Howard Park 2, 38 Howard Park Ave: Geothermal Mid-Rise by Roncesvalles

Howard Park 2 is the building I point to when someone asks whether a new mid-rise in an old neighbourhood can be done well. It is eight storeys of charcoal brick and angled glass on a street that used to be lined with auto shops, it heats and cools itself with geothermal energy, and it sits a block from Roncesvalles Avenue. The layouts vary more than in most new buildings, which is the opportunity and the homework. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A sawtooth, terraced design from RAW

RAW Design gave both Howard Park phases the same sharp 45-degree geometry. In phase 2, the floorplates have a sawtooth edge, so most suites get angled window walls and corners rather than one flat glass face. BlogTO’s launch coverage described a five-storey charcoal brick base with three floors of staggered, planted terraces above, and the original concept called for perforated panels that would let vines grow up the façade.

The two phases share a forecourt by landscape architects Ferris + Associates, with raised planters and corten steel, and the project added ground-floor retail that the community had asked for. For a street once known for auto shops, it was a substantial change.

Triumph built this as a two-phase project on one street rather than a tower complex, and that shows in the scale. With 96 suites in the second phase and 81 in the first, neither building feels anonymous, and you will know your neighbours by sight within a few months.

Geothermal heating and cooling, and why it matters for fees

The feature that sets this building apart is its geothermal system. The City of Toronto lists 38 Howard Park Avenue as a Toronto Green Standard Tier 2 project, with modelled energy-cost savings of about 52 per cent compared with the national energy code baseline. It also lists 128 bike parking spaces, low-flow fixtures and recycled construction materials.

That helps explain why condos.ca lists heat and air conditioning in the maintenance fee, which is unusual for a building of this age. Strata.ca shows these utilities as excluded, so confirm in the status certificate. Hydro was separately metered from launch, so you will pay your own electricity bill.

Strata.ca puts the fee at about $0.85 per square foot, close to the neighbourhood average. If heating and cooling really are included, that is good value. Geothermal systems also have their own maintenance profile: ask the property manager how the system has performed and what the reserve fund study sets aside for heat pumps and the ground loop.

One number worth knowing: blogTO’s launch coverage quoted an estimated fee of $0.49 per square foot. Today’s figure is much higher, which is normal, because launch estimates rarely survive the first few years of real operating costs. It is still a reminder to judge a newer building on its actual budget and reserve fund, not on what it was marketed at.

Sixty-odd floor plans, terraces and townhomes

Triumph marketed around 60 different floor plans in a 96-suite building. The mix runs from a few studios through one-bedroom-plus-dens, which strata.ca shows as the largest group, to two-bedroom, three-bedroom and three-bedroom-plus-den suites. Condos.ca puts sizes at about 413 to 1,880 square feet; strata.ca’s range is 474 to 2,000.

At launch, most suites were planned with nine-foot ceilings and the eighth floor with ten-foot ceilings. The terrace suites on the upper floors were planned with gas hookups for barbecues, and the plan list included two-storey townhome suites.

Standard finishes at launch included engineered hardwood floors, stone counters in the kitchen and bathroom, and an upgraded appliance package. The garage was planned on two underground levels. Most owners have had their suites for fewer than ten years, so expect finishes close to original, which keeps condition differences between suites smaller than in an older building.

With so many plans, comparables are harder to find. Two suites with the same bedroom count can differ a lot in shape, exposure and outdoor space, so price each one on its own merits, not on a building average.

Roncesvalles on one side, Dundas West on the other

Howard Park Avenue runs east from Roncesvalles Avenue towards Dundas West, and the building sits close to the meeting point of several streetcar routes. The panel beside this review shows exact transit data. Daily life is Roncesvalles: independent cafés, bakeries, butchers and the Revue Cinema, with High Park a walk to the west.

This is a busier stretch than the quiet side streets of Roncesvalles. Howard Park is a through street with streetcar traffic nearby, and the Dundas and Bloor junction is one of the west end’s most complicated intersections. If you are sensitive to noise, look at suites facing away from the street.

What Howard Park 2 costs per square foot

Strata.ca puts the past year’s average at about $1,037 per square foot, which ranks fourth of 18 condo buildings it tracks in Roncesvalles. That is a premium price, and it reflects the location, the building’s age and its small size.

Turnover is low. Strata.ca recorded only a handful of sales in the past year, with suites selling slightly under asking in a little over two weeks on average, and no suites were listed for sale when I checked. When suites do come up, price differences between plans matter more than the building average, so look at the sold report for comparable layouts.

Strata.ca’s data also shows owners holding for about five to six years on average before selling. That is typical of a newer building where early buyers move on as their households grow, and it is why suites appear only a few at a time.

Building specifications

Amenities at Howard Park 2

The amenity list is modest: a gym, concierge, media and meeting rooms and a lounge. In Roncesvalles that is enough, because the neighbourhood does the rest. The 128 bike parking spaces in a 96-suite building tell you who the building was designed for.

Jatin’s honest take on Howard Park 2

Howard Park 2 — frequently asked questions

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