Windermere by the Lake Townhomes: Three-Bed Towns with Garages in Swansea

Windermere by the Lake Townhomes is where I send families who have priced out of a house in Swansea or Bloor West but still want three bedrooms, a garage and their own front door. It is a 2007 row of 120 condo townhomes on The Queensway, across from High Park and a walk from the lake. You trade a yard and a quiet street for space and low fees, and that trade is the whole decision. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Three levels, three bedrooms, your own garage

These are brick and stone townhomes in single-width and double-width versions. Condos.ca describes them as stacked, but the layouts described in listings and in the Globe and Mail are full three-storey homes: a street-level entrance, a lower level with a recreation room that leads to a rear attached garage, and bedrooms upstairs. Look at the floor plan of the specific suite to see exactly what you are getting.

Every suite is a three-bedroom, and roughly a fifth add a den. Ceilings are about nine feet on each level, with engineered hardwood in the main rooms, ensuite laundry and a cold cellar on the lower level. Some plans have a terrace off the kitchen and a balcony off the primary bedroom; others have a private patio instead.

Plans are not identical. The Globe and Mail noted that some models put the powder room on the main floor and a full family room downstairs, while others put the powder room downstairs and leave a smaller room that works better as an office. If you work from home or have teenagers, that difference matters more than the square footage.

Think about the stairs honestly. Three levels plus a lower-level route to the garage means you will carry groceries up a flight every day. That is fine at 35 and harder at 75, so I think it suits young families better than older downsizers, even though the space would work for both.

Part of the Windermere Village plan

The complex is the street-front edge of what the City called Windermere Village in its 2004 urban design guidelines: a former Stelco operations site south of The Queensway, planned as a residential neighbourhood with towers set back in the middle and townhouses lining The Queensway and Windermere Avenue with direct front doors onto the street.

So the towers behind you, including Windermere by the Lake at 15 Windermere Avenue, are part of the same plan. Condos.ca mentions a swimming pool and virtual golf as amenities of the wider development. I could not confirm whether townhouse owners have access to the tower facilities or on what terms, so ask for any shared facilities agreement before you count on them.

The same guidelines planned small parkettes on either side of Windermere Avenue at the rail overpass and upgraded underpasses under the rail line and the Gardiner, so the walk to the lake was designed in from the start. That route is the practical link between these homes and the waterfront, and it is a big part of why families with kids and dogs like this pocket.

The Queensway at your front door

The address is the main thing to think about. These homes face The Queensway, which is a busy arterial with steady traffic, and High Park is across the road. For some buyers that is a lively, convenient frontage; for others it is noise they will not accept. Visit at rush hour and listen from the bedrooms that face the street.

On the other side, the Humber River, the waterfront trail and the western beaches are a short walk south through the underpasses. A local agent quoted in the Globe and Mail made the point that you get a lot of space here compared with houses north of The Queensway or similar footage in a nearby tower.

Daily errands mean a short drive or bus ride to Sobeys on The Queensway, Bloor West Village or Roncesvalles. The panel on this page covers transit, schools and Walk Score.

Pricing: house-sized space, condo-sized fees

Condos.ca puts the average at about $752 per square foot; strata.ca’s 12-month figure is lower, around $648, with three-bedrooms averaging less than the three-plus-den plans. The difference comes down to very small samples, since only a couple of suites traded in the last year by strata.ca’s count, and that same small sample showed sales closing well under asking.

There were no active listings when I checked, so I cannot give an asking range. In a 120-suite complex with low turnover, the honest approach is to price off the last few sales of the same width and plan, then adjust for whether the suite has a terrace and how much traffic noise it gets.

That discount to list is worth knowing. Small complexes with few sales can swing either way, and a buyer who does the homework on recent trades of the same plan has real room to negotiate, especially on a suite that faces the busiest stretch of The Queensway or still has original finishes.

Fees are the strongest part of the case. Strata.ca puts them at roughly $0.26 per square foot, against a city condo average closer to $0.67. That is because there are no elevators, no concierge and no shared amenity floor to run. Inclusions are common elements, building insurance, parking and water; heat and hydro are on you. See my building sold report for recorded trades.

Building specifications

Amenities at Windermere by the Lake Townhomes

There is no shared amenity floor, and that is why fees are so low. Your amenities are your own garage, your outdoor space, High Park across the road and the lake trail to the south.

Jatin’s honest take on Windermere by the Lake Townhomes

Windermere by the Lake Townhomes — frequently asked questions

Looking at High Park-Swansea more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.