Bravo Condos, 26 Norton Ave: A Boutique Building in North York Centre

Bravo at 26 Norton Avenue is the North York building I mention when a buyer wants the Yonge Street subway corridor without a 40-storey tower and a thousand neighbours. It is a boutique building on a short side street, and it is easy to confuse with a much bigger tower of the same name in Vaughan. Getting the facts straight is half the work here. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Not the Bravo in Vaughan

Search for Bravo Condos and much of what comes back is about Bravo and Encore at Bravo, the towers at Festival in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. Some building pages for 26 Norton Avenue have picked up that project’s description, and condos.ca’s figures of 47 storeys, 540 suites and QuadReal as developer look like they belong to it rather than to this building.

What I can stand behind for 26 Norton is narrower. The Toronto corporation number, TSCC-2317, and the June 2013 registration date fit a North York building, and recent listings describe it as a boutique condo called Bravo. Listings I found run up to the 16th floor plus a penthouse level, which suggests a mid-sized building rather than a tower.

I could not confirm the original builder or architect from a source I trust. If that matters to you, and it should, the declaration and the original disclosure documents in the status certificate package will name the declarant. Do not rely on a portal for it.

Compact suites with a full inclusion package

Condos.ca lists suites from about 334 to 1,046 square feet. The small end is a studio, the large end a two-bedroom or two-plus-den, and most of what trades is likely to sit in between, as one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and compact two-bedrooms.

The suite I saw for sale when I checked was a two-bedroom in the 800 to 899 square foot band, which is a useful size on this stretch of Yonge for couples and small families.

The fee is one of the stronger points. It includes common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water, so your main separate bill is hydro. That makes monthly costs easier to predict than in many newer North York towers where heat, cooling and water are metered to each suite.

Compact suites like these are what this part of North York does best. They rent easily to students, young professionals and people who work at the civic centre and the office towers along Yonge, so a fair share of suites here are likely tenanted. If you are buying to live in, ask the property manager what share of suites are leased.

Boutique scale, with concierge

Recent listings describe a 24-hour concierge, a large gym, a media room, a games room, a party and meeting room, guest suites and visitor parking. For a building of this size that is a reasonable package, and it is the reason Bravo does not feel like a stripped-down infill building.

Boutique scale has real advantages. Elevator waits are usually shorter, the lobby is quieter and owners tend to know each other. It also means fewer suites share the cost of every repair, so a big-ticket item such as a garage membrane or elevator modernization lands harder on each owner than it would in a 500-suite tower.

That is why I care about the reserve fund here more than the amenity list. A 2013 building is now past its first decade, which is when the first major reserve items start appearing in the forecast.

North York Centre on foot, from a side street

Norton Avenue is a short residential street off Yonge in the North York Centre area. Listing descriptions note that the building is close to Empress Walk, the North York Civic Centre, Mel Lastman Square and the North York Central Library, and that two Yonge line subway stations are within reach. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and the Walk Score.

The appeal is that you get the services of North York’s downtown, including the civic centre, the library, restaurants and the big grocery stores along Yonge, while living off the main road. The side streets around Norton still mix older houses, low-rise buildings and new towers.

That mix is changing. The Yonge corridor between Sheppard and Finch has seen steady redevelopment, and the blocks east of Yonge around Doris Avenue are now largely condo towers. Ask what is approved or proposed near Norton before paying for a view or for light on a particular side of the building.

North York Centre also offers something midtown does not: a civic heart. Mel Lastman Square hosts events and skating in winter, the central library is one of the largest in the city system, and the civic centre handles a lot of everyday city business. For an owner who wants a neighbourhood with institutions as well as shops, that matters.

Pricing: below midtown, with low running costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $780 per square foot. That is meaningfully below Yonge and Eglinton and in the normal range for established buildings on the Yonge corridor in North York, which is one reason buyers trade midtown for this stretch.

Supply is thin. Only one suite was listed for sale when I checked, so there is no meaningful asking range to quote, and anyone telling you what this building is worth needs to be working from actual sold results.

Because the fee bundles heat, cooling, water and parking, compare the total monthly cost against newer towers nearby, not the fee alone. For sold results, use the sold data panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Bravo Condos

Concierge, a gym, a media and games room, a party room and guest suites cover what most owners actually use, without the pool and spa costs that push fees up in larger towers. For a boutique building, that balance is about right.

Jatin’s honest take on Bravo Condos

Bravo Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville and North Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.