Space Lofts, 255 Richmond St E: Two-Storey Lofts With Hydro in the Fee

Space Lofts is one of the few downtown buildings where your maintenance fee covers hydro as well as heat and air conditioning. Add two-storey suites with ceilings of about 18 feet and you have a compact loft that is easy to budget for. The trade-off is size: nothing here is much over 1,000 square feet. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A purpose-built loft with real volume

Space Lofts is a soft loft, a new concrete building from 2004 designed to give the open, tall feel of a loft rather than a converted warehouse. Triloft developed it, and Rafael + Bigauskas Architects designed it.

The signature suites are the two-storey lofts. On the lower eight floors, some units have ceilings of about 18 feet in the main living area, open to a sleeping level above, with full-height windows across the front. Those are the units people remember from a showing.

Upper floors are mostly conventional single-level suites. If the volume is what you are paying for, confirm which floor and layout you are buying.

Small suites, deliberately

Suites range from about 365 square feet to roughly 989 square feet. In practice this is a building of one-bedrooms and one-bedroom-plus-dens. There are no large family suites, and that shapes who lives here.

That narrow range helps in one way: resale comparisons are clean, because most units are similar. It hurts in another, because when you sell, you are competing with other one-bedrooms in the same building and in every tower nearby.

In a two-storey suite, square footage can mislead. Part of the floor area is the upper level, which may be a sleeping loft without full walls. Ask how the area was measured and stand on the upper level before you decide it works as a bedroom.

Hydro in the fee is the standout

Space Lofts’ maintenance fee includes common elements, building insurance, water, heat, hydro and air conditioning. Hydro is the unusual one. Most downtown condos meter electricity per suite, so here your largest utility bill is already in the number you see.

Current listings show fees of about $0.90 per square foot. That looks higher than some neighbours until you remember that those buildings leave hydro, and often heat, to the owner. For a renter, an all-in monthly cost is also a selling point.

The other side of bulk-metered hydro is that every owner shares the building’s total electricity bill. Energy costs flow into the budget, so ask how utilities have trended in recent budgets and whether the board has looked at sub-metering. Parking is not listed in the fee, so check whether a suite includes a space.

What to look at when you view a two-storey suite

Start with the stairs. Loft stairs can be steep or open-riser, and they are what you will carry laundry and groceries up every day. If you plan to stay into your later years, or you have visitors with mobility issues, that matters.

Then look at the window wall. An 18-foot wall of glass gives the suite its drama, but it is also the hardest surface to keep comfortable. Ask how the suite feels on a hot July afternoon and a cold January night, and check how blinds or curtains are hung at that height, because replacing them is not a simple job.

Finally, consider privacy. The upper level of a two-storey loft usually looks down into the living room. That works well for one person or a couple. It is less comfortable for roommates, and it limits how easily the suite can be rented to two unrelated tenants.

Richmond Street East, day to day

Richmond Street East here is a one-way street with heavy westbound traffic, so suites facing the street will hear it. Units on the quieter sides are worth the search if you are a light sleeper.

St. Lawrence Market, the Distillery District and the Eaton Centre are all within reach on foot. The neighbourhood is mixed, with older low-rise buildings alongside new towers, and Ontario Line construction is underway in the downtown east. The panel on this page has current transit and walkability figures.

What Space Lofts costs

The building average is about $797 per square foot, in line with the soft-loft buildings around King and Sherbourne, such as Mozo at about $806 and East Lofts at about $744. Keep in mind that a building made up entirely of small suites tends to show a higher price per square foot than one with large units, because the kitchen, bathroom and entry cost the same to build whatever the size. On that basis, Space Lofts’ figure is not expensive.

When I reviewed the building, three one-bedroom suites were for sale, asking between about $460,000 and $519,000, with monthly fees between roughly $500 and $550. Those are asking prices, not sold prices.

That puts Space Lofts among the more accessible ways into a two-storey loft downtown. Two-storey units usually command a premium over flat one-bedrooms of the same size, so compare like with like. Ask me for a building sold report to see what similar layouts have sold for.

Building specifications

Amenities at Space Lofts

For a building of compact suites, the amenities are well chosen: a gym and sauna, a media room, a party room and guest suites. In a one-bedroom, being able to host a party or put up a visitor downstairs makes a real difference. If you use the gym and sauna regularly, they can replace an outside membership.

Jatin’s honest take on Space Lofts

Space Lofts — 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.