Saint James Square, 95 Lombard St: 65 Suites, About Five a Floor

95 Lombard Street is the kind of building most buyers walk past without noticing, and that is a large part of its appeal. Ronto Development finished it in 1990 with only 65 suites over 14 floors, around five to a floor, on one of the quietest streets in the east end of the core. The fee includes hydro and parking, and the price per square foot is low for the location. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A boutique building with two names

You will see this building called Saint James Square on condos.ca and St. James Place in at least one recent listing. Both refer to 95 Lombard Street and its condominium corporation, MTCC-889. If you are searching for listings, search the address rather than the name so you do not miss any.

Whatever you call it, the defining fact is size. Sixty-five suites over 14 storeys works out to about five suites a floor, which a recent listing confirms. That means a short corridor, few neighbours, and an elevator that is rarely crowded.

A small building also means a small owner base. Every repair and every board decision is shared among 65 owners, so the condition of the reserve fund matters more here than it would in a 400-suite tower.

Mid-sized suites, many with dens

Suites run from about 729 to 1,010 square feet. There are no tiny studios here; the smallest suite is larger than most new one-bedrooms. Listings I reviewed included a one-bedroom plus den and a two-bedroom plus den corner suite of over 1,000 square feet, with the den set up as a solarium.

That range makes the building a good fit for a couple, a single professional who works from home, or a small family that does not need three bedrooms. A 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom plus den downtown is increasingly hard to find at this price per foot.

Being more than 35 years old, finishes vary. Some suites have updated kitchens and flooring; others are close to original. Price the renovation into your offer on any suite that has not been redone.

Hydro and parking in the fee

The maintenance fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance, parking and water. That is close to an all-inclusive fee; the main thing left for you to arrange is internet, and one listing also shows cable TV as included, so confirm that in the status certificate.

Fees here look high next to a new tower, but only before you add back hydro and parking at the other building. Compare total monthly cost, not the fee alone.

Management is 360 Community Management Ltd, according to the building profile. In a building this small, the quality of the property manager shows up quickly in how the common areas are kept and how fast repairs happen. Walk the lobby, the garage and the corridors before you make an offer, and ask how long the current manager has been in place.

Lombard Street day to day

Lombard is a short, quiet street that runs east from Church toward Jarvis, tucked between Richmond and Adelaide. It sits between the financial district to the west and St. James Park and St. Lawrence Market to the south, without the traffic of the main streets.

The street has changed a great deal since 1990. Spire at 33 Lombard is a 45-storey tower from 2007, and The Residences on Lombard at 20 and 22 Lombard is a five-storey boutique project completed in 2021. Closer neighbours include The Indigo at 50 Lombard, Absolute Lofts at 77 Lombard and the French Quarter at 120 Lombard. Transit, schools and Walk Score are shown in the automatic panel on this page.

What 95 Lombard costs per square foot

The building averages about $619 per square foot on condos.ca. That is close to The Indigo at 50 Lombard, another older boutique building on the same street, which averages about $622, and well below newer towers nearby such as Spire at 33 Lombard at about $995.

The more useful comparison is with the other small buildings on Lombard. Absolute Lofts at 77 Lombard, an eight-storey loft building from 2000 with 83 suites, averages about $808 per square foot, and the French Quarter at 120 Lombard, an 11-storey building from 2004 with 71 suites, about $894. Both also include hydro and parking in the fee. 95 Lombard is the oldest of the three and the cheapest per foot by a wide margin, so the question is whether the age gap justifies a gap of $190 to $275 per square foot. For a well-kept suite with a healthy reserve fund behind it, I think it often does.

There was only one suite for sale and one for rent when I wrote this, which is normal for a 65-suite building. I will not quote a single listing’s price or fee here. The practical point is that you may wait months for the layout you want, so set up an alert for the address and be ready to move when one appears.

With so few sales a year, the building average can swing with one or two transactions. Ask me for the building sold report so you are looking at real sales for comparable suites before you make an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Saint James Square

The amenity list is short: a gym, a sauna, party and meeting rooms, bike storage and visitor parking. The building profile does not list a concierge or security guard, and a recent listing mentions security cameras on each floor, so if a staffed front desk matters to you, confirm the current arrangement with management. For most owners here, the quiet street and the small floor count are the real amenity.

Jatin’s honest take on Saint James Square

Saint James Square — frequently asked questions

Looking at St. Lawrence, the Financial District and Downtown Yonge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.