The Met, 21 Carlton St: The Rounded Tower with a Wind-Driven Beacon

The Met is the taller of the two Edilcan towers on Carlton Street and the one most people recognise, thanks to its rounded glass corner and the beacon on the roof. It is a 2008 building of about 400 suites, a block east of Yonge, and it is where I send buyers who want a downtown one-bedroom with a little more height and view than its sister tower offers. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A parking lot turned into a landmark

Before The Met, this part of Carlton was a surface parking lot. Edilcan rezoned the site for two towers, The Met at 43 storeys and Encore at 33, with townlofts on Granby Street behind them. UrbanToronto’s project listing puts The Met at about 431 feet, with Page + Steele as the architect.

The tower’s signature is its cylindrical corner, a curved wall of tinted glass that makes it easy to pick out among the boxier towers around Yonge and College. The rest of the building is concrete and glass, built to the standard of mid-2000s downtown towers rather than a luxury finish.

Residents and observers online generally praise the exterior and the views, while some describe the corridor and common-area finishes as plain compared with the suites. That is a matter of taste, not a defect, but walk the hallways and the lobby before you commit.

Public art you live with every day

In exchange for the extra density, Edilcan committed about $880,000 to public art across the site. Marlene Hilton Moore created a 40-foot LED-lit walkway with metal tree reliefs under the archway linking 21 Carlton to the Granby townlofts, and laser-cut stainless steel fencing lit in blue runs in front of the townlofts.

The piece most people notice is Adrian Göllner’s Harbinger, a beacon at the top of the complex that changes colour with the wind speed. It gives the building a nighttime identity that few towers in this area have, and it is something owners tend to mention when they describe where they live.

The archway matters for more than looks. It gives you a pedestrian route through the block toward Granby and the quieter streets behind Carlton, which is a nicer way home on a summer evening than Yonge Street.

Suites, views and the height premium

The suites run from about 370 sq ft to about 1,846 sq ft, with the bulk in the one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den range. Like most towers of this period, dens vary from a true room to a nook, so read the floor plan before you assume the den can work as a bedroom.

Height is the main reason to choose The Met over Encore. With ten more storeys, the upper suites here have the longer views over the city and toward the lake, and that is reflected in the higher average price per square foot. Lower floors face neighbouring towers at close range, so the view premium applies only to the right floors and exposures.

I could not verify ceiling heights from a reliable source. Standard floors in 2008 buildings tend to be lower than in newer luxury towers, so measure during the showing if height is important to you.

Daily life a block from Yonge

Living here means living in the middle of things. The Yonge and College intersection is a block west, Toronto Metropolitan University’s campus spreads to the south, and the former Maple Leaf Gardens to the east now holds a large grocery store and the university’s athletic centre. Most owners I meet here do not drive day to day.

The flip side is noise and activity. Carlton is a streetcar route and a busy pedestrian street, so lower suites facing it hear the city. Suites facing north toward Granby are generally calmer, and that is often the better trade on the lower floors.

The block keeps changing, with taller buildings filling in between Yonge and Church since The Met was completed. Before you pay for a view, check the City of Toronto development applications map for proposals nearby, because a new tower on a neighbouring lot can take your light.

What is and is not in the fee

Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water as fee inclusions. Unlike Encore next door, parking is not listed, so if you own a car, confirm the suite comes with an owned space and what any extra costs are.

The building is listed with FibreStream internet available, which is useful for anyone working from home. Hydro and internet are generally your own bills; confirm both on the status certificate along with the pet rules, since Condos.ca flags a pet restriction.

What The Met costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $828 per square foot, higher than Encore next door at about $743, which reflects the extra height and the larger share of upper-floor view suites. Both sit below most of the newer towers on Yonge.

When I checked, there were no suites listed for sale and two for lease, so I cannot give you a current asking range. That is not unusual for a building of this size; listings come in waves. In a quiet period, recent sold data for the same layout and exposure is the only reliable guide.

If you are watching for a suite here, I can set up the comparables for you through my building sold report, so you know what a fair price is before the next listing appears.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Met

The amenities are the practical set you expect in a 2008 downtown tower: concierge, guest suites, a party room, a media room and a meeting room. The building is not where you go for a pool or a long amenity list; you choose it for location, height and views.

Jatin’s honest take on The Met

The Met — 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.