SoHo Metropolitan, 350 Wellington St W: The Low-Rise Half of the Complex

Most people who search for the SoHo Metropolitan mean the taller residences at 36 Blue Jays Way. 350 Wellington Street West is the other half of the complex: a separate, low-rise condominium of 136 suites with its own corporation, its own fee structure and, judging by its listings, its own buyer. If you want a one-bedroom in King West with hydro in the fee and a hotel next door, it deserves a look, but there are three things I would want answered first. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two corporations, one corner

Starwood Group built the SoHo Metropolitan complex at Wellington and Blue Jays Way in stages. The hotel and the taller residential component are addressed 36 Blue Jays Way and sit in TSCC-1555, registered in November 2003. The building at 350 Wellington followed a year later as TSCC-1628, registered on 1 October 2004, with 136 suites over five storeys.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. Two corporations means two budgets, two reserve funds, two boards and two sets of rules, even though the buildings share a corner and some facilities. When you pull comparables, filter by address and corporation. A sale at 36 Blue Jays Way tells you very little about a one-bedroom at 350 Wellington, and the reverse is also true.

Listings here use more than plain floor numbers. You will see suites with G and M prefixes alongside the numbered floors. Before you book a showing, ask the listing agent exactly which level a suite is on and what it faces, because on a five-storey building at a busy downtown corner, the floor changes the light and the noise.

The hotel amenities, and what to get in writing

The condo’s own residents’ website describes access to the hotel’s facilities: a fitness centre, an indoor saltwater pool, a whirlpool and a steam room, plus in-house restaurants including Moretti’s Café, Pizzeria Moretti and Wahlburgers. condos.ca lists a sauna, concierge, security guard and a parking garage for the building itself.

Here is my caution, and it is the same one I give on 36 Blue Jays Way. Access to a hotel pool is not the same as the condo owning a pool. It rests on a shared-facilities agreement, and hotels get sold, rebranded and renegotiated. Ask for that agreement with the status certificate, find out what residents can use today, whether there is a separate charge, and how the cost of shared facilities is split between the corporations and the hotel.

Hydro in the fee, and a management question

condos.ca lists the fee here as covering common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance and water. Hydro in the fee is uncommon in a downtown condo, and it explains a good part of why the fee per square foot reads high. Parking is not on the inclusion list, so if a suite comes with a space, ask whether it carries its own charge.

On management, the sources do not agree. condos.ca lists Duka Property Management, while the building’s own residents’ website points owners to Crossbridge Condominium Services for management contact. Management companies change, and the residents’ site may simply be more current, but you want to know who actually runs the building and how long they have done it. The status certificate will name the manager.

Living at Wellington and Blue Jays Way

You are at the quieter end of the Entertainment District, which is still not quiet. King Street West’s restaurants and theatres are a short walk north, the office towers are east, and Blue Jays Way carries stadium and arena crowds on game nights. If you work downtown and want to walk to the office and to dinner, this is the point of the address.

Clarence Square is the local breathing room, and the residents’ website points out the enclosed dog area there. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability, so I won’t repeat it. The short version: nobody buys a one-bedroom here to drive.

What it costs, and why the fee looks high

condos.ca puts the building average at about $816 per square foot. That is above the roughly $742 per square foot condos.ca shows for the residences at 36 Blue Jays Way, and in line with the large CityPlace and Harbourfront towers to the south. You are paying King West money for a mid-rise with a modest in-house amenity list, so the hotel access and the location have to carry the value.

The fee is the bigger number to understand. Across the current listings it averages about $1.28 per square foot a month, which is high for downtown. Hydro, heat and air conditioning are in that figure, so compare it against a newer building’s fee plus your own hydro bill before you decide it is expensive. Even then, it sits at the top end.

At the time of writing there were five suites for sale and none for rent. All five were one-bedrooms between roughly 500 and 800 square feet, asking from about $299,000 to $548,800, with monthly fees from about $706 to $959. That is an unusually wide price spread for suites of similar size. When the bottom of a range is that far below the building average, ask why before you get excited: condition, level, exposure, parking and any restrictions on the suite all belong in that conversation.

Building specifications

Amenities at SoHo Metropolitan (350 Wellington)

The building’s own amenity list is short: concierge, security, a sauna and the garage. The reason to live here is the hotel next door, with its gym, saltwater pool and restaurants, and that is the part you need confirmed in the shared-facilities documents before you pay for it.

Jatin’s honest take on SoHo Metropolitan (350 Wellington)

SoHo Metropolitan (350 Wellington) — 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.