The Gloucester on Yonge, 595 Yonge St: Subway at the Door, Rescued Tower

The Gloucester on Yonge is the building I show buyers who want to step out of an elevator and be on a subway platform without going outside. It is a 2022 tower at Yonge and Gloucester with a private underground link to Wellesley station, and it nearly did not get built: it started life as a Cresford project that went into receivership before Concord Adex took it over. Today it is one of the most expensive buildings per square foot in the Church–Wellesley area, so the question is whether the convenience is worth the premium. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A tower that changed hands before it was finished

This project began as Clover on Yonge, a Cresford Developments condo. Cresford’s projects went into receivership in spring 2020, which left a lot of pre-construction buyers in Toronto very nervous about their deposits.

Concord bought the project in June 2020 and restructured it through a court-supervised CCAA plan of arrangement. According to Concord and Daily Hive, the creditors, including the original Cresford purchasers, supported that plan. Concord then renamed it The Gloucester on Yonge, refreshed the design and the street front, and brought the remaining suites back to market in early 2021.

Why does that matter to a resale buyer now? Mostly it does not, because the building is finished and registered. But it explains why you will see two names on older documents and listings, and it is worth asking the seller’s lawyer whether the suite was an original Cresford purchase or a Concord sale. That can affect what is in the original agreement and the warranty paperwork.

The subway connection and the Concord upgrades

The single feature that sets this building apart is the underground link to Wellesley station. Residents take an elevator down to a secured corridor that leads to the platform. In January, that is not a gimmick. It means a commute with no boots, no umbrella and no wait at a crosswalk.

When Concord took over, it added what it calls BioSpace: enhanced air filtration, HEPA filtration in some common areas, a touchless route from the curb to your suite door, and a phone-based elevator call. Concord described it as the first tower in Canada to get that package. It also added a dedicated package room, which in a 528-suite building is the difference between a calm lobby and a pile of boxes at the concierge desk.

On height, the sources do not agree. condos.ca and Daily Hive call it 50 storeys, while the UrbanToronto database lists 44 storeys and also describes two towers joined by a four-storey amenity podium. If the exact floor count matters to you, for example because you are comparing views, confirm it on the status certificate and the registered plan.

Suite sizes, from micro studios to large family plans

The size range here is unusually wide for a new Yonge Street tower. condos.ca lists suites from about 324 square feet at the small end to roughly 1,865 square feet at the top, and Concord marketed studios through three-bedroom plans.

That spread makes the building two different markets under one roof. The small studios and one-bedrooms are investor and first-time-buyer product, and they will compete with every other new tower around Yonge and Wellesley. The large two-plus-den and three-bedroom suites compete with Yorkville and Rosedale, and there are far fewer of them.

If you are looking at the small end, walk the suite with a tape measure. A 324-square-foot studio can work for one person who is out most of the day, but test where a bed, a desk and a sofa actually go before you fall in love with the lobby.

Living at Yonge and Gloucester

You are on Yonge Street between Wellesley and Bloor, a short walk from the Church–Wellesley Village to the east and from Yorkville and the Bloor Street shops to the north. This is one of the densest stretches of the city, with towers rising on almost every block, so expect construction around you for years.

Yonge Street here is busy, loud and lively at street level, and it is not for everyone. If you want quiet, ask for a suite facing away from Yonge and higher up. Transit, schools and walkability are in the automatic panel on this page, so I will not repeat them.

What you pay for the subway link

condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,073 per square foot. That is well above the nearby towers on the same source: Vox at 28 Wellesley sits around $968, Casa 3 on Charles Street around $945, Teahouse at 501 Yonge around $945, and 22 Condominiums at 22 Wellesley around $834. Only One Bloor, at about $1,037, comes close among its neighbours.

At the time of writing there were five listings for sale and six for rent. Across the four listings that were clearly suites, asking prices ran from about $649,000 up to about $1.53 million. A fifth listing was far lower and showed no bedroom count, so I would not treat it as a suite comparable.

Maintenance fees on active listings averaged about $0.72 per square foot, which is reasonable for a new tower with this amenity package. condos.ca does not list what the fee includes, so get the inclusions from the status certificate, especially whether heat, cooling and water are in the fee or metered to the suite.

The honest read: you are paying a premium of roughly $100 to $240 a square foot over nearby buildings, mostly for the station link, the newer build and the Concord name. For an owner who rides the subway every day, I think that can be justified. For an investor chasing yield, the math is harder. My building sold report will show you what has actually closed here, not just what is asking.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Gloucester on Yonge

Concord marketed two levels of hotel-style amenities, including an outdoor infinity-edge pool, a fitness centre, guest suites, a billiards room, a theatre, a library and a coffee bar, plus a Parisian-style garden by Janet Rosenberg & Studio. In practice, the guest suites and package room are the amenities most owners use every week, and the pool is the one that will matter most to the reserve fund over time.

Jatin’s honest take on The Gloucester on Yonge

The Gloucester on Yonge — 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.