Rush Condos, 520 Richmond St W: Woven Brick on Graffiti Alley

Rush Condos at 520 Richmond Street West is the building that took its name from the lane behind it: Rush Lane, the stretch most people know as Graffiti Alley. Alterra and BDP Quadrangle designed it to keep that lane’s art alive, wrapped it in woven red brick, and fitted it with a car elevator instead of a ramp. It is a characterful mid-rise with one number you have to look at hard, and that is the fee. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A building designed around Graffiti Alley

The site used to be a single-storey Stephenson’s Rent-All store at Richmond and Augusta. Rush Lane runs behind it, and the lane’s murals and tags are one of the most photographed parts of downtown. Any building here was going to change that lane, and the design team planned for it.

BDP Quadrangle set aside the north and west podium walls as replacement surfaces for street art, and two ground-floor facades were designed to take graffiti. The entrance references the lane directly. It is an unusual decision for a condo, and I think a good one; the building borrows its identity from the street instead of fighting it.

The practical side of living next to Graffiti Alley: it draws photographers, tour groups and film shoots, mostly in daylight and on weekends. Suites facing the lane will see that activity. Some buyers love it. If you want privacy at street level, look at upper floors or the Richmond side.

Woven brick in a heritage district

The site sits within a Heritage Conservation District, and the design responds to the area’s garment-factory history. The main facade is red brick laid to suggest a woven textile, with precast brick threads at the base and coloured metal panels higher up, meant to read as the warp and weft of fabric.

The massing follows the rules for the district. A seven-storey base matches the scale of the surrounding warehouses, and the floors above step back to a smaller tower footprint. Those upper floors get more light and some terrace space where the building steps in.

Being in a heritage district also shapes what can be built around you. New buildings nearby face the same height and setback rules, which is part of why this stretch still feels like a mid-rise neighbourhood rather than a canyon of towers. That gives the upper suites here a better chance of keeping their light and views than a comparable suite in a tower-heavy block, though it is never a guarantee. Ask what has been applied for on neighbouring lots.

Sources disagree on the basic counts. UrbanToronto and the architect describe 15 storeys and 125 suites, while condos.ca lists 13 floors and 108 suites. The difference may come from how mechanical floors and townhouse-style suites are counted, but the registered number is what you should rely on.

The car elevator, the bikes and the green roof

There is no parking ramp here. The architect describes a car elevator that lifts vehicles into the three underground levels. On a tight corner lot that is a clever use of space, but it changes daily life for drivers. You wait for the lift, and if it is out of service, nobody’s car is moving.

If you are buying with parking, ask how often the car elevator has been down, how long repairs have taken, what the service contract costs and how the reserve fund plans for its replacement. If you are buying without a car, the oversized bicycle storage is the more useful feature.

A small building with a mechanical parking system concentrates risk. In a 400-suite tower, a big repair is spread across many owners; here, it is spread across about a hundred. That is not a reason to avoid the building, but it is a reason to read the reserve fund study line by line.

The building also has a green roof, which helps with stormwater and keeps the roof cooler, and the architect lists climbing walls among the shared spaces. Confirm what is actually in place and open to residents today; condos.ca lists only a gym and a party room.

Richmond and Augusta, day to day

This corner sits where the Fashion District meets the Queen West shopping strip. Queen Street West is a block north, King Street’s restaurants are a short walk south, and Kensington Market is a walk up Augusta. For someone who walks everywhere, the location is close to ideal.

Richmond is a busy one-way street, and Augusta brings its own traffic toward Queen. Suites at the corner will hear it. Spend time at the building on a weekday at rush hour and on a Saturday night before you choose a side.

Rush pricing, and a fee that stands out

The building average sits around $1,038 per square foot. That is high for King-Spadina resale, partly because the suites are small and small suites always cost more per foot, and partly because Rush is new and well designed.

When I reviewed it there were five suites for sale, asking from about $449,000 to about $770,000. One-bedrooms asked roughly $449,000 to $550,000, and two-plus-den plans in the 700 to 799 square foot band asked about $699,000 to $770,000.

The fee is the number to study. On those listings it ran from about $404 to about $963 a month, roughly $1.28 per square foot. That is well above what most buildings in this area charge, and I could not confirm what it includes. A small building spreads its costs over fewer owners, and a car elevator is not cheap to run. Get the budget and the fee breakdown before you compare Rush with anything nearby. For sold figures, use the aggregate data on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Rush Condos

Condos.ca lists a gym and a party room, and the architect adds oversized bicycle storage, a green roof and climbing walls. It is a compact package for a compact building; the neighbourhood, from Queen West to Kensington, does most of the work.

Jatin’s honest take on Rush Condos

Rush Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.