01Kingston, ON · tier 2 market
High-rise apartment tower cost in Kingston
A cast-in-place concrete residential tower with underground parking, amenity floors and a formed core. Vertical transportation, crane time and the parking structure are the cost centres that separate a tower from a low-rise.
02The curated band
Hard cost, standard spec
$377/sf
Band $304 – $469
All-in, preset build
$745/sf
220,000 sf, 20 storey
Hard share of all-in
71%
Rest is soft cost, charges, contingency, escalation
ON escalation
3.2%/yr
Quarter ending 2025-09-30
Buildlor Construction Cost Index · Last updated 2026-01-15 · Maintained by Buildlor Cost Desk
Scope: Kingston, Ontario — High-rise apartment tower
Inputs: Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide 2025, Toronto base range; Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01
Next scheduled review: 2026-04-15
03Build the stack
Your build
All-in cost — Apartment (high-rise), Kingston
$163,871,839
$745/sf · band $129,580,945 – $208,059,853
At this specification the apartment (high-rise) prices at about $745 per square foot all-in, with a 48% spread between the low and high band. Hard cost is 71% of the total and everything above it is soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation.
| Line | Amount | $/sf |
|---|---|---|
| Substructure and foundations | $13,199,801 | $60/sf |
| Structure and frame | $26,399,603 | $120/sf |
| Envelope, roofing and glazing | $19,799,702 | $90/sf |
| Interior partitions and finishes | $15,399,768 | $70/sf |
| Mechanical and plumbing | $17,599,735 | $80/sf |
| Electrical and life safety | $12,099,818 | $55/sf |
| General conditions and fee | $5,499,917 | $25/sf |
| Site work and servicing | $6,599,901 | $30/sf |
| Hard cost subtotal | $116,598,246 | $530/sf |
| Design and consultants | $10,260,646 | $47/sf |
| Permits, approvals and reviews | $2,565,161 | $12/sf |
| Project management and testing | $5,130,323 | $23/sf |
| Financing, insurance and legal | $7,695,484 | $35/sf |
| Contingency (12%) | $17,069,983 | $78/sf |
| Escalation to midpoint (12 mo) | $4,551,996 | $21/sf |
| All-in cost | $163,871,839 | $745/sf |
How these figures were produced
- Observed — Recorded directly from the cited source series, unadjusted.
- Modelled — Derived arithmetically from observed inputs using the published method; not a market quote.
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04What moves the number
Cost drivers for this type in Kingston
Underground parking levels
each level below grade carries excavation, shoring and dewatering that scale non-linearly.
Formwork cycle
a faster floor cycle reduces general conditions but demands a larger crew and more crane capacity.
Amenity and lobby quality moves the finish package far more than suite finishes do.
Amenity and lobby quality moves the finish package far more than suite finishes do.
Elevator count and speed are set by code and occupancy, not by budget.
Elevator count and speed are set by code and occupancy, not by budget.
Kingston's institutional clients specify long-life materials, lifting envelope and finish allowances on office and medical work. That is why the same drawings priced in Kingston and in Toronto do not land at the same number even when the trades are the same.
On the preset build above, hard cost is $116,598,246 and everything after it — soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation — adds $47,273,593. Budgeting off a hard rate alone is the single most common way an early construction budget goes wrong.
Buildlor facts
- Hard cost for a apartment (high-rise) in Kingston sits at $377 per square foot at standard specification.
- Soft cost at 22% of hard adds $25,651,614 to the preset build.
- ON construction escalation is running at 3.2% a year, or $4,551,996 over twelve months on this build.
05Related
Other types in Kingston
- Warehouse and distribution shellWarehouse · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise office buildingOffice (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Retail strip and plaza shellRetail strip · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise apartment buildingApartment (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Office tenant improvementOffice fit-out · tier 1 topic
- Retail tenant improvementRetail fit-out · tier 2 topic
- Medical and dental clinic fit-outMedical fit-out · tier 3 topic
06Questions
What does it cost to build a apartment (high-rise) in Kingston?
On the curated Kingston band, hard cost runs $304 to $469 per square foot for a apartment (high-rise) at standard specification. Adding site work, soft cost, charges, contingency and twelve months of escalation puts the all-in figure near $745 per square foot on a 220,000 sf preset. Your own area and specification change that number, which is what the builder above is for.
Why does Kingston price where it does?
Kingston's institutional clients specify long-life materials, lifting envelope and finish allowances on office and medical work. The published Toronto base range is scaled by a documented factor of 0.92 for this market, and the ON escalation series is running at 3.2 percent a year.
Is the development charge in this number?
No. We do not yet hold a charge row for Kingston. Enter the figure from the municipality's schedule in the builder.
What is excluded from every figure here?
Land, financing interest during construction beyond the soft-cost allowance, taxes recoverable as input credits, tenant furniture and equipment, and any remediation or off-site works. Those are separate line items in a real proforma.
07Sources
Sources
- [1] Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide 2025, Toronto base range — Published Toronto range scaled by a documented city cost factor of 0.92. Hard cost only: excludes land, soft costs, development charges and contingency.
- [2] Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01 — Non-residential building construction, Toronto CMA.
Not advice — Buildlor is a data publisher. We do not bid, price, estimate, or build work, and nothing here is a quote, a tender price, or construction advice. Figures are indicative order-of-magnitude benchmarks for early budgeting and must be confirmed by a qualified cost consultant, quantity surveyor, or general contractor before you rely on them. About Buildlor