River & Fifth, 5 Defries St: A Podium Pool on the Lower Don

River & Fifth at 5 Defries Street is a brand-new tower on a quiet dead-end street at the very east edge of downtown, where the city stops and the Don Valley starts. It is also one of the few new buildings in this pocket with an outdoor pool. That combination is the reason to look, and the newness is the reason to be careful. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Montreal builder’s first Toronto tower

Broccolini is a large Montreal construction and development company, and River & Fifth was its first high-rise condominium in Toronto when it launched in 2019. That matters in two ways. There is no long Toronto track record to judge the builder by, and the building has only just started operating, so the first years of the condominium corporation are where you learn how it will be run.

The tower was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects, a Toronto firm with a long list of GTA condominiums. It rises 37 storeys from a large podium, and the Defries Street frontage is lined with ground-level townhomes rather than a blank garage wall. A new public park was planned along the south edge of the site as part of the project.

The 12th-floor pool and the rest of the amenity floors

The headline amenity is an outdoor pool on the podium roof at the 12th floor, with cabanas, loungers on the deck and in shallow water, and a view back toward the downtown skyline. The developer’s description says the project logo is set into the pool floor. Very few new towers between Jarvis and the Don have an outdoor pool, and in summer that is a real daily-life difference.

The total amenity package was described at roughly 25,000 square feet indoors and out. Indoors there is a party lounge with a fireplace that opens onto the terrace, a kids’ game room and lounge, co-working space, and a fitness area with a ballet barre and a boxing area. The building data lists concierge and a gym, which confirms the basics are running.

A pool is also a cost. It needs staff, chemicals, seasonal opening and closing, and eventually resurfacing and new equipment. In a brand-new building those costs are estimates in the first budget, not experience. Look at how the pool is funded in the operating budget and how the reserve fund study treats it.

Layouts from studios to three-bedrooms

Suites run from about 347 square feet to about 1,444 square feet. At launch the range was described as studios through three-bedroom plans, with some suites carrying large terraces, wide-plank flooring, two-tone kitchens and matte black appliances.

Most of what trades here is one-plus-den and compact two-bedroom stock. Current listings cluster in the 500-to-799-square-foot range, which tells you who the building was designed for: first-time buyers and investors. If you plan to live here for more than a few years, look hard at the two-bedrooms over 700 square feet and the terrace suites, which are the plans that will resell to owner-occupiers.

Ask which way the suite faces. East-facing suites look over the Don Valley and the parkland along the river, and that view is protected by the valley itself. West-facing suites look back toward Regent Park and the downtown towers, which are still being added to.

Living at the edge of the valley

Defries is a short, quiet street that backs onto the Don River and the Lower Don Trail. You can be on the trail in minutes, and Corktown Common and Riverdale Park are both close. For runners, cyclists and dog owners, this is a better setting than almost anything west of Parliament.

The trade is that this is still a neighbourhood being finished. Regent Park’s revitalization has brought the aquatic centre, the big central park and new shops along Dundas, and the West Don Lands are filling in to the south. Expect construction around you for years. Day-to-day shopping is better than it was, but it is still a walk, and the panel on this page covers transit.

What River & Fifth asks, and what the fee covers

There is not yet a meaningful resale history here: the building registered in May 2024, so every resale so far is an early one. That makes comparables thin, and you should be careful with any single sale you are shown as proof of value.

Supply matters too. With 14 suites for sale and 14 for rent at the time of writing in a 580-suite building, there is real choice, but also real competition if you are buying to lease. Several other new towers in Regent Park and the West Don Lands compete for the same tenants, so be conservative with your rent assumptions.

Across seven current listings asking prices run from about $368,000 to about $558,000. One-plus-dens in the 500-to-699-square-foot range ask roughly $368,000 to $480,000, and two-bedrooms in the 700s ask roughly $540,000 to $558,000. On size bands, that works out to roughly $650 to $800 per square foot asking, which is below the newer towers closer to Yonge.

Fees on those listings range from about $394 to $616 a month and average about $0.77 per square foot. I could not confirm what the fee includes. In many new towers heat, cooling and water are on suite meters, so ask the listing agent for the fee breakdown and the utility setup before you compare this building with an older one.

Building specifications

Amenities at River & Fifth Condos

This is a full new-tower package, and the pool is what sets it apart from neighbours. If you would not use it, you are still paying for it, so weigh that against a building without one.

Jatin’s honest take on River & Fifth Condos

River & Fifth Condos — 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.