609 Avenue Road Condos: A Newer Tower North of St. Clair, Reviewed

609 Avenue Road is one of the few genuinely new condominium towers on the stretch of Avenue Road between St. Clair and Eglinton, where most of the competition dates from the 1970s to the early 2000s. It is 19 storeys and 161 suites, with 9 and 10 foot ceilings, a rooftop terrace and a full amenity floor. You get modern systems and you pay for them, mostly in price per square foot rather than in the fee. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A new tower on an older avenue

Avenue Road north of St. Clair is lined with apartment buildings and condominiums from the 1970s through the early 2000s, such as 616 Avenue Road, a 1979 building across the road, and The Lonsdale at 619 to 625 Avenue Road from 2003. When 609 was proposed, UrbanToronto described it as filling a gap in the street wall, and that is exactly how it reads now: a taller, glassier neighbour among brick and concrete.

The tower tops out at about 66 metres. Richmond Architects clad it in window wall with grey spandrel panels framed by slim mullions, with white precast concrete panels running vertically to break up the height. It is clean and restrained rather than dramatic, which suits the street.

For a buyer, being the newest building on the block has a practical meaning. The mechanical systems, windows and elevators are modern and still early in their life cycle, while many of the older neighbours are at or past the age when those systems come due for replacement. That difference shows up in reserve fund studies, and sooner or later in fees.

Layouts and ceiling heights

The suite range is wide: from about 510 sq ft one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens up to suites of about 1,773 sq ft. The developers marketed the range as suiting both small households and families, and current listings and rentals tend to be the smaller one-bedroom and one-plus-den plans, with the large suites trading less often.

Ceilings are 9 or 10 feet depending on the suite and floor, which makes the smaller plans feel bigger than their square footage. A collection of suites with larger terraces was marketed separately during sales; those suites trade as their own product and should be priced against each other, not against standard balcony units.

On the smaller suites, check the den. In a 500 to 600 sq ft one-plus-den, the den is often an open nook rather than a room you can close, and that matters a lot for resale to a work-from-home buyer.

Look at exposure as well as size. A tower this height on Avenue Road gets long views over the low-rise streets on both sides, and upper floors facing south can see toward the downtown skyline. Lower floors are closer in feel to the older buildings around them, with views of trees and rooftops. Those differences show up in price, so compare suites on similar floors and facings.

A lean fee, and what that means

The fee here includes building insurance and common elements. Heat, cooling, hydro and water are not listed as included, and parking and lockers may carry their own charges depending on what came with the suite. Across the two current listings, fees work out to roughly $0.95 per square foot.

That looks higher than the older buildings nearby at first glance, but the comparison is not apples to apples. Many of the older buildings on Avenue Road include heat, cooling, water and parking in their fees, so add your own utility bills to 609’s fee before you compare. Ask the seller for actual utility statements.

Daily life north of St. Clair

This part of Avenue Road sits between Deer Park to the east and Forest Hill to the west, so the streets behind the building are mostly houses and mature trees. The shops and cafes on St. Clair West and in Forest Hill Village are a walk away, and the larger shopping and restaurant strip at Yonge and St. Clair is close enough for an evening out.

The appeal of the location is that it is calm without being out of the way. You can walk to groceries, coffee and restaurants, and the residential streets of Deer Park and Forest Hill are right behind you for an evening walk. It is a midtown address for people who want a quieter routine than Yonge Street offers, while staying close enough to use it.

Avenue Road itself is a busy arterial, so suite orientation matters. Suites facing the side streets are quieter than those directly over the road. Transit, schools, parks and Walk Score are shown in the data panel on this page.

Where 609 Avenue Road sits on price

Condos.ca reports a building average of about $1,168 per square foot. That is a premium to most of the older Avenue Road buildings and roughly in line with 616 Avenue Road across the street at about $1,129, which is a small, older building with a much more inclusive fee. The premium at 609 is for newer construction, higher ceilings and the amenity floor.

When I checked, there were two suites for sale and two for rent. The two for sale were both one-plus-den suites in the 500 to 599 sq ft range, each asking just under $600,000, with fees of roughly $518 to $526 a month. That is a narrow sample of one suite type, so do not read it as the building’s full price range.

With 161 suites, there is enough recorded sales history to price most plans accurately. Ask me for the building sold report, and compare terrace suites only with other terrace suites.

Building specifications

Amenities at 609 Avenue Road Condos

The rooftop sky lounge, with barbecues and outdoor dining, is the amenity people actually use, especially owners of smaller suites without big terraces. The pet wash station is a small detail that dog owners on Avenue Road appreciate.

Jatin’s honest take on 609 Avenue Road Condos

609 Avenue Road Condos — 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.