One Cole Condos, Toronto Condo Reviews 

I like the condo itself but not the location. The condo and amenities are well maintained. Very friendly security staff. I am not a big fan of the location though - not the best part of the city, one can meet sketchy people on the street. The building though has a FresCo grocery store downstairs which is quite convenient when doing groceries.

Central location, great management, and friendly neighbours.

One Cole is not your typical condo building. It' actually very unique in Toronto, special even. You need to know a little about the history here before reviewing a building like this. so here we go...

HISTORY This was the first building in the Regent Park revitalization, it was completed in 2010, but the bulk of the units were sold in May 2009.

Regent Park has a long and storied history as a sort of poster child for failed social housing projects from the mid-20th century. The area as we know it was built mostly in the 1940s and 1950s and was designed to provide a higher standard of housing for the many living in the neighbourhood in extremely poor conditions (no running water, no electricity etc). The concentration of poverty and the poor design of the neighbourhood doomed this area from the start.

The city worked for many years to devise a new plan for Regent Park. Finally, the plan was approved in the mid 2000s and work began. Daniels ended up being the chosen developer to build the entire neighbourhood in partnership with Toronto Community Housing. The concept of the plan is to create a brand new neighbourhood from scratch. Tear everything down and start again. A completely fresh start. The big idea of the plan is to have mixed-use housing, NOT just social housing. Also, there would be the introduction of retail (banks, grocery, restaurants, a new park, community centres, new schools etc). When the plan is complete around 2020, there will be about 2-3 times as many people living in Regent Park as there were in 2005 and there will be far more market housing (condos) than social housing (rent geared to income housing, subsidized housing, etc)

SALES AT ONE COLE Daniels started advertising for sales of One Cole around fall 2008 -right in the middle of the biggest recession to ever hit Canada. When sales actually started in May 2009, no one knew how this would go. There was a lot of trepidation and the big question was - will people actually buy real estate in one of the most stigmatized neighbourhoods in Toronto? The answer was a resounding YES as the building sold about half the units in just a couple days. Lineups were even reported at the broker's sales event before the doors opened. Back then, units were going for around $375-$400PSF. Those who bought in the first month saw an appreciation of about 20% by the time the building was finished in late 2010! THE BUILDING One Cole is actually divided into 2 towers with the addresses: 1 Cole and 25 Cole. 1 Cole is the shorter building on the Parliament side, and 25 Cole is the taller tower on the east side. You can enter the building through either tower. The concierge desk is at 25 Cole. All the amenities are shared between the two towers. LOCATION One Cole Today is a great building to live in as you are located right at Dundas and Parliament, steps to Cabbagetown to the north, a short walk to Eaton Centre and Dundas Square, even the financial district is within a reasonable walk on foot. Located in the base of your building is a large grocery store (Sobey's Fresh Co), a bank (RBC) and a Tim Horton's.

AMENITIES The building has one of the most impressive party rooms in the city. It's like a large 2-storey glass box. I'm not sure it gets much use but it's really quite amazing for parties.

There is also a large rooftop garden/green space with grass and trees and BBQs to use. Very unique feature.

There is a nice gym in the building and full-time concierge service. WHY I LOVE IT One Cole offers buyers tremendous value. 2 bed/2 bath units with parking can sometimes be had for under $400k in this building for example. Maintenance fees are average and they have held in check since opening.

While it is now the oldest building in the new Regent Park, it's still only just 3 years old. This building should hold up well over the next 5 years and the prime location on the corner of Parliament and Dundas will help differentiate it against any future developments.