142 Spadina Rd: A 12-Suite Brick Boutique Building in the North Annex

142 Spadina Road is one of those Annex buildings most people walk past without noticing. It is a four-storey brick building with just 12 suites, all of them between about 900 and 1,120 square feet, on the stretch of Spadina Road just below Dupont. If you want the size of a small house-share without the house, it is worth knowing about. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small brick building on a residential stretch of Spadina

Spadina Road north of Bloor is a different street from Spadina Avenue downtown. Here it is lined with houses and low-rise buildings, and 142 sits just below Dupont, where the Annex starts to give way to the Casa Loma hill. The building is a four-storey brick structure that fits in with the houses around it rather than standing above them.

It was built by Annesleywood Properties and registered in October 1990. Some listing sites call it the 142 Spadina Road Townhomes, while others describe the suites as apartments. With four storeys and 12 suites, it is closer to a stacked apartment building than to a row of townhouses, but check the floor plan of any suite you look at, because the name does not tell you the layout.

The Dupont and Spadina corner has a long commercial history, and the Dupont subway station entrance has been on the north-west corner since 1978. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability in detail.

Every suite is a real-size suite

Recorded suite sizes run from about 903 to 1,123 square feet. That narrow band is unusual. There are no studios and no small one-bedrooms, and suites in this size range are typically two-bedrooms or two-bedroom-plus-dens, sized for couples, small families and people who work from home.

Because every suite is similar in size, the building suits owner-occupiers more than investors chasing small rentable units. With 12 suites, it also means sales are rare.

The suites date from 1990, so many will have been updated over the years and some will still have original kitchens and bathrooms. Price the condition, not just the square footage.

Heat is not in the fee here

The fee includes common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat and hydro are not listed, so you should expect to pay for your own heating as well as electricity. That is a meaningful difference from many older Annex buildings, where heat is bundled into the fee.

Before you compare this fee to another building’s, add your expected heating and hydro costs back on. Ask the seller for a year of utility bills; in a 1990 building, the heating system and windows have a big effect on what you pay.

Parking is included in the fee, which is a real plus on this part of Spadina. The building lists a parking garage, though at least one past listing described its space as surface parking, so confirm the type and location of the space that comes with the suite.

What a 12-suite corporation means for you

In a building this small, the corporation is essentially twelve households sharing one roof, one parking area and one budget. Repairs that would be routine in a tower, such as repointing brick, replacing a roof or resurfacing parking, are split among very few owners. If the reserve fund is well funded, that is manageable. If it is not, a single project can mean a special assessment or a jump in fees.

So the order of questions matters. Start with the latest reserve fund study and compare what it recommends with what the corporation actually collects. Then read two or three years of board minutes for recurring issues such as water, masonry or parking. Only after that should the monthly fee shape your decision.

The upside is control. Owners in small buildings often know each other, decisions are quick and costs that would be hidden in a large tower are visible. Many buyers find that reassuring once they have seen the numbers.

Amenities: barbecues, not a gym

The amenity list is short: barbecues are permitted, there is parking and a security system, and the building lists a pet restriction. There is no concierge, gym or party room recorded, which is what you would expect in a 12-suite building.

For many buyers here that is the appeal. Fewer shared facilities mean fewer costs for a small corporation to carry, and permission to barbecue is something a lot of larger towers do not allow.

Below the Annex average, with fewer costs bundled in

The building averages about $905 per square foot. Across the 63 Annex condominiums I track, the median building average is about $970, so 142 Spadina sits a little below the middle. Seventy Four Spadina further south averages about $817, and The Churchill at 342 Spadina, north of Dupont, about $551.

Those comparisons need care. The Churchill is an older building with its own fee structure, and a building average in a 12-suite building rests on very few sales. Use it as a guide, not a benchmark.

For an appraisal or a mortgage, thin sales data can also matter. A lender’s appraiser may lean on nearby low-rise buildings rather than this one, so if you are stretching on price, build in some room for the appraisal to come in conservatively.

There were no active listings when I wrote this. When a suite comes up, remember that heat is not in the fee, so the fee will look lower than in a building where it is. My building sold report shows what has actually closed here.

Building specifications

Amenities at 142 Spadina Rd

This is a quiet residential building with no amenity floor. Parking in the fee and permission to barbecue are the practical extras. If you want a pool or a full gym, the larger towers closer to Bloor and Yorkville are where to look.

Jatin’s honest take on 142 Spadina Rd

142 Spadina Rd — frequently asked questions

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