The Metro, 119 & 139 Merton St: Two-Storey Lofts on the Beltline

The Metro on Merton Street is the loft building I suggest when someone wants loft volume in Davisville but also wants choice, because with about 194 suites there is usually something to look at. It offers two-storey suites, the south side looks over the Beltline trail, and the fee covers more than almost anything around it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A soft loft built new, not converted

The Metro is a soft loft: a building designed from scratch in a loft style, rather than an old factory or office converted to homes. That distinction matters. You get the tall ceilings and big windows people want from a loft, along with the insulation, plumbing and parking garage of a building designed for residents.

The complex has two addresses, 119 and 139 Merton Street, under one condominium corporation. Condos.ca lists seven storeys and about 194 suites. Its own overview text describes twin towers on a five-storey podium with 96 suites built in 2014, which does not match its own data or the 2000 registration, so I would rely on the corporation records rather than that paragraph.

The developer was a single-purpose company, 119 Merton Street Developments, which is common for projects of this era. I could not confirm the architect.

Two-storey suites and tall ceilings

The format people come here for is the two-storey loft. A recent listing described a two-level suite with a lofted bedroom area upstairs and a den, and condos.ca describes ceilings of up to about 18 feet in the double-height suites. Not every suite is two storeys, so check the plan of the one you are looking at.

Sizes run from about 569 to 1,288 square feet. At the small end, single-level one-bedrooms; at the larger end, two-storey suites with a den or a second bedroom. In a two-level suite, the floor area is split between levels, so 800 square feet over two floors lives differently from 800 on one.

The trade-offs of a lofted layout are worth thinking through before you buy. An open upper level means light and sound travel between floors, stairs are part of daily life, and heating and cooling a double-height room takes more energy. Walk the stairs, stand in the loft and imagine the room at night before you decide. Also ask how the upper level is heated and cooled, and whether the suite has blinds on the tall windows; fitting custom coverings to 18-foot glass is a real cost that sellers rarely mention, and it makes a big difference to how the suite feels in summer.

The fee includes hydro, heat and parking

This is the strongest part of the case. The fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, water, building insurance and parking. Hydro in particular is rare: most towers nearby bill it separately, and in a double-height loft the cooling bill alone can be meaningful.

On the four suites listed for sale when I checked, fees ranged from about $585 to $1,215 a month and worked out to roughly $0.90 per square foot. That is broadly in line with newer midtown buildings that include far less, so once you account for what is bundled, the fee looks good value.

Confirm the detail in the status certificate anyway, including whether each suite has its own parking space and locker. A recent listing mentioned a storage locker, and condos.ca lists a car wash and visitor parking.

Living on Merton beside the Beltline

Merton Street runs east from Yonge just north of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, and The Metro sits beside the Kay Gardner Beltline, the former rail line now used as a walking and cycling trail. Suites on the south side look out over the trees along the trail, and condos.ca notes views toward the downtown skyline from south-facing suites.

Davisville Village, the shops on Yonge and Mount Pleasant, and the Davisville subway are part of daily life here; the data panel on this page has the transit and school detail. A recent listing described the community as dog-friendly, but condos.ca lists a pet restriction for the building, so check the rules before you bring a dog.

Merton has changed a lot since this building was finished. New towers and rentals have gone up toward Yonge, and more are coming around Yonge and Davisville. The Beltline side is protected by the trail, but north-facing suites can be affected by what is built across the street, so ask about nearby applications.

Pricing: midtown loft pricing with real choice

Condos.ca puts the average at about $903 per square foot. That is close to Le Corbu Lofts further east on Merton, at about $896, and above SoHo Lofts on Eglinton East at about $817. For a soft loft with this fee package, I think that is a fair number.

When I checked, four suites were for sale, asking from about $595,000 to about $985,000, with one-plus-den suites between about $600,000 and $739,000. One suite was for rent. That spread across unit types is useful: it gives you comparables in a way the small loft buildings nearby cannot.

For an investor, the bundled fee is a selling point to tenants, but the costs are yours, so do the numbers carefully. For an owner-occupier, compare the full monthly cost against newer towers where you pay hydro and parking separately. The sold and leased medians in the data panel and my building sold report are a better guide than asking prices.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Metro

There is no pool or large gym listed here; the amenities are a party room, a meeting room, a car wash and visitor parking, and barbecues are permitted. The real outdoor amenity is the Beltline, which you can step onto from the street.

Jatin’s honest take on The Metro

The Metro — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville and North Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.