The Westclair, 47 St Clair Ave W: A 63-Suite Building With Hydro In

The Westclair is the building I mention when a buyer wants Yonge and St. Clair but finds the towers too big and too busy. It is a 13-storey brick building of 63 suites, built in 1988, with a rooftop terrace and a fee that covers almost every utility, hydro included. That last point is rare, and it changes how you should read the monthly number. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A brick boutique between two bigger neighbours

St. Clair West between Yonge and Avenue Road is lined with condominiums, most of them larger and many of them newer. The Westclair holds its place by being small: 63 suites over 13 storeys, in a brick building that reads more like a well-kept apartment block from the street than a glass tower.

Its closest comparables are within a few doors. Granite Place at 61 and 63 St. Clair West sits next door, and Park Avenue at 48 St. Clair West is across the street. All three are older buildings with larger suites, and between them they set the price range for this stretch.

The appeal is the same one I hear from every buyer who chooses a building this size: a concierge who knows your name, short waits for the elevator and fewer strangers in the lobby. The cost is fewer amenities and fewer resale comparables, and you should go in knowing both.

Small also means the building is easy to read. With 63 owners, the budget, the reserve fund study and the board minutes are short documents, and you can usually get a clear picture of how the building is run in an afternoon. I recommend doing exactly that before you make an offer.

Larger plans, built for living rather than investing

Suites run from about 964 sq ft to about 2,121 sq ft. There are no studios or small one-bedrooms here, which gives the building an owner-occupied character; when I checked, nothing was offered for lease.

Upper-floor and penthouse suites can be quite special. One recent penthouse listing described ceilings just under ten feet and open views south toward downtown. I would not assume that height runs through the building, so measure the suite you are viewing rather than relying on a neighbour’s listing.

As with any 1988 building, finishes vary widely. Some suites have been fully renovated and others are close to original. The difference is often worth more than the floor the suite is on, so compare renovated and unrenovated suites separately when you think about price.

Hydro in the fee is the detail most buyers miss

The fee at The Westclair covers heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, parking, building insurance and common elements. Most buildings in midtown leave hydro to the owner, and many newer ones meter heating and cooling separately as well.

That means the monthly figure here will always look high next to a newer building, and the comparison is misleading. Add back hydro, heating, cooling and a parking charge to the newer building’s fee before you decide which is cheaper to carry. On a suite of 1,000 sq ft or more, those utilities are not a small line in the budget.

The other side of a bulk-metered building is that one owner’s heavy use is shared by everyone. Ask how utility costs have moved in the budget over the last few years and whether the board has considered sub-metering, because that would change your costs.

The roof, the parking and the location

Listing descriptions consistently point to the rooftop terrace as the building’s best shared space, and it is a real advantage on a corner surrounded by taller buildings. The gym, party and meeting room and sauna are on the second floor.

Parking is underground, and storage lockers are on the lower level; listings I reviewed came with a space and a locker. Confirm what is deeded or assigned to the suite you are buying, because in older buildings it is not always one of each.

Day to day, you are a few minutes from the Yonge and St. Clair shops, groceries and the subway, and the ravines of Rosehill and Deer Park are a short walk east and north. Transit, schools and Walk Score are shown in the data panel on this page.

St. Clair West is also changing around it. A few blocks west, Fitzrovia Real Estate has proposed a 49-storey rental tower of about 631 units, designed by Hariri Pontarini, to replace the 1964 provincial office building at 135 St. Clair West. As reported in late 2024 it was a proposal, not an approval, so check its current status. If it goes ahead, expect a long construction period on the street and a very different skyline to the west.

Pricing and fees at 47 St. Clair West

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $922 per square foot. That is close to 40 Rosehill Avenue (about $950) and a little below The Code at 6 Parkwood (about $968), which is a 2017 building. For a 1988 building with hydro and parking included, I think that is a reasonable place to be.

There were no suites listed for sale or for lease when I checked, which is normal for a building of 63 suites. Sales here are occasional, so building averages move with the mix of what has sold rather than with the market alone.

If you are waiting for a suite here, the useful thing is to know the recorded resale history before one comes up, so you can move quickly. Ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Westclair

The package is small but sensible for 63 suites: a staffed lobby, a gym and sauna on the second floor and a rooftop terrace. If you want a pool or a large fitness centre, look at the bigger towers nearby.

Jatin’s honest take on The Westclair

The Westclair — 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.