The Twelve Hundred, 1200 Dundas St W: A New Mid-Rise at Ossington

The Twelve Hundred is the newest condo you can buy a block from the Ossington strip, and for now that newness is both its selling point and its risk. It is an eight-storey brick, glass and metal building on the old Beer Store lot at Dundas and Lakeview, with a work-from-home amenity package and mostly compact suites. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From a Beer Store parking lot to a boutique mid-rise

Before construction, this corner was a Beer Store with a surface parking lot. In its last years the lot had a second life as a community space: it hosted the Hippie Market, a travelling vintage and antique market, for about a year, and in September 2021 Fieldgate and the Little Portugal on Dundas BIA turned it into a two-night outdoor concert venue and a two-week art exhibit called Long Winter.

Fieldgate Urban focuses on boutique mid-rises in established neighbourhoods. The Twelve Hundred was the third in its series of small infill buildings, after Heartwood in The Beach and The Poet in Leslieville, and the formula is consistent: six to eight storeys in an established neighbourhood, a strong interior designer, and an amenity list aimed at people who work from home.

Shoring was finished in late 2022 and foundation work was underway in early 2023, so this is a building that went from hole in the ground to registration in under three years. That is quick for Toronto, and it means the first owners are only now settling in.

Design team and what the building looks like

IBI Group designed the building, which explains why UrbanToronto’s database credits both IBI and Arcadis, the firm that took IBI over. Figure3 handled the interiors and STUDIO tla the landscape. The exterior uses brick, glass and metal, which suits the brick storefronts along this part of Dundas better than an all-glass box would.

At eight storeys and roughly 29 metres, it sits comfortably above the two- and three-storey main-street buildings around it without dominating them. If you are used to downtown towers, the scale is the point: fewer neighbours per floor, fewer elevator waits, and a lobby where people recognise each other.

I could not confirm ceiling heights or the exact suite mix from a reliable public source. Ask for the floor plan of the specific suite, and measure ceiling height at a viewing rather than relying on marketing material.

Small suites, so plan around storage

The suites listed for sale when I checked were mostly one-bedrooms under 500 square feet, with a two-bedroom in the 600 to 699 square foot band. That tells you how the building was sold: compact layouts priced for first-time buyers and investors who wanted the Ossington postcode.

At under 500 square feet, a one-bedroom works for a single person who lives in the neighbourhood more than in the suite. It is a harder sell for a couple who both work from home. The co-working space and rooftop meeting rooms help with that, but only if they are actually bookable when you need them.

Parking and lockers are the questions to ask early. Condos.ca does not show how many suites have parking, and in a building this size the answer varies suite by suite. Bike storage is listed, which is the more useful amenity here for most owners.

The two-bedroom suites are the ones I would look at hardest. In a building dominated by small one-bedrooms, a well-planned two-bedroom with a proper second bedroom and outdoor space is the scarcer product, and scarcity is what protects resale value when the next round of new buildings arrives on Dundas West.

Living at Dundas and Ossington

This corner sits where Trinity-Bellwoods, Little Portugal and the Ossington strip meet. Ossington’s restaurants and bars are a block east, the Dundas West shops run in both directions, and Trinity Bellwoods Park and Queen West are a short walk south.

The trade-off is noise and evening activity. Suites facing Dundas will hear the streetcar and weekend traffic; suites facing Lakeview Avenue or the rear are likely to be quieter. Visit on a Friday night before you commit to a specific exposure.

When Fieldgate launched, the marketing noted it was the first new condo released within about a kilometre of this intersection in roughly seven years. That scarcity is one reason resale supply here will stay thin. The data panel on this page covers transit, parks and nearby food in more detail.

Pricing and fees in a first-year building

With only months of resale history, there is no meaningful building average yet. Current asking prices give a sense of the range: the four suites listed for sale when I checked asked between about $430,000 and $699,000, with the one-bedrooms under 500 square feet asking roughly $430,000 to $610,000.

Monthly fees across those listings ran from about $310 to $599. Condos.ca works that out to around $1.31 per square foot, which is high for the area. Part of that is arithmetic, since fixed costs spread over very small suites raise the per-square-foot figure, and part is a concierge and amenity package in a 115-suite building.

First-year budgets in a new corporation are estimates set before anyone has paid a real utility bill. Ask whether the board has adopted its own budget yet and whether a fee increase is planned. For sold figures as they build up, see the data panel or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Twelve Hundred

The package is built for people who work from home: a co-working space and private rooftop meeting rooms alongside a gym, lounge and terraces. In a 115-suite building, that is a lot of shared space per owner, which is useful day to day and is also part of why the fee per square foot is high.

Jatin’s honest take on The Twelve Hundred

The Twelve Hundred — 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.