150 Heath St W: One of Toronto’s First Condo Towers, 62 Suites, Heat In

150 Heath Street West is for buyers who want the floor area of a house and the quiet of a small building, a short walk from St. Clair and Avenue Road. It is a 14-storey tower with only 62 suites, finished by Cadillac Fairview in the late 1970s, when condominium ownership was still a new idea in Toronto. It is also nearly 50 years old, and that is the single fact every buyer here needs to plan around. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An early condominium, built for people leaving houses

When this building went up, the condominium was a very new form of ownership in Ontario. A discussion on UrbanToronto describes 150 Heath as one of the city’s first condominiums, at a time when buying airspace rather than land was seen as a bold step, especially at the expensive end of the market. The low corporation number, YCC-328, fits that history.

The developer was Cadillac Fairview, then one of Canada’s largest real estate companies. A few years later the same company built Village Terraces at 260 Heath Street West, designed by Diamond Schmitt, a little further west on the same street. I have not found a published architect for 150 Heath itself, and the completion year is given as 1977, 1978 or 1979 depending on the source; the registration date of 13 May 1977 is the firm record.

What that history means in practice is that the building was designed for buyers coming out of large midtown houses. You see it in the suite count. Sixty-two suites across 14 storeys is a low number for a tower this height, and it shows up in the size of the units and the small number of neighbours you share an elevator with.

Big suites, and a wide range of them

Condos.ca records suite sizes from roughly 487 sq ft to about 2,424 sq ft. That spread is unusual: a small number of compact units sit alongside full-floor-style suites of more than 2,000 sq ft. Most of the market interest here is in the larger plans, which have the separate dining rooms, galley or eat-in kitchens and bedroom wings that newer towers rarely offer.

Renovation quality varies from suite to suite. One renovated two-bedroom, three-bathroom suite featured in Post City had nine-foot coffered ceilings in the family room, a separate dining area, a bar, a breakfast nook and two bedrooms in separate wings, each with its own ensuite. Do not assume every suite has those ceilings or that layout; buildings of this era were built with lower ceilings as standard, and features like coffering are usually owner upgrades.

With original suites, budget for the work. Kitchens, bathrooms, electrical panels, windows inside the unit boundary and in-suite heating and cooling equipment may all be decades old. Ask what has been replaced, and when, and ask the corporation which components belong to the unit owner and which to the building.

A fee that covers more than most

The fee at 150 Heath includes heat, air conditioning, cable TV, parking, water, building insurance and common elements. That is a broader list than almost any building built in the last 20 years, where heat and cooling run through your own meter and parking is a separate charge. Hydro is the main cost not listed as included.

The fee also pays for staffing. Condos.ca lists a concierge, a gym, a party room, a meeting room and a car wash, which is a full service package for a building with only 62 households to share the cost. Small buildings with staffed lobbies tend to carry higher fees per square foot for exactly that reason.

So compare the all-in monthly cost, not the fee line. Add your expected hydro to the fee here, then add heat, cooling, cable and a parking charge to the fee at the newer building you are comparing it with. The gap is usually much smaller than it first looks.

Heath Street and the South Hill setting

Heath Street West runs through one of the quietest pockets in midtown. The blocks around the building are mostly large houses and a handful of older mid-rise and tower condominiums, and St. Clair West, with its shops and groceries, is a short walk south and east. Forest Hill Village is within walking distance to the west.

Change on St. Clair is worth watching. A proposal at 175 St. Clair West, designed by Richard Wengle with two buildings of 14 and 12 storeys, is listed on UrbanToronto as pre-construction. If it proceeds, expect construction activity along that part of St. Clair in the coming years, and more new-build supply competing for the same buyer.

Transit, schools, parks and Walk Score for this address are shown in the data panel on this page.

Price per square foot, and why it is high here

Condos.ca reports a building average of about $1,188 per square foot. That is high for a building of this age, and it reflects the address and the fact that a few large, renovated suites trade at prices that pull the average up. In a 62-suite building, a single sale can move the figure noticeably.

There were no suites listed for sale or for rent when I checked, which is typical. Large suites in small, older midtown towers come up rarely, and when they do the buyer pool is mostly downsizers who have sold a house and are not under time pressure.

To price a suite here, I compare it with the building’s own recent sales, then with other older midtown towers that include heat and parking, adjusted for renovation level, floor and view. Ask me for the building sold report for what has traded recently.

Building specifications

Amenities at 150 Heath Street West

This is a service building rather than an amenity building. You get a staffed lobby, a gym and rooms for meetings and parties, but no pool or rooftop deck, which suits owners who want security and quiet more than facilities.

Jatin’s honest take on 150 Heath Street West

150 Heath Street West — 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.