Post House, 105 George St: Next to Toronto’s First Post Office

Post House at 105 George Street is a quiet building on a busy edge of Old Town. It sits behind a courtyard beside Toronto’s first post office, which means the view to the south-west is protected in a way most downtown suites are not. The fee per square foot is on the high side, and you need to understand why before you compare it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The heritage neighbour that shapes the building

The name comes from Toronto’s First Post Office, the early-19th-century building on Adelaide Street East that is still operating as a museum and post office. Post House was built on what had been its parking lot, and Wallman Architects set the tower well back from the heritage building to create a landscaped courtyard between them.

That courtyard links George Street through to the George Brown College campus, and the architect describes it as part open-air museum, with traces of the site’s history worked into the landscape. The lower base along George Street picks up the scale of the older buildings next door, and above it the tower is deliberately plain: continuous balconies screened by vertical steel fins.

The practical result is a protected outlook. Because the heritage building is a designated site, the developer pointed out at launch that suites facing it should keep their views. That is a real advantage on a block where new towers are going up on most other sides.

Suites, ceilings and a size that sources disagree on

At launch, suites ran from about 481 to 1,155 square feet, as one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms with or without dens. The tower uses a simple rectangular floor plate, which tends to produce efficient layouts with little wasted hallway space.

Standard suites have nine-foot ceilings, and the penthouse level has ten-foot ceilings. Original finishes were laminate floors, European-style kitchens with quartz counters and stainless appliances. These are standard for a 2015 building, so the condition of each suite matters more than the original spec sheet.

The building was designed to Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standard, with energy recovery ventilators, water-saving fixtures and individual utility metering, and a car-share was planned on site at launch. Ask whether the car-share is still operating, since these arrangements often change.

Sources describe the building’s size differently. Early coverage in 2013 described 21 storeys and 279 suites, with an application to add a floor and bring it to 294. Wallman’s own project page says 21 storeys and about 280 units, while condos.ca lists 22 floors and 293 suites.

The likely explanation is that the added floor was approved, but the declaration is the only number to rely on. It matters mainly when you are comparing reserve fund contributions per suite with other buildings.

Daily life around George and Adelaide

St. Lawrence Market is a short walk south, the Financial District is a reasonable walk west, and the Distillery District is reachable on foot. George Brown College is next door, so the courtyard and the surrounding sidewalks see a lot of students during the school year.

This corner of Moss Park is changing quickly, with several towers completed or under construction around George, Richmond and Sherbourne. Expect cranes on the skyline for some years. The panel on this page covers transit and Walk Score.

What to look for when you tour

Walk the courtyard first. It is the building’s best public feature, but it is also a pedestrian route between George Street and the college, so suites on the low floors facing it see foot traffic through the day. Upper floors get the outlook without the activity.

Then check the balcony screening. The vertical steel fins that give the tower its look also cut some side views and light, depending on where they fall relative to your windows. Two suites on the same floor can feel quite different.

Finally, ask about the energy recovery ventilators in each suite. They are a good feature, but their filters need regular changing and the units eventually need replacing. Find out whether that is the owner’s job or the corporation’s, and whether the previous owner kept up with it.

Why the fee looks high

Post House averages about $853 per square foot. That is a premium over a few nearby 2010s buildings such as The Modern and Ivory on Adelaide, which I think reflects the protected outlook, the courtyard setting and the smaller overall scale.

Fees across current listings average about $1.15 per square foot. That is high, but look at what is included: common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water. At launch, parking came with suites priced above $375,000, so a lot of suites carry a parking space, and that is part of the fee you see. On a 600-square-foot suite with parking, compare it against a building at $0.85 per square foot plus a separate parking charge and a cooling bill before you decide it is expensive.

The original estimate at launch was about $0.50 per square foot. The difference between that and today’s fee is a reminder that pre-construction fee estimates are almost always low.

Because there are few listings at any one time in a building this size, the asking range tells you little. Look at the past year of sales by size and exposure before you decide what a suite is worth.

At the time of writing there were two active listings, both one-plus-dens, asking from $499,000 to $609,900, with monthly fees from $585 to $925. My building sold report shows what has actually traded.

Building specifications

Amenities at Post House Condominium

The amenity floor is built around shared social space: party, dining and games rooms that open onto a terrace with barbecues, plus a gym, yoga studio and sauna. It is a practical package for a building this size rather than a resort one.

Jatin’s honest take on Post House Condominium

Post House Condominium — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.