Castle Terrace, 645 Davenport Rd: 16 Stacked Townhomes Below Casa Loma

Castle Terrace is about as small as a condominium gets in this part of the city: 16 stacked townhomes on Davenport Road, at the foot of the hill that Casa Loma sits on. You get a rooftop terrace or a garden, an underground parking space and a fee that covers it, in a complex where every owner knows every other owner. That intimacy is the appeal, and it is also the main thing to think through before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Stacked townhomes, not a condo tower

condos.ca records the complex as a one-floor low-rise, but its own description is clearer: these are stacked townhomes rising two levels, with large rooftop terraces on the upper homes and south-facing gardens on the lower ones. In practice that means each home has its own front door and a private outdoor space, rather than a shared corridor and a balcony.

Stacked townhomes are a specific format, and it helps to understand it before you book a showing. One home sits on top of another, so the upper owner gets the roof and the terrace and climbs stairs to reach them, while the lower owner gets the garden and has neighbours overhead. Neither is better; they suit different people. Decide which you want before you start comparing prices.

condos.ca also describes open-concept kitchens as part of the original design. With only one recorded suite size of about 1,251 square feet, and rental listings showing smaller one-bedroom homes as well, there is clearly more than one plan here. Ask for the floor plan of the specific home rather than assuming.

Davenport Road and the Casa Loma hill

Davenport Road follows the shoreline of ancient Lake Iroquois, which is why the land rises so sharply to the north toward Casa Loma and the Spadina Road hill. Castle Terrace sits at the bottom of that slope. South-facing gardens and rooftop terraces get the sun, and the hill behind gives the street a sheltered, green feel.

The trade is that Davenport is a busy road. Homes facing the street will hear traffic, and homes set back in the complex will be quieter. Visit at rush hour before you decide. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks in more detail.

The location gives you the Annex, Dupont Street and the Casa Loma neighbourhood within a walk, with Bloor Street further south. For anyone who wants a ground-oriented home in this area, the alternatives are usually a semi-detached house with a long maintenance list, or a much larger condo building.

Living in a 16-home corporation

Sixteen owners is very few. On the positive side, decisions can be quick, the board is your neighbours, and common costs stay modest because there is no lobby, concierge, gym or pool to run. condos.ca lists a security system, visitor parking and a parking garage, and notes that barbecues are permitted, which matters if you are buying for the terrace.

On the other side, every major repair is shared among only 16 homes. A new roof membrane, terrace waterproofing or garage repairs can land hard on a small corporation if the reserve fund has not kept pace. In a complex built in 1998, those items are either recently done or coming up, and you want to know which.

condos.ca lists pets as permitted. I would still read the rules in the declaration before you commit, because small corporations sometimes set their own limits on size or number.

What I look at on a showing here

In a stacked townhome, sound between the upper and lower home is the first thing I check. Stand in the lower suite while someone walks around upstairs, and ask the seller what they hear and when. A 1998 build can be very good or merely average on this, and it varies with flooring choices owners have made since.

Next, look at the route from the parking garage to the front door, especially in winter and with groceries. In some townhouse complexes it is a few steps; in others it is outside and around the block. The same goes for storage: ask whether there is a locker, and if not, where bikes and seasonal items actually live.

Finally, go up to the terrace or out to the garden and look at the condition of the decking, drains and membranes. That outdoor space is the reason most people buy here, and it is also where the repair bills tend to start.

Pricing: about $799 per square foot for a ground-oriented home

condos.ca puts the average at about $799 per square foot. For a home with its own front door, a terrace or garden and parking, in a part of the city where semi-detached houses are the alternative, that is a reasonable figure, and it sits below many newer condo towers in midtown.

At the time of writing there was only one home for sale and none for rent, so there is no meaningful asking range to quote. With 16 homes, listings are rare, and the right one may take patience. Recent sales of the same plan type are the only reliable guide. Upper homes with rooftop terraces and lower homes with gardens can trade quite differently, so compare like with like.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat and hydro are on your own meters, as you would expect in a townhouse. My building sold report can pull together what homes here have actually traded for.

Building specifications

Amenities at Castle Terrace

There are no shared amenities in the condo-tower sense. What you get is private outdoor space, underground parking and barbecues on your own terrace or garden, which is what most buyers here are after.

Jatin’s honest take on Castle Terrace

Castle Terrace — 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.