Roncesvalles basement apartment listed for nearly $4,000 per month

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Price: $3,995/month

Neighbourhood: Roncesvalles

X-factor: Spread over 1,200 square feet, the loft basement at 34 Noble St. makes for a spacious and trendy dwelling. Unit L101 is airy and sports high wooden ceilings, featuring exposed pipes and some brick elements.

Tucked in the West Queen West area, the neighbourhood offers several green spaces, schools and daycares, cafes and restaurants, as well as various TTC buses and a streetcar running in the area.

But is the space worth nearly $4,000 a month? We speak with realtor Othneil Litchmore to get a better idea.

Why is it priced this way?

Despite the price tag, the description notes that a one-year lease will come with two months of free rent, which would knock the monthly rent down to $3,329 for the year. Utility costs will be fixed at an additional $250 per month, the listing reads.

The listing history shows the unit has gone on the market five other times since June — each time being terminated or expiring without being leased out. The price has fluctuated over time, now a decrease from its previous $4,245 price.

The current price isn’t overly expensive “in the commercial space,” Litchmore said, noting that the area is zoned as both commercial and residential. (That means that depending on the lease, the space could be used either as a place to live or to work, or both.)

“This (price) is typical for commercial space,” he said. “The idea is that it will be rented for some income-producing activity.”

But Litchmore said it’s hard to imagine who would be the target demographic. The listing for the “live/work loft” focuses on the functionality of the space as a home, noting there are three bedrooms and an open concept living/dining room.

Yet the floors are concrete — which would make the underground space colder — and there don’t appear to be closets in the bedrooms, Litchmore pointed out. The windows display what appears to be a brick wall outside. They’re likely egress windows, Litchmore said, which are built as escape routes in case of emergency.

It’s also unusual for the basement of “a big apartment building” to be available for rent, as is the case for this loft, he said.

It would be “a little bit of a stretch” for renters to pay this price for the space as an apartment, Litchmore said, adding they “have better options.”

What other options are there for a home like this?

Someone looking for a spacious three-bedroom apartment above ground with a budget of about $4,000 could rent the main floor of a house, Litchmore said.

A two-storey laneway house was leased out in Roncesvalles in September for $3,750 per month, Litchmore pointed out. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 124 Geoffrey St. is brand new, with large windows, skylights and access to a shared backyard. It’s a bit smaller than the apartment at 34 Noble St., with about 1,000 square feet, according to the listing, but it includes a one-car garage.

Meanwhile, another basement apartment in Roncesvalles — a bright, upgraded two-bedroom apartment with high ceilings and hardwood floors — was leased out in September for $2,200. While the home at 10 Grafton Ave. appears to be significantly smaller, Litchmore said it’s “probably one of the nicer basements” and the price is much closer to the norm for a basement.

But a spokesperson for the loft building at 34 Noble St. emphasized that there are “very few” options in Toronto that can truly be compared to the building where the basement unit is, noting that only Toy Factory Lofts in Liberty Village come to mind.

“The target market for this building, based on actual results … is for the arts community,” said Rafi Younger, the asset manager for NJS Capital, the company that owns the loft building.

“(It’s for) people who specifically do not want the cookie cutter way of living — where you get stuck in an elevator, and there’s no character to the corridors, and there’s no character to your home,” he said.

The residents of the building are also entrepreneurs who perhaps can’t afford to pay rent for both a 1,200-square-foot living space and studio to work out of, and instead are making their working and living options viable by merging the two.

Additionally, Younger said, the units have condo style renovations, including a new kitchen, in-unit laundry and a new HVAC system that ensures the entire building can be well-heated.

“This listing stands out because the building stands out,” he said. “Is it a high price? I think it’s a pretty aggressive price, but we definitely offer rent incentives.”

Additionally, he said the target market for this space isn’t put off by the price.

“They need to decide: does it work for their way of life and their business that they want to operate?”

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