People constantly tell me that I spell “neighbor” wrong since I use the American spelling with no “u.”

I’ve also been told that I have NEVER written a dedicated post about the condos that exist specifically in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

I’m going to change both of those things today…

I live in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

I sell in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

And I write about the area all the time!

But I’ve never actually written one blog post that mentions all the different condos in the area.  I’m not gonna waste any time, so here goes…

“THE BIG FOUR”

Forgive me if you live in the SLM area and you don’t live in one of these buildings, but I group these four buildings together as the “Top Tier” because they are the most popular, most expensive, and in my professional opinion – they tend to be nicer than the others.

168 King Street East

For the longest time, “King George Square” was the crown jewel of the SLM neighborhood.  It still maintains its position in “The Big Four,” but it’s no longer the undisputed king.

Completed in 2000, this 15-storey, 154-unit building is on the north side of King Street just east of Jarvis.

The gated entrance and classic red-brick construction gives the building a luxury feel and the privacy that other buildings lack.

Location-wise, the condo is perfectly situated across the street from Starbucks, one block from the St. Lawrence Market, and an eight-minute walk to the subway.

230 King Street East

“King’s Court” was completed in 2005 by Camrost-Felcorp who hasn’t built much in the downtown core but has done a lot of work in areas like Mimico.

The old Imperial Bank of Canada was on the northeast corner of King/Sherbourne when the developer first decided to erect a condo in its place, but the City of Toronto ensured that the original structure would be preserved and thus the facade you see in the photo above gives 230 King Street much of its character.

At 17 stories and 332 units, it is much larger than the other buildings in “The Big Four” but I don’t think this impacts the value of the units.

This is where I call “home.”

333 Adelaide Street

“MOZO” is short for “Modern Living Zone” which is one of the stupidest condo names I’ve heard in a while.

“I don’t know about you, but I live in a zone.  Are you fortunate enough to live in a zone?”

In all seriousness, this 15-storey, 188-unit building was one of the most popular buildings in 2005 and 2006 when it was considered “new.”  Context Developments was very smart to go after the “soft loft” look since that was all the rage back in the early 2000’s.

Units at Mozo have the unfinished look as they try to mimic true lofts; concrete floors and ceilings, exposed ductwork, and large windows abound.  There is a huge variation in the floor plans – probably 30 different layouts in the building, many of which are of the 2-storey variety.

When Rezen was built directly West of the building, all the west-facing units lost their views and thus their lustre.

205 Frederick Street

“Rezen” is the newest building the St. Lawrence Market area, and probably the one I’ve written about the most due to my constant involvement with the building in some way, shape or form.

This is more of a “boutique” building since it numbers only 138 units over fourteen stories, and the developer’s original goal of creating a “community” has come to fruition.

The property management, concierge, and amenities are all A+ and the units themselves are all upgraded; the only drawback is that some of the floor plans aren’t that functional.

Prices have risen substantially in the past six months since the building was registered, and the building is now one of the most expensive in the SLM area.  It’s well worth it, in my mind.  The location is fantastic and only surpassed by 168 King or 39 Jarvis, and the amenities are the best I’ve seen for a building this small.

“THE NEXT THREE”

After “The Big Four” we have what I like to call “The Next Three,” not necessarily because they are somehow lesser buildings but because they just don’t garner as much attention as The Big Four.  I used to call this “The Middle Tier” but I don’t think that’s fair since 261 King Street, for example, is more expensive then all the buildings mentioned above – it’s just not as well known and units rarely come up for sale.

330 Adelaide Street

“Three30 @ Imperial Square” may have a somewhat confusing name, but it offers incredible value compared to some of the other buildings in the SLM.

The building is only 12 stories and in the neighbourhood of 160 units and for some reason it just doesn’t attract any attention from buyers.  I’ve had to physically point this out to people to get them to notice it while standing on the other side of the street in front of Mozo and Rezen!

I’ve put two clients in this building in the past six months, and the prices were unbelievable.  One of my clients paid $325,000 for a 765 square foot unit back in March and the same unit in King George Square or Rezen might cost $389,000 today.

261 King Street

“Abbey Lane Lofts” is probably where I would live if I had an unlimited budget, but I find these units are just far too expensive for my taste.

Situated on the south side of King Street right across from King’s Court, this true “boutique” building has only 29 units over seven stories.

Most of the units have large outdoor terraces, which of course reels me right in, and the decor has a distinct “soft loft” feel to it.

There have only been four sales in this building in the past two years.

39 Jarvis Street

“The Saint James” is a landmark building on the southeast corner of King/Jarvis and it stretches almost down to Front Street.

This is another building that features many incredible terraced-suites but you can barely make them out from the photo above.

Built by Great Gulf Homes in 2000, this building is thought to be much, much older than it actually is.  Perhaps that’s because of the average age of the residents, which tends to be much higher than Rezen or Mozo.

It’s also thought to be a lot larger than it actually is – at only 8 stories and 100 units.

And the location is the absolute best of the bunch – being spitting distance to the Market itself, and as close to Yonge Street as you can get.

“THE OTHERS”

I’m not talking about the crummy movie with Nicole Kidman.  There are about 8-10 other buildings in the SLM area that I’ll profile tomorrow, including a couple of buildings I guarantee you didn’t even know were there…

(To Be Continued…)