The Boot, 75 Dalhousie St: A Small, All-Inclusive Building Off Church

The Boot is the building I suggest to buyers who want to live in the middle of downtown and keep their monthly costs boring. It is a 12-storey, 153-suite building on a quiet side street one block east of Church, and its fee covers hydro, heat, cooling, water and parking. It is small, it is not flashy, and that suits a certain kind of owner very well. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A name with a skating story

Condos.ca says the building takes its name from a roller-skating rink that once stood on the site. I could not confirm that from a second source, so treat it as building lore rather than settled history.

What is well documented is the rink history of this block. The Mutual Street Arena, the first home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the place where Foster Hewitt called his first hockey broadcast in 1923, stood just east on Mutual Street. It became The Terrace roller rink and curling club in 1962, and closed in 1989. Its site is now the Cathedral Square homes and Arena Gardens park, a short walk from the front door.

The building itself is a straightforward concrete and glass mid-rise with pale blue accents. UrbanToronto credits the design to Young & Wright Architects, and it was finished the year after it topped out in 2002.

Small suites, and a fee that covers almost everything

Condos.ca puts suites at roughly 439 to 920 square feet. That covers studios and one-bedrooms through to compact two- and three-bedroom plans, so this is not a building for large households. A three-bedroom in the 900s here is a city-sized family suite, not a house substitute.

The fee includes common elements, hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance and parking, according to condos.ca. That is close to all-inclusive. Once you add back hydro, cooling and a parking charge to a newer building with a lower headline fee, the comparison often comes out closer than buyers expect.

Confirm parking for the specific suite. Parking is listed as included, but in older buildings not every suite was sold with a space, and some owners have sold or rented theirs separately. Ask about a locker too.

Why a small building matters

At 153 suites, The Boot has a small owner group. That cuts both ways. Fewer residents means quieter halls, shorter elevator waits and a board that can know the building well. It also means every large repair is shared by fewer owners, so a single big project can move fees more than it would in a 600-suite tower.

That makes the documents more important than usual. Read the status certificate, the latest reserve fund study and the last year or two of board minutes. Look at how the reserve fund balance compares with the work planned over the next decade, and ask whether any large items, such as windows, the roof deck or the garage, are coming due.

Condos.ca lists Shelter Canadian Properties as manager. In a building of this size, a good manager and an engaged board are a big part of what you are buying.

Choosing the right suite in a small building

In a 12-storey building, floor and exposure matter more than in a tall tower, because neighbouring buildings are close and most views are of the street or the buildings across it. Lower floors on Dalhousie will see and hear more of the street; higher floors get more light and a longer view over the low-rise pockets nearby.

The larger plans, up to about 920 square feet, are the ones I would look at for a couple or a small family. They are rare, so they tend to move quickly when priced right. Studios and one-bedrooms appear more often and are the usual first-time buyer and investor purchases here.

Because hydro and cooling are in the fee, you cannot use utility bills to compare suites. Instead, look at window direction, balcony size and whether the suite has been updated, since those are what separate one suite from another in a building like this.

The daily reality of Dalhousie Street

Dalhousie is a narrow side street, which keeps it calmer than Church or Jarvis while leaving everything within reach. Toronto Metropolitan University is close by, the Eaton Centre and Yonge Street are a short walk west, and Massey Hall and the theatre district are nearby. The panel beside this review shows transit, groceries and parks.

This pocket has changed fast. 76 Shuter, originally marketed as Boot 2, rose just to the south in 2007, and the towers at 60 and 68 Shuter and the 88 Queen project have followed. Expect busy streets, student foot traffic and ongoing construction, and check what has been approved next to any suite whose view you are paying for.

What The Boot costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $760 per square foot. For a central address south of Dundas, that is moderate, and it reflects the building’s age and its small suites. Remember that the fee is doing more work here than in most buildings, which is part of why the price per square foot stays lower.

Only one suite was for sale and one for lease when I checked, so there is not enough on the market to give a meaningful asking range. That is common in a small building and it cuts both ways: little choice for buyers, and little competition for sellers.

With so few listings at any moment, past sales are the better guide. I can pull the building’s recent sold figures and compare them with nearby buildings through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Boot

The amenities are basic: a concierge, a rooftop deck, a party room and a meeting room. There is no pool to fund, which keeps long-term costs simpler, and the rooftop deck is the space residents actually use in summer.

Jatin’s honest take on The Boot

The Boot — 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.