77 Avenue Road: Six Storeys of Yorkville Living Above Hazelton Lanes

77 Avenue Road is the building I show Yorkville buyers who want a large, quiet suite and never want to think about a utility bill again. It is only six storeys and 71 suites, it sits on top of the Hazelton Lanes shopping centre, and its fee covers almost everything, hydro included. The catch is that you are buying into a building that shares its bones with a mall, and you need to understand what that means. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A condo built on top of a shopping centre

Hazelton Lanes opened in 1976 as a high-end shopping centre designed by Boris Zerafa of what is now WZMH Architects. In 1991 a six-storey, 71-unit condominium was added over the expanded part of the complex, by the same development group that built the mall. That is the building you are looking at.

The mall and the condominium were set up as separate legal corporations, but they share utilities and an underground parking garage. The mall has since been bought by First Capital Realty, which finished a roughly $100 million redevelopment in early 2016 that replaced its mechanical systems and added Equinox as a second anchor beside Whole Foods.

You will also see this building called New Hazelton Lanes on some listing sites. It is the same address and the same corporation, MTCC-985, so do not let the two names confuse a search.

What daily life looks like here

The practical upside of living over Yorkville Village is that a Whole Foods and an Equinox gym are part of your building complex. Your groceries are an elevator ride and a short walk away, which matters more in a Toronto February than any amenity list.

The entrance is on Avenue Road just north of Yorkville Avenue, with a concierge and valet at the door. This is a low building in a neighbourhood of towers, so the experience is closer to a private residence than a condo lobby: few neighbours, quiet hallways and staff who know who you are.

Being six storeys tall also means you are not buying a skyline view. Most suites look onto Avenue Road, the Hazelton and Yorkville streetscape or the mall roof, so judge each suite on its own outlook rather than assuming anything about the building. Visit at a busy weekend hour too, so you can see how the mall traffic and deliveries feel from the suite you like.

Big suites, built for downsizers

Suites here start at around 1,065 sq ft and run to roughly 3,534 sq ft. There are no small investor units in this building, which is part of why it stays quiet and owner-occupied in character.

The penthouse level is where the building gets interesting. One penthouse featured by Streets of Toronto in 2013 was about 2,470 sq ft, west-facing, with skylights, stone floors, glass walls and a walk-out terrace, and the article credited the work to Toronto architect Jack Diamond. Not every suite has that pedigree, but it shows what the top floor can be.

Because the building is 35 years old, finishes vary enormously from suite to suite. Some will have been completely redone; others will still have their original kitchens and baths. Budget for that when you compare listings, because a renovation in a building this size needs board approval and has to work around neighbours and the mall below.

A fee that covers almost everything

The fee list here is unusually complete: common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, water, cable TV, building insurance and parking. Most Yorkville buildings, even expensive ones, put hydro on your own meter and charge for parking separately.

That makes the monthly figure look large. Across the two suites listed at the time of writing, fees ran from roughly $1,800 to $4,600 a month depending on size. Before you compare that with a newer tower, add back that building’s hydro, heating and cooling, cable and parking charges. The gap is much smaller than the headline suggests.

The other side of an all-in fee is that you do not control your own utility costs. If energy prices rise, the whole building pays through the budget, so ask for the last three years of budgets and see how fees have moved.

Pricing: Yorkville at well under new-tower prices

77 Avenue Road averages about $893 per square foot on condos.ca. Newer Yorkville buildings sit far above that: the Four Seasons Private Residences shows about $1,574, The Prince Arthur about $1,452 and The Hazelton about $1,413. Even The Residences at Hazelton Lanes, the 2001 building on the other side of the same complex, shows about $1,059.

At the time of writing there were two suites for sale, asking from about $990,000 to roughly $3.2 million. Two listings at opposite ends of the size range tell you this building serves both a single downsizer and a family-sized buyer, but they are not enough to set a price for any one suite.

Because finishes vary so much, price per square foot here swings with condition. A fully renovated suite and an original one can sit far apart, so compare like with like, and ask me for the building sold report before you make an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Residence of 77 Avenue Road

The amenity list is short: concierge, valet, a rooftop deck and a party room. The real amenity is what is downstairs, a Whole Foods and an Equinox inside the same complex, so you do not need a building gym or a grocery run in the car.

Jatin’s honest take on The Residence of 77 Avenue Road

The Residence of 77 Avenue Road — 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.