The Poet Condos, 1285 Queen St E: New Six-Storey on Leslieville’s Queen

The Poet is what I show buyers who want a brand-new suite on Queen Street East without moving into a 40-storey tower. It is a six-storey, TACT-designed building on the old Beer Store site at Queen and Hastings, and it registered in 2024. Being new is both its selling point and the reason for most of what I would check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Beer Store site turned into a six-storey street wall

In 2017 Fieldgate Urban was one of several developers that bought Beer Store properties across Toronto to redevelop them as housing. This is the Leslieville one. Demolition finished and construction started in the fall of 2021, the concrete frame topped off in October 2022, and the corporation registered in April 2024.

The design is by TACT Architecture, with landscape by STUDIO tla and interiors by Figure3. The Queen Street face is made of wide rectangular frames set at different depths, so the balconies sit in a stepped, geometric grid rather than hanging off a flat wall. UrbanToronto records the building at about 24 metres, which keeps it in scale with the two- and three-storey main street around it.

One number does not line up. UrbanToronto and the sales material both said 69 suites; condos.ca lists 76. Plans often change between marketing and registration, but ask for the declaration, which states the exact number of units, before you rely on either figure.

Fieldgate Urban is the downtown condominium arm of Fieldgate Homes, a long-established GTA builder better known for low-rise communities in the suburbs. On a project this small, that means one builder answering for the warranty, which is worth knowing when you ask about open Tarion claims.

Layouts: from compact one-bedrooms to a few three-bedroom plans

Condos.ca records suites from about 420 to 1,473 square feet. The sales material marketed one-bedroom, one-plus-den, two-bedroom, two-plus-den and three-bedroom plans, starting at about 523 square feet, so the smallest recorded suite may be a plan added later.

The current listings tell you where the building really sits: mostly two-bedrooms between 600 and 1,000 square feet. A two-bedroom under 700 square feet is a tight plan, usually with one bedroom that borrows light or has a sliding wall. Ask for the floor plan and check which bedroom has a real window before you book a showing.

Because the frames on the front are deep, suites facing Queen get recessed balconies with some shade and privacy from the street. Suites at the back look south over the houses toward the lake, and they will be quieter than the Queen side, where the 501 streetcar runs all night.

Parking, the fee and the first budget

The pre-construction plans showed 41 car spaces and 65 bicycle spaces for 69 suites. That means a large share of suites have no parking, and if you need a car you should confirm the suite comes with a deeded or owned space, not just street parking.

Fees across the seven current listings run from about $687 to $884 a month, or about $1.00 a square foot. That is high for a building this new, and on a small building it is often what it costs to staff a lobby and run a rooftop for under 80 owners. Condos.ca does not list the inclusions, so ask whether heat, cooling and water are in the fee or metered to each suite.

Fees in a building’s first years are based on the developer’s estimated budget. Ask for the current budget and the last annual statements, and check whether fees have already gone up since registration and why.

Queen Street East, just past Leslie

This stretch of Queen is the eastern edge of Leslieville: cafes, restaurants and independent shops to the west toward Leslie and Jones, and a quieter run of houses and small businesses to the east toward Greenwood. The 501 streetcar is at the door, and the data panel on this page lists transit times, parks and schools.

Leslieville has changed quickly. Wikipedia describes the area gentrifying rapidly between 2000 and 2010, and the old industrial lands south of Queen are still being redeveloped. Expect more mid-rise buildings like this one along Queen over the next decade, along with the construction that comes with them.

For a building this size, the location does most of the work. You are buying into a main street rather than a condo enclave, with everyday errands along Queen and the beach at Woodbine a streetcar ride east. If you want quiet, choose a south-facing suite; if you want to watch the street, the Queen side is the one.

Pricing: new-build Queen East at resale prices

Seven suites are listed at the time of writing, asking from about $560,000 to about $780,000 near 1,000 square feet. Most of the two-bedrooms sit between $590,000 and $660,000.

Working from the size bands, that puts asking prices at roughly $800 to $930 a square foot. For a new boutique building on Queen East, that is a reasonable range. Use the 12-month sold figures in the data panel above, not asking prices, to judge where offers actually land.

Seven listings in a building of under 80 suites is a lot of supply at once. In newly registered buildings, that is often owners who bought before construction and are selling after closing. It gives buyers choice and room to negotiate, and it means you should compare several suites before you settle on one.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Poet Condos

Condos.ca lists a gym, party room and rooftop deck. The sales material also promised a concierge, a media room, barbecues and a fire pit on the roof, and a pet wash, so confirm what was actually delivered and what the fee pays to staff.

Jatin’s honest take on The Poet Condos

The Poet 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.