Urban Church Lofts, 1183 Dufferin St: 14 Homes in a 1912 Church

Urban Church Lofts is one of very few places in Toronto where you can own part of a century-old church with a corner tower. The former Dufferin Street Presbyterian Church now holds 14 homes, most of them tall, multi-level lofts with their own front doors. It is a heritage building first and a condo second, and buyers should approach it that way. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1912 church with a corner tower

The building was the Dufferin Street Presbyterian Church, built around 1912 and designed by W.R. Gregg, an architect City heritage staff describe as important to Toronto. It is Neo-Gothic, with a prominent corner tower and medieval-inspired detailing in stone and red brick.

The congregation used it until about 1995, and the building sat vacant from 2010. It was added to the City’s Inventory of Heritage Properties in 2006, and in 2014 City staff recommended designating it under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and securing a heritage easement agreement as part of the conversion.

For a buyer, that heritage status is a real feature with real obligations. The tower and the west façade on Dufferin were identified as the key elements to keep, and changes to the exterior are controlled. Ask how the heritage easement affects windows, masonry repairs and anything visible from the street.

What changed in the conversion

Most of the work was inside. The original amber glass windows were replaced with clear glass, and the north and south sides gained dormers, new doors, Juliet balconies and windows so the old sanctuary could be split into homes.

The back of the building is new. A four-storey rear addition, about 13 metres tall, replaced the original rear wall after it was damaged in early 2014, and the building’s overall height of about 16 metres did not change. That means some units sit in a century-old masonry shell and others sit in new construction, which affects everything from sound transfer to how the walls age.

The project was first marketed for occupancy in late 2013, and registration came in 2017, so it took longer than planned. That is common with church conversions, and the finished building is what matters now.

The conversion also needed an Official Plan Amendment, because a 14-unit condominium did not match the detached and semi-detached housing the City’s plan expects on this street. In practice, that is part of why the building feels the way it does: small, low and residential in scale, rather than a mid-rise dropped into a street of houses. It also means there is little reason to expect anything like it to be built again on this block.

Tall, narrow lofts with their own front doors

Of the 14 homes, 10 are inside the church and four are in the rear addition, according to blogTO’s launch coverage. Sizes were marketed from about 600 to 1,765 square feet, each with a den.

The layouts are tall and narrow, which is what you get when you divide a church vertically. Stairs take up a fair amount of floor area, and the three-storey church lofts came with skylights as standard. Ceilings were specified at 9 feet and smooth, so the drama here comes from the volume and the old windows, not from open double-height space in every room.

A real advantage over most condos is that nearly every home has its own exterior entrance. The exceptions are the two upper-level units in the addition. Homes have a balcony or patio, and some were built with gas barbecue connections.

Living on Dufferin north of Bloor

The church sits on Dufferin Street between Bloor Street West and Dupont Street, close to the Galleria site, in a residential stretch of detached and semi-detached houses. The City calls the area Dovercourt Village; buyers usually describe it as Dufferin, north of Bloor.

When the project launched in 2012, blogTO noted the immediate area was thin on cafés and shops, and that has been one of its trade-offs. Bloor Street West is the main local strip, and the transit and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

Dufferin itself is a busy north-south road, so the units facing it hear traffic. Units on the north and south sides and toward the rear lane will be quieter, which is worth comparing on a visit.

How to think about price here

With only 14 units, this building rarely has more than one home for sale, and when I checked there was a single listing. I do not publish a single listing’s price or fee, and with so few sales there is no reliable building median per square foot to quote.

To value a unit here, I would look at recent sales in other Toronto church and heritage loft conversions, freehold semis on nearby streets and the newer boutique condos along Bloor and Dufferin, and then adjust for whether the unit is in the church or the addition, its parking and its outdoor space.

The fee covers common elements and building insurance. At launch, general maintenance was estimated at about $0.48 per square foot plus a separate parking maintenance charge, but those were pre-construction estimates. Get the current budget, because a heritage masonry building with this few owners can see fees move as real repair costs arrive.

Building specifications

Amenities at Urban Church Lofts

There are no shared amenities in the usual condo sense: no gym, concierge or party room. What you get instead is a front door, private outdoor space and a home inside a landmark, which for the right buyer is worth more than a fitness room. It also keeps the shared costs focused on the building itself.

Jatin’s honest take on Urban Church Lofts

Urban Church Lofts — frequently asked questions

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