Steam Plant Lofts, 10 Wellesley Pl: A 1950s Hospital Power Plant, Kept

Steam Plant Lofts is the only building I know in Toronto where you can sleep in a round bedroom inside a 1950s smokestack. The Aykler family took the steam plant that powered the old Wellesley hospital, kept the stack, doubled the height and fitted about 31 lofts into it on a quiet dead-end street off Jarvis. It is a building for people who want character over amenities. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From hospital steam plant to loft building

The building went up in 1953 as the power and steam plant for Wellesley Central Hospital, and by some accounts it served the original Princess Margaret Hospital nearby as well. When Wellesley Central closed in 1998, its land was sold off in parcels. Tridel and Times Group took the big pieces; the smallest, with the steam plant on it, went to the Aykler family in late 2002.

Inside, there was almost nothing to work with: a single three-storey-high hall holding three turbines. Architect Paul Jurecka and the Ayklers built new floors inside the shell and added three storeys on top. The site was too tight for a crane, so the concrete was formed with boards assembled and moved by hand.

Sales started in October 2004 and residents were moving in by May 2008. The Globe and Mail’s Dave LeBlanc wrote it up as a risky heritage conversion that saved an industrial landmark, and it remains one of the more unusual loft projects in the city.

The smokestack suites

The tall brick stack on the side of the building was kept, and three suites incorporate part of it. The stack is hollow red clay masonry sealed with a clear coat, and in at least one suite it forms a circular bedroom or den. UrbanToronto contributors put the stack at about 61 metres.

Those suites were the first to sell when the project launched, and they are the ones that get written about whenever one comes up. The base of the stack is put to practical use: bike storage on one level and the hydro meters for every suite on another.

If you are shopping specifically for a stack suite, be patient. There are only three of them in the entire building, so you may wait a long time for one to list.

Living in one is a trade-off worth thinking through. A round room is wonderful to look at and harder to furnish: beds, desks and wardrobes are all built for straight walls. Measure the room, ask how the current owner has laid it out, and ask whether the stack masonry inside the suite is the owner’s or the corporation’s responsibility.

Concrete lofts, not brick-and-beam

Do not expect a Victorian warehouse. This is a 1950s industrial building, and the loft character comes from raw concrete: ceilings, columns and beams were left exposed, along with sprinklers and ductwork. Windows on the original structure are about 12 feet tall.

Suites are modest, from about 410 to 1,105 square feet, mostly one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den plans. A north brick wall was pushed back during the conversion to create terraces, and there is a shared rooftop terrace.

The counts differ slightly by source: condos.ca lists 31 suites over five storeys, the Globe described six storeys, and early UrbanToronto posts mentioned 29 suites. Floor counts often depend on whether a rooftop level is included, so check the registered plan if it matters.

Wellesley Place day to day

Wellesley Place is a short, quiet side street, which is the building’s big daily advantage. You are a few minutes from Jarvis and Wellesley, yet you do not hear the arterial traffic the way a suite on Wellesley or Jarvis would.

The neighbours are mostly from the same redevelopment: The Verve’s tower and loft block, Earl Lofts (also by Aykler) and the low-rise homes along Earl and Homewood. The Church-Wellesley Village is a short walk west, and Cabbagetown is a short walk east. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

The trade-off with a dead-end side street is that there is little at your door. Groceries, cafes and restaurants are on Wellesley, Church and Yonge rather than on your block, so this suits people who are happy to walk five or ten minutes for errands in exchange for a quiet night’s sleep.

What Steam Plant Lofts costs

condos.ca puts the building average at about $995 per square foot. That is above the big towers nearby, including The Verve at roughly $883, and it reflects the scarcity of a heritage conversion this small. Suites are compact, so the total price is often lower than the per-square-foot number suggests. A one-bedroom here competes on total price with a larger suite in a newer tower, so decide early whether character or square footage is the priority.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance and water only. Heat, hydro and parking are not included, so budget for each, and if you need a parking space, confirm the suite comes with one; spaces were sold separately when the building launched. Storage lockers were included with suites in the original pricing.

Nothing was listed for sale or rent at the time of writing, which is typical in a 31-suite building. I price suites here from the building’s own sales history and comparable small conversions downtown. For aggregate recent trades, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Steam Plant Lofts

The amenities are small-building amenities: a rooftop terrace, a party and meeting room and bike storage in the base of the stack. There is no gym, pool or concierge, which keeps the shared budget focused on the building itself. The guest suite is a genuine plus in a building of small one-bedrooms, where visiting family otherwise ends up on the sofa.

Jatin’s honest take on Steam Plant Lofts

Steam Plant 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.