BiggerPockets

Has anyone tried converting buildings to Lofts? In my area, it all the big builders/companies that are doing the conversions, but I want to try it with a commercial/industrial space. I would like to do the conversion to live in and eventually sell it. But should I put my dreams to sleep?

I have been juggling the idea for a while now. Im not too concerned about making a profit because IF it is possible I would live there for a few years. The longer I live there the more likely I have a chance of leaving a profit... I just dont know what is involved with changing the zoning and so on...

you might be able to get some info at city hall or talking to other investors who have done it. one thing I might consider is getting in touch with investors who are currently renting out lofts and see if you can arrange some kind of meeting/lunch with them, if you make it worth their while, or are willing to help them or work with them or something, maybe even pay a fee for their advice/consulting, it might be worth a try. or if you can find someone who knows someone who will help you out, or just be able to show up somewhere and ask random questions if the opportunity arises. e.g. you could show up at open houses of lofts for rent if the owners show up there. check Now magazine listings etc. let me know if/when you have success with this, it sounds interesting.

the unit I lived in had 3 units, basement, main and upper, and was in between storefronts on a downtown street. I think the owner had about 30 lofts around Toronto. I know some of the newer ones are bi-level or super-expensive condo style, but mine was more of an artist loft. the people upstairs had a nice fancy place with exposed brick inside and a fireplace and they paid more for it. mine was simple, white, clean, and very artist-oriented with separate rooms and windows in between the rooms like little art showrooms. I suppose some are quite original, plain, fancy, or whatever. I saw a lot of lofts and some just look like factories, which is fine with a lot of people, because they decorate it themselves and work there. I was looking for artist live/work spaces at the time. yes- the owner owned all three units and rented them out.

anywhere in Toronto but there are more in artistic districts, I used to watch the Now magazine listings but this was years back - "lofts" can have different meanings in Toronto - anything with one room might be listed as such (from a bachelor apt, to a real artist loft, to a condo style "loft", or condo or apt "with (upper level) loft", to a super expensive Donald Trump one room hotel style "loft" condo with room service)… some lofts may be simply listed as apts, and some are zoned for work/live use and geared toward artists but not many are listed with that much detail. there is a wide variance in quality and types of lofts, some are unfinished, others are finished with exposed brick etc.

if you dig through Now magazine and other papers and can't find them, hit me up with a PM and I'll try to get you some more details. probably the fastest way to find some is to drive through artistic areas and see what's above and between the storefronts. otherwise some are in converted buildings mainly downtownish but at least one as far as Mississauga so just about anywhere goes. you can see if you're driving downtown some buildings that look like old factories on the outside but have different coloured curtains hanging in all the windows.

a few but not all are offered at discounted rates to artists because most probably don't make much money - so if you're looking into it make sure it is profitable for you if you wanted to buy and hold for renting. it is probably entirely possible to create loft spaces in just about any building but if you have a particular vision in mind it might require certain types of buildings. many artists looking for work spaces are not terribly picky about their surroundings as long as they have the required space they need for their work and basic needs like kitchen/washroom etc. any more Qs let me know! PM if you need to. I love Toronto's artistic areas. lived in Toronto as a working artist for years.