Showcase Lofts, 88 Colgate Ave: Aragon’s New-Build Lofts at Carlaw

Showcase Lofts is the building I suggest to buyers who like the Carlaw strip’s warehouse feel but want a gym, a concierge and guest suites. It is a 2014 new build, not a conversion, sitting across the street from the old Printing Factory, and it has the amenity list of a much larger tower. The thing to watch is how small many of the suites are. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

New-build lofts on an old industrial strip

Carlaw Avenue between Queen and Gerrard was one of Toronto’s east-end factory strips, and several of its old buildings are now lofts. Showcase is not one of them. It is a new seven-storey building that borrows the loft vocabulary, with exposed elements, big windows and reclaimed brick walls in some suites, but has the systems and layouts of a 2014 condo.

UrbanToronto credits Fliess Gates McGowan Easton Architects with the design and INSITE Landscape Architects with the landscaping. Aragon Properties used the name as a statement of intent: the building was meant as a showcase for its approach.

The name has a second meaning. From the start, the amenity spaces were set up so local artists could show their work in the building. It is a small detail, but it says something about the kind of buyer Aragon was aiming for on Carlaw.

Layouts: nine-foot ceilings and a lot of small suites

Condos.ca puts the suite range at about 426 to 1,942 square feet, but the bulk of what trades here is at the small end. Two of the three suites for sale when I checked were under 500 square feet. That is a studio-sized one-bedroom, and it is worth seeing in person before you decide it works for you.

A rental listing page for the building describes nine-foot ceilings, engineered hardwood, stainless appliances, quartz counters, reclaimed brick walls, built-in wine racks, and skylights over the living and dining areas in some suites. Skylights only work on the top floor, so those are the suites to look for if you want the loft feel.

With small suites, storage becomes the real question. Ask whether a locker comes with the suite, look for closets rather than just a wardrobe niche, and check where a desk would go if you work from home. In a suite under 500 square feet, a good locker is worth more than an extra few square feet of floor.

The top end of the range, close to 2,000 square feet, is a very different product. Larger suites come up rarely, so if you need two bedrooms and real space, be ready to wait.

Across the street from the Printing Factory

Showcase faces the Printing Factory Lofts at 201 Carlaw Avenue, a 1913 printing plant converted by Montgomery Sisam Architects with a new glass tower behind it. Buyers almost always compare the two.

The Printing Factory has real heritage fabric: concrete floors and ceilings, original sawtooth skylights in its two-storey units, and a restored front portico. Showcase is newer, has a fuller amenity list with guest suites, a theatre room and a gym, and its fee covers heat, air conditioning and parking, which condos.ca does not list at the Printing Factory.

My rule of thumb: choose the Printing Factory for character and a genuine conversion; choose Showcase if you want newer systems, more amenities and a more predictable monthly cost.

Daily life at Carlaw and Colgate

Carlaw’s old factory buildings, including the Printing Factory across the street, now hold lofts, and Queen Street East is a short walk south. Withrow Park and the Don Valley are within reach to the north and west.

The bigger change is on Queen. The Ontario Line’s elevated Leslieville Station is being built over Queen Street East between Broadview and Carlaw, and blogTO reported column construction running from September 2026 into May 2027, with more work over Queen expected after that. Expect disruption on Queen for several years and, eventually, rapid transit close by.

Inside the building, orientation matters. Suites facing Carlaw see more street activity than those facing Colgate or the courtyard, and the top floor has the skylights. If you are choosing between two similar suites, I would pay a little more for the quieter side.

Price per square foot and what the fee covers

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,010 per square foot, a little above the Printing Factory across the street. Small suites always look expensive per square foot, so compare like with like: a 450-square-foot suite here should be measured against other small suites, not against two-bedrooms.

Condos.ca’s fee figure across current listings is about $1.44 per square foot. That looks high against the fees I actually saw, which ran from roughly $360 to $700 a month on suites from under 500 to about 800 square feet. Work the fee out yourself on the suite you are considering. What matters more is that it includes heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water.

Keep in mind what a full amenity list costs. A concierge, guest suites and a theatre room all come out of the fee and the reserve fund, so a building like this will usually carry a higher fee per square foot than a bare-bones mid-rise. You are paying for services, and that is fine if you will use them.

Three one-bedroom suites were for sale when I checked, asking between about $419,000 and $725,000, which shows how wide the size range is. The sold figures in the panel above are a better guide to value than asking prices.

Building specifications

Amenities at Showcase Lofts

For a seven-storey building, this is a full package: concierge, gym, theatre room, rooftop and guest suites. Guest suites in particular are rare in Leslieville mid-rises, and they matter if your suite is under 500 square feet and family visits. The gym and theatre room also make up for the lack of living space in the smallest suites, which is a fair trade in a building like this.

Jatin’s honest take on Showcase Lofts

Showcase Lofts — 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.