Reina vs The Tailor: 689 or 1195 The Queensway?

Published 30 August 2026 · Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty

These two get shortlisted against each other constantly, and they should be — both are new low-rise buildings on The Queensway, both boutique rather than tower, both selling to roughly the same buyer. But they sit half a kilometre apart on a corridor where half a kilometre changes what you can walk to, and they are built at different densities.

Side by side

	Reina	The Tailor Residences
Address	689 The Queensway	1195 The Queensway
Storeys	9	11
Suites	200	142
Suites per floor (approx.)	~22	~13
Position	East end, near Park Lawn	West end, past Kipling

The row that matters is suites per floor. Reina puts 200 suites into 9 floors; The Tailor puts 142 into 11. Roughly 22 doors per floor against 13. It shows up in corridor noise, elevator waits on a Saturday morning, and how many people share the gym at 7pm. Neither is wrong — but if you have lived with 25 units on your floor and hated it, read that row twice.

Location is the real decision

Reina at 689 sits inside the walkable cluster that runs roughly 620 to 960 The Queensway — Mamma Martino’s at 624, Posticino at 755, Ragu at 934, plus the dentists, groomers, salons and cafés packed into that stretch. You can live at Reina without starting the car most days.

The Tailor at 1195 is a different proposition. You are closer to Kipling, to the Cineplex site at 1025 and the Kipling Queensway Mall at 1255, and to the big-box retail. Longo’s at 1055 is a genuine walk-to grocery run. But the independent cluster is now a bus ride or a fifteen-minute walk.

Reina is the walk-to-dinner building. The Tailor is the drive-to-Costco building. Both legitimate. Not the same lifestyle.

Transit, honestly

Neither is walking distance to a subway, and you should be suspicious of anyone implying otherwise. The 80 Queensway bus serves both. From Reina you are closer to Park Lawn and Humber Bay; from The Tailor you are closer to Kipling Station on Line 2, still a bus connection rather than a walk. If a short subway commute is your top priority, neither is your building and I would rather say so now.

What I would ask before choosing

• Actual suites-per-floor on your floor, not the building average. Podium and upper floors differ.
• What the maintenance fee covers, and whether hydro and water are separately metered. On this corridor they usually are, and the quoted per-square-foot figure routinely leaves it out.
• The Cineplex site at 1025. It is an approved masterplan. Buying at The Tailor means buying near a large future construction site for several years.

My read

End user who wants to walk to dinner and use the car twice a week: Reina, despite the higher density — the location does more for daily life than nine fewer neighbours on your floor.

Drives anyway, wants a quieter floor, values the malls and the 427: The Tailor, and the lower unit count is a genuine advantage.

What I would not do is choose on the rendering. They photograph almost identically.

Related reading

• Reina Condos, 689 The Queensway — the full building guide
• The Tailor Residences, 1195 The Queensway — the full building guide
• 1025 The Queensway — the Cineplex site masterplan
• The best-rated restaurants on The Queensway

Building specifications from the City of Toronto planning record, condominium registrations and developers’ published material — believed accurate but not guaranteed. Verify everything against the status certificate and disclosure statement before you sign. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers under contract with another brokerage. E.&O.E.