A loft in a converted 120-year-old Toronto church has sold at a higher price than newer condominium units in the surrounding area, The Globe and Mail reported

The two-bedroom, 1,160-square-foot unit is located at 701 Dovercourt Road. The loft sold in March for $1.3 million, or roughly $1,120 per square foot, after 13 days on the market, the Globe reported. The sale price was $69,000 below the $1,369,000 asking price.

“Because it’s rare, it holds value better in an oversaturated condo market,” Evan Christensen, a broker with Harvey Kalles Real Estate who listed the condo, told the Globe.

Newer condos in the area sell for $900 psf, he told his interviewer.

Evan’s father, Niels Christensen, also a broker with Harvey Kalles Real Estate, shared the sales listing.

The loft is located within a neo-Gothic church originally built in 1906 and converted into 28 residential units in 2010. The multi-level space attracted 16 prospective buyers shortly after listing, and was only on the market for 13 days, standing out among competing listings near Bloor Street West, the Globe reported.

The property features 19-foot ceilings, stained glass-windows and preserved architectural elements from the original church, along with exposed brick walls, six skylights and a balcony. The layout includes a main-floor kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, with a primary bedroom on the second level and an upper level leading to a rooftop terrace.

“For people looking for something a little special, there are not that many options,” Evan Christensen told the Globe.

“Church conversions are different from a lot of hard lofts.”

The unit also includes one parking space and a storage locker, with monthly maintenance fees of $786 and annual property taxes of $5,014.

The Toronto condo market has suffered a sharp decline in recent years. Many new projects have been scrapped or converted to multi-family rental developments due to slow presales. In several cases, would-be buyers have forfeited thousands of dollars worth of deposits to cancel presale contracts and avoid having to deal with higher interest rates and prices not foreseen when the deals were signed.

Meanwhile, the values of resale condos across the Greater Toronto Area have also declined considerably due to the effects of higher tariffs, changing market and macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical tensions and other factors.

But the the loft in the converted Toronto church sold for roughly $400,000 more than its 2020 sale price of approximately $1 million.

Pictured: Bedroom in a loft condo located in a converted 126-year-old Toronto church.

Photo: Harvey Kalles Real Estate