Located in Toronto’s most charming and eclectic neighbourhood, Kensington Market Lofts at 161 Baldwin St/21 Nassau St is the perfect home for those craving a unique Toronto lofts experience in a truly original locale. Developed by Context Developments in 1998, this space was originally the home to the Provincial Institute of Trades, and then to George Brown College until 1995. Now the Nassau building houses 61 one to two bedroom units over four storeys, featuring terraced street level units, while the Baldwin building boasts six storeys with 79 units, some of which are terraced penthouses. As one would expect of buildings in this environmentally-conscientious neighbourhood, all efforts have been made to make these homes as energy and cost efficient as possible. Not only will you enjoy the beauty of the structures’ rooftop garden, this green space reduces heat and air conditioning costs and reduces rainwater runoff. Both the Nassau building and the Baldwin building are heated and cooled via an efficient central system, and water is also heated centrally, completing an earth and wallet friendly system which reduces energy consumption. Your loft is not only “green” on the outside, however: interiors thoughtfully make use of recycled and environmentally-friendly materials including bamboo, cork, recycled concrete and glass.
In November of 2006, the neighbourhood for which your building is named was proclaimed a National Historic Site, and for good reason. With a rich history of a myriad of cultures calling this community “home,” the evidence of such a multicultural background continues to play out today in the book shops, restaurants, and grocers that
line the streets of Kensington Market. Established in the early twentieth century by eastern European Jewish and Italian immigrants, this area of Toronto has welcomed peoples from all corners of the earth including the Azores, the Caribbean, East Asia, Africa and Iran. This combination of cultures has resulted in an eclectic mixture of restaurants of every variety, grocers that sell fruits and vegetables you have never even heard of, specialty cheese shops, and vintage clothing stores. Summer gives way to “Pedestrian Sundays” when cars are forbidden from intruding on the narrow streets, and in December, your neighborhood plays host to the Festival of Lights, when strictly homemade paper lanterns welcome the return of the sun on the longest night of the year. Bordering Chinatown and within close proximity to the Annex and Queen Street West, you are never at a loss for things to do and places to go when you call this one-of-a-kind neighborhood and the one-of-a-kind Kensington Market Lofts, home.