West 40, 40 Westmoreland Ave: House-Sized Lofts in a 1914 Heritage Church

West 40 is not really a condo building in the way most people mean it. It is a 1914 Anglican church, protected under the Ontario Heritage Act, carved into a small number of residences that run from about 1,300 to more than 3,000 square feet, on a quiet street just north of Bloor. If you want house-sized space with a church tower overhead and no condo amenities to pay for, this is one of very few options. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1914 Langton church, protected inside a heritage by-law

The Anglican parish of St. Mary the Virgin was founded in 1888 and built its first church on Delaware Avenue a year later. The present church on Westmoreland opened in 1914, and it took its double name in 1966, when the congregation merged with St. Cyprian’s in Seaton Village. It was deconsecrated in 2002.

The architect was W. A. Langton, who had worked in Boston for H. H. Richardson before returning to Toronto and who helped establish both the Ontario Association of Architects and the architecture school at the University of Toronto. The city’s designation calls the building an excellent example of the restrained Neo-Gothic style used for institutional buildings after 1900, and singles out its brickwork.

What you see from the street is protected: the flat-roofed tower at the south-east corner, the two-tone red brick with red sandstone trim, the Tudor-arched entrance wing and the trio of pointed-arch stained glass windows on the east wall. A heritage easement was registered in 2006 and the designation by-law passed in 2008.

The conversion took time. The Globe and Mail reported Dog Day Developers at work on the church in 2012, and the condominium corporation was not registered until 2016. Long timelines are typical for heritage church projects, and they usually reflect approvals and the surprises found inside old walls rather than anything wrong with the result.

Very large residences, very few of them

Condos.ca lists suites from about 1,325 to 3,027 sq ft. That is the size of a semi-detached house or larger, and it makes West 40 a different product from the small-suite lofts that dominate this part of the west end.

Sources disagree on how many there are. Condos.ca lists 12 suites, while the original marketing described seventeen one-of-a-kind residences. Check the declaration and the plan for the suite you are viewing so you understand exactly what you own.

Each residence was designed around original church details, so expect high ceilings, stained glass and Gothic openings in some rooms and more conventional proportions in others. With a building this small, every layout is effectively a custom home.

The protected heritage attributes listed in the by-law are on the exterior: the walls, roof and tower. That generally leaves more freedom inside a suite than outside it, but renovations still have to follow the condominium’s own rules and any structural limits of a century-old building, so ask before you plan to move walls.

A lean fee, and what that leaves to you

The fee covers common elements, building insurance and parking. Heat, hydro and water are not listed, which means utility costs sit with the owner, as they would in a house. For residences this size, ask the seller for a year of utility bills before you compare West 40 with a condo that bundles heat.

Parking in the fee is a real advantage this close to Bloor. Condos.ca also lists visitor parking. Confirm whether the suite you want has one space or more, and whether there is storage.

Condos.ca lists Management Professionals as manager. In a corporation this small, the reserve fund carries a heritage roof, tower, masonry and stained glass across very few owners, so the per-owner share of any major repair is large. Read the reserve fund study and the heritage obligations before you sign.

Westmoreland Avenue and the Bloor strip

Westmoreland is a residential street, and the church is a local landmark at its south end. Bloor Street West is at the corner, with its cafes, shops and the subway access shown in the panel on this page. The city’s heritage report points out two other recognized buildings nearby: the 1913 Bloor-Gladstone library branch and the Paradise Theatre.

Two more church conversions are a short walk south of Bloor: The Church Lofts at 701 Dovercourt Road and Hepbourne Hall on Hepbourne Street. West 40 is the newest of the three and has by far the largest suites.

Day to day, this is a block where you walk to almost everything you need and drive only when you leave the neighbourhood. That is why the included parking matters: you will not use it every day, but having a space on a street of houses near Bloor is something buyers pay for at resale.

What West 40 costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $851 per square foot. That sounds moderate next to new condos, but at 1,325 to 3,027 sq ft, it translates into prices in the range of a house, and the average rests on very few sales.

There were no listings for sale or for lease when I checked, which is the norm. Residences here change hands rarely, and a buyer who wants one usually needs to be ready when it comes up, with financing and a view on value already in place.

Because this is closer to buying a house than a condo, I compare West 40 against nearby semi-detached and detached homes as well as other large lofts, and I factor in that utilities are separate. If you want that comparison for a specific residence, I can pull it through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at West 40

There are no shared amenities to speak of, and that is deliberate. Owners here are paying for space and architecture, not a gym or party room, which keeps the common budget focused on the building envelope.

Jatin’s honest take on West 40

West 40 — 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.