The Best Boutique Condos In Toronto

Toronto’s Best Hidden Gem Condo Buildings for 2026: The Complete Boutique Building GuideQuick

The best boutique condo buildings in Toronto for 2026 are low-rise (generally under 15 storeys, under 200 units) properties built roughly between 1995 and 2015, concentrated in Leslieville, King East, St. Lawrence Market, Liberty Village, Queen West, and the Junction.

I put this list together with my colleague Cam Wolfrey, who’s been on our team since day one. We each wrote down our favourite boutique buildings in the city without comparing notes first, and this guide is the combined result: close to 20 buildings, why they work, and who they work for.

What Counts as a “Boutique” Condo Building in Toronto?

A boutique condo building is generally under 15 storeys and ideally under 200 total units. That’s the definition I use with clients, and it’s the filter I applied to this list (with a couple of admitted exceptions where a building’s feel and scarcity earned it a spot anyway).

Boutique buildings tend to feel more like a home than a highrise — no lining up for the elevator, fewer strangers in the lobby, and often better soundproofing between units because there’s simply less shared wall space. As the top-ranked condo team in Toronto, we’ve sold in nearly every building on this list, and we have clients who’ve lived in most of them.

The trade-off is usually views: boutique buildings aren’t tall, so you’re not getting sweeping skyline shots. What you get instead is natural light, unique floor plans, and — because there just aren’t that many of these buildings in any given pocket — genuine scarcity. That scarcity is a big part of why they tend to hold value and keep selling even in a slower market.

I break Toronto condos into three rough categories:

Post-2015 “investor” condos — not all bad, and some have good floor plans at the right price, but this era is where units got smaller and layouts got more efficiency-driven.
The “inbetweeners” (roughly 1995–2015) — the sweet spot. Modern enough that you’re not worried about major special assessments, but built before land prices spiked, when developers could still build a quality project and stay profitable.

The “Sweet Spot” Build Years: Why 1995–2015 Matters. If there’s one data point from this list worth remembering, it’s this: almost every building we picked was built between 1995 and 2015, and most cluster even tighter, around 2000–2010.

Older buildings — often excellent, but usually too large in unit count to qualify as boutique.
The reason the sweet-spot era produced better buildings comes down to economics: once the run-up in Toronto land prices really took off around 2016, developer margins — which were already thin — got squeezed, and it shows up in finishes and floor plans. Buildings from the inbetweener era were built when a developer could still spend on quality and make the numbers work.

Toronto’s Best Boutique & Hidden Gem Condo Buildings for 2026

88 Colgate Ave (Showcase Lofts) — Leslieville, built 2014
Cam’s pick, and a great one. Showcase Lofts is a soft loft building off Carlaw with higher ceilings, brick finishes on some units, and a maintenance fee history that’s held up well since 2014. The only real downside is the commute — call it 25 minutes by streetcar to the financial district — but that changes once the Ontario Line opens. Everyone we’ve placed in this building has had good things to say about it.

68 Broadview Ave (Broadview Lofts) — Leslieville
One of the coolest loft buildings in the city, in my opinion, with units that are genuinely spectacular and nothing like the cookie-cutter stock nearby. We sold a unit here recently, and freehold houses within a five-minute walk are going for around $2 million — a good indicator of how strong the pocket is. Walkable to all the Leslieville restaurants, with the Ontario Line set to fix the one real downside (transit access).

90 Broadview Ave — Leslieville
Sits right next to 68 Broadview and shares the same strong-neighbourhood logic: old-growth tree-lined streets, a walkable feel, and access to the heart of Leslieville. Watch for units with weaker natural light, but the soundproofing in these soft lofts is excellent, and it’s a great option if you don’t need a building loaded with amenities.

138 Princess St (East Lofts) — Moss Park / King East
Most people don’t know this building exists, which is exactly why I like it. It’s soft loft style with concrete ceilings, and the units — especially on higher floors — get better views than you’d expect. Many have genuinely stunning south-facing terraces. If this building were in King West instead of Moss Park, it would get talked about a lot more.

510 King St East — King East, built 2012
Another soft loft from around the same construction era, right beside the DVP. The retail around it isn’t the strongest right now, but that changes once the Ontario Line lands and the area becomes a high-density hub again. We’ve sold in this building many times over the years — including a two-bedroom that sold in under 30 days, and another unit that sold in a single day in 2026, in a market where headlines are mostly negative. That’s what a genuinely good floor plan does for you.

55 Front St East (The Berczy) — St. Lawrence Market
This is the one I’d point to first if budget allows. Units almost never come up for sale, it’s not the most affordable building on this list, but it’s steps from St. Lawrence Market and keeps moving even in a slower market. You could walk right past it and never know it was there — which is exactly the appeal. Views aren’t its strength given the height and location, but the floor plans are some of the best in the city.

25 Oxley St (The Glas Condos) — near Spadina, built 2009
I’ve been pushing this building to clients for a decade. It’s a 16-storey building surrounded by highrises, so it bends my own “under 15 storeys” rule, but it earns its spot through sheer quality. High ceilings, strong floor plans throughout, and finishes from 2009 that have genuinely stood the test of time — no forced renovation needed. North-facing units don’t get balconies due to zoning, but pricing reflects that. You can also find larger 1+den and 2-bedroom layouts here that newer buildings just don’t offer anymore.

993 Queen St West (The Candy Factory) — Trinity Bellwoods
This one has to be on the list. It’s arguably the best loft building in the city — a true hard-loft conversion (it was never meant to be a condo) across from Trinity Bellwoods Park. Maintenance fees are still reasonable, only the penthouse-level units get outdoor space, and the history and location give it a prestige other buildings can’t match.

43 Hanna Ave (Toy Factory Lofts) — Liberty Village
An honourable mention rather than a formal pick, but worth knowing about: this building has done a genuinely smart job managing maintenance fees by renting out commercial space for filming and other uses. It’s one of the more attractive buildings in Liberty Village as a result.

5 Hanna Ave (Liberty Market Lofts) — Liberty Village
Eight storeys and around 300 units, which spreads maintenance fee risk out well. Many units are two-storey loft layouts — go for the wider ones if you can, since some of the narrower floor plans are worth avoiding. It feels a little tucked away on the edge of Liberty Village today, but a planned relief line will strengthen the location over time.

8 Dovercourt Rd (Art Condos) — near Liberty Village
A genuinely underrated building that I don’t think gets talked about enough. Units rarely come up for sale. It sits near some buildings from the same construction period that get lumped together unfairly — this one stands out from that group in person.

183 Dovercourt Rd (Argyle Lofts) — Queen West
A former Dempster Bread Factory, and a true hard-loft conversion with under 100 units. There’s not much outdoor space or parking, but it doesn’t matter — these units move fast when priced correctly, largely because of the pocket: walkable to Queen West and College Street, surrounded mostly by freehold housing rather than competing condo stock. Like Candy Factory and 55 Front St East, very few units ever come up for sale, which tells you people buy here to live, not to flip.

66 Portland St & 20 Stewart St — King West
A personal mention: I lived at 20 Stewart for five years. Both buildings are freehold-style and low-rise, built a year apart, sharing the same parking garage, one street back from King. No concierge, no gym, no frills — but reasonable maintenance fees and genuinely cool soft-loft units, tucked away enough that you’re close to the action without being in the middle of it. One of the penthouses at 20 Stewart was the filming location for Harvey’s condo on Suits, if you’re curious. The only real knock is occasional parking-access issues in the rear laneway.

308 Palmerston Ave (The Europa) — Bathurst & College, built 2007
The only building on this list where I’ll admit the maintenance fees aren’t great — they’re over a dollar per square foot. But it’s an exceptionally well-managed building with a strong reserve fund, in a corner of the city (Bathurst and College) with essentially no competing condo stock nearby. Because of how it was built in 2007, adjoining unit walls mostly aren’t shared directly, so you’re not hearing your neighbours in roughly 90% of units. When something here is priced well, it sells — on both the rental and resale side.

32 Camden St (and 50 Camden St, the Sylvia Lofts) — Spadina & Bathurst
A quiet one-way street between Spadina and Bathurst that a lot of people simply don’t know exists, similar in feel to Oxley St. Units tend to run larger, with genuinely unique loft-style floor plans, and the pocket has picked up more retail and livability in recent years thanks to nearby Waterworks. Units don’t come up often, but they’re worth chasing when they do.

383 Sorauren Ave — Roncesvalles, built 2016
This is the one building on the list built after 2015, and it earns its place. It backs onto the rail corridor, which might scare buyers off on a map, but the retaining walls were built well enough that noise pollution is minimal even in track-facing units. You’re right next to a park and tennis courts in the heart of Roncesvalles — one of the strongest freehold-appreciation pockets in the city — and this is a genuine soft loft alternative for buyers who can’t stretch to freehold pricing there.

156 Portland St (Queen and Portland Condos) — Queen West
A small building most people have never heard of, tucked behind the Loblaws at Queen and Portland. Unit count is low and listings are rare, but two-bedroom floor plans on higher floors often come with real outdoor terraces and decent views, since the pocket isn’t yet crowded with highrises. Worth watching if you want to be in this general area.

530 Indian Grove — The Junction, built around 2017
Built by TAS — the same developer behind 38 Niagara — with roughly 90 units. It sits on the main strip of the Junction, an area that’s otherwise short on buildings with a genuine boutique feel. Everything I’ve seen from this building so far has been solid, and it has that “feels like quality” impression as soon as you walk in.

Boutique vs. Highrise: What You’re Trading Off

Boutique buildings aren’t the right fit for everyone, and I tell clients this directly. You’re generally giving up height and views, and often amenities — many of these buildings have no gym, no concierge, sometimes just two elevators. What you’re getting in return is scarcity, better floor plans on average, stronger soundproofing in most soft- and hard-loft conversions, and a resale story that tends to hold up better in a down market because there simply isn’t much competing inventory in the same pocket.

There’s also an investment angle beyond lifestyle. A building that doesn’t need a steep discount to sell in a slow market is also a building likely to see above-market appreciation when conditions improve. Every building on this list, in our experience, has proven it can sell in a down market without major concessions — that’s a big part of why it’s here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a boutique condo building in Toronto? A boutique condo building is generally under 15 storeys and ideally has fewer than 200 total units. Boutique buildings tend to have more unique floor plans, better natural light per unit, and stronger soundproofing than high-density highrises, though they usually trade off amenities and skyline views.

What year should I look for when buying a boutique condo in Toronto? Buildings constructed between roughly 1995 and 2015 — and especially 2000 to 2010 — tend to offer the best combination of modern systems and quality construction. This was before Toronto land prices spiked in 2016, so developers could still build well and remain profitable.

Which Toronto neighbourhoods have the most boutique condo buildings? Leslieville, King East / St. Lawrence Market, Liberty Village, Queen West, and the Junction all have a strong concentration of boutique and loft-style buildings, largely because of former industrial buildings converted into hard lofts and low-rise infill from the 1990s and 2000s.

Are boutique condos a good investment in Toronto? They can be, particularly because of scarcity — there are usually very few boutique buildings in any given pocket, and units don’t come up for sale often. In our experience, well-located boutique buildings with good floor plans have continued to sell relatively quickly even in slower markets, which also tends to support stronger appreciation when the market improves. This isn’t financial advice — talk to a professional advisor before making a purchase decision.

What’s the difference between a soft loft and a hard loft? A hard loft is a true conversion of a former industrial building (like a factory), keeping original elements such as exposed brick, concrete columns, and high ceilings. A soft loft is new construction built to mimic that loft aesthetic — concrete ceilings, large windows, open layouts — without being a conversion of an existing structure.

Thinking About Buying or Selling in One of These Buildings?

If you’re serious about buying or selling Toronto real estate — boutique building or otherwise — book a call with our team or search live listings and sold prices for free. We’ve sold in nearly every building on this list and can tell you honestly which units in each one are worth chasing.