The Bellagio, 300 Bloor St E: Ravine Views With Hydro in the Fee

The Bellagio is the newest and highest-priced of its immediate neighbours on the ravine side of Bloor East, and it earns most of that premium. It is a 2002 tower of 279 suites with a pool, staffed security and a maintenance fee that covers almost everything, hydro included. The thing to work out is whether the view your suite has is the one you are paying for. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The ravine side and the city side

The Bellagio sits on the north side of Bloor East with the Rosedale Valley ravine behind it. That is what separates it from most towers in the area: north-facing suites look over a long green valley toward Rosedale’s houses and trees, and that outlook is protected in a way a city view never is.

It also means two very different buildings in one. Suites facing the ravine trade on the view; suites facing Bloor trade on light and the city. When you compare sales here, always ask which side of the building they were on, because the difference matters more than the floor number.

You should also expect ravine-side suites to be quieter, since they face away from Bloor traffic; check that on a weekday visit rather than taking it on trust.

Suites run from about 539 sq ft to about 3,010 sq ft, so the building covers everything from a compact one-bedroom to a large penthouse-scale home. That breadth is part of why it stays liquid: there is a buyer for almost every suite type, and owners who need more room can move up within the building, as one resident described doing in the Globe article.

With a range that wide, compare plans carefully. A two-bedroom on a high ravine-facing floor and a two-bedroom low on the Bloor side are different products, and I would price them separately rather than average them.

Hydro, heat and parking in one fee

Many newer Toronto condos meter hydro suite by suite. The Bellagio’s fee still lists hydro alongside heat, air conditioning, water and parking. That makes the monthly fee look large at first glance and makes your total monthly cost far more predictable, because you will not get a separate electricity bill in August or February.

When you compare the Bellagio with a newer building, add back hydro, heating, cooling and a parking charge to the other building’s fee before you decide which is cheaper. The gap is usually much smaller than the headline numbers suggest.

The flip side is that bundled utilities are shared. Heavy users and light users pay the same rate per square foot, and if energy costs rise, the whole building’s budget rises with them. Ask how the board has handled utility increases in the last few budgets.

A pool and a refresh

The amenity list is fuller than in the smaller Bloor East buildings: concierge and 24-hour security, a pool, a sauna, a gym, a recreation room, guest suites and visitor parking. A pool in a building of this size is a real feature, and also a real cost to maintain.

An agent quoted in The Globe and Mail described the building as redoing and updating all of its facilities at the time. That is encouraging if the work was funded properly; ask for the dates and costs of past amenity and lobby renovations and how they were paid for, whether from the reserve fund or by assessment.

The exterior is metal and glass, which has aged differently from the brick of the older towers beside it. Window and cladding maintenance belongs on your list of things to ask about.

The Bloor East stretch, and what is changing

This part of Bloor East, between Yonge and Sherbourne, is lined with high-rises, several of them backing onto the ravine. The Bellagio’s neighbours include Rosedale Glen at 278 Bloor East, The Three Sixty at 360 and the Rosedale Ravine Residences at 388, all of them older or smaller.

The stretch has also attracted new proposals, including a large condo and hotel project announced for 387-403 Bloor East in 2015. Development on the south side of Bloor does not take away the ravine view, but it can change light and outlook for suites facing the street.

The daily reality is easy: the Bloor-Yorkville shops are a walk to the west and the ravine trails are directly behind you. Transit, schools, parks and Walk Score are shown in the data panel on this page.

Where the Bellagio sits on price

Condos.ca reports a building average of about $866 per square foot. That puts it clearly above its immediate neighbours: about $774 at Rosedale Glen, about $604 at the Rosedale Ravine Residences and about $578 at The Three Sixty. The premium reflects the Bellagio’s younger age, its pool and amenities and the fee structure.

It is still well below what newer towers closer to Yonge and Bloor tend to ask, and with hydro, heat and parking bundled, the monthly cost comparison is better than it looks. For a buyer who wants the ravine and a full-service building, I think that is the main argument for paying the extra over the older buildings on the street.

One suite was listed for sale and two for rent when I checked, which is not enough to quote an asking range. With 279 suites, the building has enough resales to price properly against its own history, especially when you match ravine side to ravine side. Ask me for the building sold report for the recorded sales.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Bellagio

A pool, sauna and gym under the same roof as a ravine view is the combination people move here for. Guest suites and visitor parking matter more than they sound in a building where many owners are downsizers with family visiting.

Jatin’s honest take on The Bellagio

The Bellagio — 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.