293-square-foot condos inside planned Toronto tower starting at $542,000

Feb 3 2022, 7:34 pm

Toronto condos may be known for being both compact and pricey, but a new tower planned for downtown’s Church Street is really leaning into both of these traits.

Although the project has yet to receive final approval from Toronto City Council, developer CentreCourt has released a price list for the condos inside its planned 52-storey building at 252 Church Street.

CentreCourt

The cheapest option on the list comes in the form of a 293-square-foot studio that has prices starting at $542,000. According to the list, prices may vary anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 depending on what floor a unit is on.

And the studios wouldn’t be the only compact condos in the building. One-bedrooms range from 426 to 469 square feet, with starting prices ranging from $712,000 to $732,000. The largest unit listed is a two-bedroom that’s just over 700 square feet and is starting at $997,000.

“I’m seeing is a lot of new buildings are starting to come out with smaller and smaller units,” Toronto real estate agent Anya Ettinger told Daily Hive. “The one bedrooms are getting smaller, studios are getting smaller, and you could say that it’s mainly being done because they want to fit more units in the building so that there’s more supply, but it’s really to optimize profits. It makes more sense to build smaller units and fit more in the building because then they can sell more units.”

CentreCourt

At its listed starting price, the 293-square-foot studio comes out to just over $1,849 per square foot. This is noticeably higher than the $1,429 average price per square foot for new condos in Toronto, per a recent Urbanation report.

“Pre-con historically has been priced higher than resale,” Ettinger said. “And one of the main reasons for that is because they’re accounting for the inflation and the market appreciation by the time the development is done, which makes sense to an extent.”

CentreCourt

toronto condos tower 252 church

CentreCourt

Parking spaces are selling for $110,000 — or $125,000 for electric vehicle parking — and maintenance fees are expected to be around $0.71/square foot.

toronto condos tower 252 church

CentreCourt

With the steep price tags, though, come a slew of amenities including a 24/7 concierge, three guest suites, a co-working lounge, a fitness centre with a Peloton lounge, outdoor terraces, a dog run, and a screening room. As for who will largely be enjoying these amenities — owners or renters — it’s hard to say, Ettinger says.

“It really seems like they are trying to target end users with the amenities that they have but it’s really being built in a way that it would benefit investors,” she said. “I don’t really see many end users that would say, ‘Okay, let me pay $550,000 for a 200-square-foot studio, because that doesn’t make any sense to them.

“It’s right next to Ryerson and it’s close to UofT, it’s close to the financial district, so it makes sense for an investor to buy it and rent it out, but with all the money they’re putting into amenities, it’s very confusing from the consumer perspective to look at it and try to figure out who they’re trying to target.”

toronto condos tower 252 church

CentreCourt

CentreCourt

The project is currently awaiting its first stage of approval from City Council before any construction can begin.

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