The Prince Arthur, 38 Avenue Rd: Minto’s Archway Tower at Yorkville’s Edge

The Prince Arthur is the building with the archway at Avenue Road, the one most people in Toronto have walked past without knowing its name. Minto finished it in 1999, and more than 25 years later it still trades at one of the highest prices per square foot of any resale building in the Annex and Yorkville. The question is not whether it is a good address. The question is whether the fees and the age make sense for you. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The archway, and why the building still reads as a landmark

The defining feature is the central arch on Avenue Road. It is not decoration only: it is the passage that connects the street to the building’s internal courtyard, and Minto itself calls it the building’s best-known feature. Toronto Life, writing about a suite here in 2015, described the building as imposing, with an impressive archway, which is about how most people remember it.

The site matters as much as the design. You are on Avenue Road facing the Hazelton Lanes and Yorkville Avenue side of the street, with the Annex’s side streets behind you and Bloor a short walk south. That is why the building straddles two neighbourhood labels. In practice you get Yorkville’s restaurants and shops on one side and the Annex’s quieter residential grid on the other.

The courtyard is the only real outdoor common space. Toronto Life made that point plainly: if you want a big shared terrace or a rooftop pool, this is not the building. The trade is that many of the larger suites have their own terraces or several walkouts.

Suites: nine-foot ceilings, private elevator landings and very large penthouses

Minto’s description gives a minimum ceiling height of nine feet, granite counters and engineered hardwood as original finishes, and notes that many suites have since been custom renovated. That last point matters. In a 1999 building, the condition of the suite you are buying varies enormously, from original kitchens to full gut renovations, and the price spread reflects it.

Sizes run from roughly 758 square feet at the small end to more than 4,400 square feet in the penthouses. Smaller suites have Juliet or open balconies. The larger ones have generous terraces, multiple walkouts and direct elevator access, so the elevator opens into or beside your own suite rather than a shared corridor. For buyers coming out of a house, that private-landing arrangement is a big part of the appeal.

Each suite has its own heating and cooling system, according to Minto. That explains why heat and air conditioning are not on the fee inclusion list, and it means you control your own climate. It also means you should ask about the age of the unit’s equipment, because in a building completed in 1999 many original systems will have been replaced already and some will not.

Valet parking, concierge and how the building actually runs

The Prince Arthur is a staffed building. Minto lists 24-hour concierge and valet parking, and Toronto Life noted that the concierges will bring your car up for you. In this part of the city, where street parking is tight and many buyers are downsizing from houses with garages, that service is worth real money in daily life.

Minto says most suites come with at least one parking space and one locker, and parking is included in the maintenance fee. Do not assume, though. Confirm in the status certificate exactly which spaces and lockers are deeded or assigned to the suite you are looking at, because in older buildings that is where surprises sit.

condos.ca lists Royale Grande Property Management. A 152-suite building with valet, concierge and a courtyard is expensive to run, and that is reflected in the fees. The board minutes will tell you how well it is managed better than any listing will.

Living at Avenue and Bloor, day to day

Daily errands are easy here. Toronto Life pointed out that Whole Foods was across the street, and Yorkville’s shopping strip, the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto’s northern edge are all close. The transit and walkability details are on the automatic panel on this page.

Avenue Road itself is a busy arterial, so traffic noise is a fair question for lower suites facing the street. Suites that face the courtyard or sit higher up are a different experience. Visit at rush hour and on a Friday night before you decide which side of the building you want.

Pricing: a Yorkville premium in a 1999 building

condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,452 per square foot. That is high for a resale building of this age, and well above most of the Annex. It reflects the corner, the staffed service, the private elevator landings in larger suites and the size of the penthouses, which pull the average up.

At the time of writing there were four suites for sale, with asking prices from about $1.7 million to $4.9 million, and monthly fees across those listings from roughly $2,100 to just under $5,000. The two-bedroom listings alone spanned roughly $1.7 million to $2.5 million, which tells you how much size, floor and renovation drive value here.

Fees include common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat, air conditioning and hydro are on your own systems. When you compare this building with a newer Yorkville tower, compare the full monthly cost, and look at fees per square foot against what you get: valet, concierge and parking included. My building sold report can pull the sold history together for you.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Prince Arthur

The amenity list is about service rather than recreation: concierge, valet and a courtyard, with a gym, sauna, media room and party room that are useful but modest. People buy here for the staff, the location and the suites, not for a resort-style amenity floor.

Jatin’s honest take on The Prince Arthur

The Prince Arthur — 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.