a nod to the subway station a short walk away.

Kirkor Architects + Planners designed it as a brick-and-glass building with a four-storey base that matches the scale of the Danforth retail strip. Above that, the building steps back twice, first at floors five to seven and again at the top two levels. Those step-backs are where the terraces are, and the plans had them alternating between the north and south sides as the building rises.

That shape matters when you shop here. A suite on the lower floors is a conventional condo with a balcony. A suite on the stepped upper floors can come with a much larger terrace, and on the south side that terrace faces the low-rise houses of Blake-Jones rather than Danforth traffic. The same square footage can live very differently depending on the floor.

The numbers do not agree, so check the plan

This is one of those buildings where the records disagree. UrbanToronto lists 9 storeys, a height of about 31 metres and 102 units, which matches the 2016 application. Condos.ca shows 8 floors and 92 suites. Unit counts often change between approval and registration as suites are combined, and floor counts differ depending on whether a mechanical or amenity level is counted.

The original plan called for 9 bachelors of about 495 square feet, 72 one-bedrooms of about 635 square feet and 21 two-bedrooms of about 1,044 square feet. Condos.ca now shows suites from about 451 to 1,228 square feet. In other words, the building is mostly one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens, with a smaller group of larger two-bedrooms that are the ones families and downsizers chase.

Interiors were by Patton Design Studio. Because this is a 2021 building, finishes are recent, but builder-grade choices vary by suite and upgrade package. Walk the suite you are buying and ask for the registered floor plan from the condominium declaration rather than the marketing brochure.

Parking, retail and what sits at grade

The 2016 plan showed 68 parking spaces on two underground levels, entered from a driveway at the back off Greenwood, plus 119 bicycle spaces. With roughly 90 to 100 suites, that means not every suite has a car space. Parking is not listed as part of the fee, so confirm in writing whether a space and a locker come with the suite you are looking at, and whether they are owned or assigned.

The ground floor carries retail facing Danforth, with servicing and garbage pickup through a separate rear entrance. That separation is a real quality-of-life detail, because it keeps loading off the residential lobby. Ask what the current tenants are and how commercial and residential costs are split in the budget.

Condos.ca lists Beanfield Fibre as available in the building. If you work from home, that is worth confirming for the specific suite, because it gives you a real alternative to the big carriers.

Daily life at Danforth and Greenwood

This is the quieter end of the Danforth, east of Greektown and west of the busier blocks near Coxwell. You get the Danforth main street at your door and the residential streets of Blake-Jones and Riverdale behind you. Greenwood station, the bus connections and nearby parks are shown in the data panel on this page.

The trade-off of a corner site on a main street is noise. Suites facing Danforth or Greenwood will hear traffic and the delivery trucks of a commercial strip. Suites on the south side and on the upper stepped floors are usually calmer, which is one more reason the floor and exposure matter here as much as the size.

For buyers coming from Riverdale or Leslieville houses, this corner is a practical step down in size without leaving the east end. You keep the Danforth shops, the side-street walks and the same subway line, and you hand the snow shovelling and roof repairs to a condominium board.

How Platform prices against the east Danforth

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $842 per square foot. That is a typical figure for a recent mid-rise on the Danforth, and reasonable for a building only a few years old with subway access close by. It sits below what new launches in the east end are asking from developer inventory.

The fee covers only common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, hydro and air conditioning are on your own meters, and parking is not listed as included. When you compare the monthly fee with an older building that includes heat or hydro, add those costs back before you decide which is cheaper.

There is only one suite listed for sale as I write this, so I will not quote a single asking price or fee here. With so little active supply, value in this building is set by recent sales, which the data panel above summarises. Ask me for the full building sold report before you make an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Platform Condos

The amenity package is modest and sits mostly on the top level, where the plan put the indoor amenity room and an outdoor deck. It covers a workout and a party; it is not a pool-and-concierge building, and the fee reflects that.

Jatin’s honest take on Platform Condos

Platform Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Leslieville, Riverdale, the Beaches, Danforth and Leaside more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.