The Channel Club, 456 College St: Condos Above a Working Church

The Channel Club is one of the strangest and most interesting buildings in the west end: 89 condo suites stacked on top of a working church, with the church’s 1880s bell tower still holding the corner of College and Bathurst. The address puts you between Little Italy, Kensington and the University of Toronto. The fee, though, is high for what it covers, and that is the number I want you to understand before you fall for the tower. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A condo built on top of a church

The church at this corner opened in 1885 as College Street Presbyterian, designed by the architects James Smith and John Gemmell in a Gothic Revival style. It joined the United Church in 1925 and, that same June, hosted the final General Assembly of the original Presbyterian Church in Canada. By the 1980s the congregation was smaller and the building was in poor repair.

The answer was a redevelopment rather than a sale. Most of the old church came down, the bell tower was restored, and a new eight-storey building went up with the church on the lower level and 89 condo suites above. According to Wikipedia, the designers copied many of the old church’s architectural details so the new building would read as a continuation of it. The Architectural Conservancy’s TOBuilt database lists the current building as completed in 1989 and names Carson Woods Architects among the architects, though it does not say which firm did which part.

The church remnants are designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. For an owner, that means the tower is protected and the corner will keep its character. It can also mean that work on the heritage parts of the exterior needs approval and costs more, which is worth asking the board about.

Suites, and why the tower is not the point

Condos.ca puts suites at roughly 450 to 1,162 square feet, from compact one-bedrooms up to two-bedroom plans. Several of the current listings are one-bedroom-plus-den suites in the 700 to 899 square foot range, which is a generous size for that type compared with new construction.

The building is a 1990 concrete mid-rise, not a hard loft. You will not find exposed brick and timber inside most suites, and the church’s Gothic details are on the outside. What you do get is a smaller, quieter building of eight storeys with fewer neighbours per elevator than a modern tower.

Which way a suite faces matters a great deal here. College and Bathurst are both streetcar routes and busy at night, so suites on those sides hear more. Ask about the exposure and visit in the evening before you commit.

The fee problem

This is the part buyers skip. Condos.ca lists the fee as covering only common elements, building insurance and water. Heat and hydro are not in that list, and parking is not either. Yet the active listings work out to roughly $1.49 per square foot per month, which is high for a building that bundles so little.

I cannot tell you from public sources why the fee is this high. A small building spreads its fixed costs, such as staff, the elevator and roof work, across only 89 suites, and an older building with a heritage component can carry higher repair costs. But the real answer is in the budget, the reserve fund study and the board minutes, and you should read all three before you make an offer.

Before you compare this with another building, add your own hydro and heating costs to the fee. Then ask whether parking and a locker come with the suite you are looking at, and whether they are included in the quoted fee or charged separately.

Living at College and Bathurst

The location is the strongest argument for this building. Little Italy’s restaurants and bars run west along College, Kensington Market is a short walk south-east, and the University of Toronto campus and the Toronto Western Hospital area are close. Bathurst gives you a straight line north to Bloor. Transit, schools and Walk Score are shown in the data panel on this page.

This corner works best for people who want to live where they eat out and who are comfortable with noise and activity. Hospital staff, graduate students and university faculty make up a natural rental pool, which is useful if you are buying to rent out later.

What it trades for, per square foot

Condos.ca puts the average price around $742 per square foot. For a central west-end location, that is below what newer buildings nearby ask, and the gap reflects the building’s age and its fee.

When I checked, four suites were for sale, from a two-bedroom to several one-bedroom-plus-dens, asking from about $460,000 to $689,000. Their fees ranged from about $869 to $1,306 a month, and two more suites were listed for rent.

The asking range is wide for suites of similar size, which tells me condition and exposure are doing a lot of the pricing. For the actual sale and lease record, use the data panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Channel Club

The amenity list is modest: a rooftop deck, a sauna, party and meeting rooms and a security guard. In a building this size that is reasonable, and the rooftop is the one I would use, because the views over Little Italy and the church tower are the reason people remember this address.

Jatin’s honest take on The Channel Club

The Channel Club — frequently asked questions

Looking at Queen West, Trinity-Bellwoods, Kensington and Little Italy more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.