Upper Beaches Lofts, 214 Main St: A Fish Market Turned 16 Low-Rise Lofts

Upper Beaches Lofts is a building with an honest, working past. Before 2006 it was a fish market, then a banquet hall, and now it holds 16 loft suites over two storeys on Main Street, just south of Gerrard. It is low, small and practical, and it sits right beside a stretch of Main Street and Danforth that the City has planned for towers. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From fish market to banquet hall to lofts

Condos.ca records two earlier lives for this building: first a fish market, then a banquet hall. The conversion to residential lofts was completed in 2006, and the condominium was registered that August. The developer is recorded under the project’s own name, Upper Beaches Lofts, which suggests a single-purpose company set up for this one building.

Commercial buildings like this tend to convert well. A market hall or banquet room usually has a wide, open floor plate and generous structure, which gives you broader suites than a converted house and fewer columns than a converted factory. I could not find a published architect or detailed conversion history, so ask the seller or the corporation for any original drawings.

Two storeys and 16 suites means a quiet building. There are no long corridors and no elevator banks, and you will get to know your neighbours quickly.

Suites from about 767 to 1,295 square feet

Condos.ca puts suite sizes at roughly 767 to 1,295 square feet. That covers one-bedroom-plus-den plans through to two-bedroom and two-plus-den suites, which is a useful range for both first-time buyers and downsizers.

In a two-storey conversion, upper-floor suites usually get the better ceilings and light, and ground-floor suites trade those for easier access and sometimes outdoor space. Each plan is likely to be different, so look at exposure and window placement suite by suite.

With any commercial conversion, I also ask about sound separation between suites, the age of the windows and how the building handles heating and cooling, since these were not designed into the original structure. A visit on a weekday evening, when neighbours are home, will tell you more than a Saturday open house.

The building has a parking garage, and parking is listed as included in the fee, which is a real advantage on Main Street where street parking is tight. Condos.ca notes a pet restriction; check the declaration for the exact terms before you assume your dog is welcome.

Main Street is about to change

The building sits on Main Street just south of Gerrard Street East. Immediately to the north is the area covered by the City’s Main Street Planning Study, which runs from Gerrard up to Danforth and around Main Street station and Danforth GO.

City Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 478 for that area in December 2019. According to Beach Metro Community News, the plan keeps the Main and Gerrard area to low- and mid-rise buildings, while allowing slender towers in the Dawes Road and Main Square area further north, where proposals have ranged up to the 30s and 40s in storeys. Along Danforth, the guidance is generally seven to eight storeys.

For an owner here, that is mostly good news. More residents and new retail near the transit hub should support values and services over time, and the policy keeps the blocks nearest this building low. The cost is several years of construction activity north of Gerrard as projects move ahead.

One more detail from the plan is worth knowing. Beach Metro reported that the policy requires at least 25 per cent of new units in the area to have two bedrooms and 10 per cent to have three. Over time, that means more family-sized condo supply nearby, which is competition for the larger suites here, but also a sign the area is being planned for long-term owners rather than only investors.

How it compares with Modern Beach Lofts

The closest comparable is Modern Beach Lofts at 952 Kingston Road, another small conversion, of a 1930s movie theatre. That building is taller at five storeys, slightly larger at 23 suites, and includes heat and air conditioning in its fee. It also trades higher per square foot.

Upper Beaches Lofts gives you a lower building, slightly less per square foot, and a location on the Main Street side of the Upper Beaches, near the Main and Danforth transit hub, with the lake further away. If that hub matters more to you than walking to the beach, this is the one I would look at first.

Upper Beaches Lofts on price

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $852 per square foot. Among the east-end boutique lofts I have reviewed in this group, that sits between Green House Lofts on Queen Street East at about $831 and Waterworks Lofts at about $943, and below Modern Beach Lofts at about $969.

With 16 suites, a typical year sees very few sales, so the average can move on a single trade. Use it as a starting point, then compare a specific suite against recent sales of similar size here and in other small Beach-area lofts. Upper-floor suites with better light and the larger plans near the top of the size range will usually sit above the building average, and smaller ground-floor suites below it.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance, water and parking. Heat and hydro are not listed, so budget for your own utilities. There were no active listings when I checked. For recorded sale figures, see the data panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Upper Beaches Lofts

There is no gym or party room, and in a 16-suite building that keeps fees under control. The amenity that matters most is the included parking garage spot, which is worth a lot on this stretch of Main Street.

Jatin’s honest take on Upper Beaches Lofts

Upper Beaches Lofts — frequently asked questions

Looking at Leslieville, Riverdale, the Beaches, Danforth and Leaside more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.