Hollywood Plaza II, 28 Hollywood Ave: Large Suites With Utilities Included

Hollywood Plaza II at 28 Hollywood Avenue starts where most new North York condos stop: its smallest suites are around 820 square feet. It is the newer of the two Hollywood Plaza towers, with the same all-inclusive fee and the same indoor pool, and it tends to price a little below its older sibling. Here is how I would weigh it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The second phase, and why the corporation number matters

Hollywood Plaza was built in stages: the 19-storey tower at 18 Hollywood in 1991, the low-rise Town Villas at 38 Hollywood in 1994, and this 17-storey tower in 1995. They look like one complex from the street, but each is its own condominium corporation with its own budget, rules and reserve fund. This one is MTCC-1088.

That matters when you read listings and reviews online, which often mix the buildings up. One agent listing for a suite in this tower simply calls it Hollywood Plaza. Before you rely on anything you read, check the corporation number on the status certificate.

Listing sites credit Camrost-Felcorp, the developer behind Imperial Plaza and Yorkville Plaza, with completing the complex. Condos.ca does not name a developer, so I treat that as reported rather than confirmed.

Bigger minimum suite sizes than almost anything new nearby

Condos.ca records suites from about 820 to 2,384 square feet. The current listings include a one-bedroom-plus-den in the 900 to 999 square foot band, plus two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den plans. A one-plus-den of that size is bigger than many new two-bedrooms along Yonge.

Like the first tower, many suites here have solariums, the enclosed glass rooms that work well as a home office or a small den. The suites are 30 years old, so expect separate kitchens and more traditional layouts, and expect condition to vary from fully updated to close to original.

Two-bedroom-plus-den suites around this size are what families and downsizers look for and rarely find in new North York stock. If that is your brief, this is a building to include on your list.

Hydro, heat and cooling in one fee

The fee here includes hydro, heat, air conditioning and water, along with parking, common elements and insurance. The property manager’s listing for the building describes utilities as all included. Unlike 18 Hollywood, condos.ca does not list cable TV in this building’s fee, so ask what your TV and internet will cost.

On the current listings, fees run from about $1,013 to $1,788 a month. That is a lot next to a new building, but the comparison is not like for like. Add the hydro and heating bills you would pay in a new suite, and the difference shrinks a lot, especially in a large suite.

The risk with any all-inclusive building is that rising energy costs go straight into the budget, and there are no individual meters to reward careful use. Three years of budgets will tell you how the fee has moved and why.

One more thing the fee covers is parking. Condos.ca lists parking among the inclusions, so a suite that comes with a space does not carry the separate parking charge that many newer buildings add. Confirm on the status certificate that the space is owned or assigned to the suite you are buying, along with the locker.

Hollywood Avenue, day to day

Hollywood Avenue is a short side street running east from Yonge, just north of Sheppard. You can walk to the restaurants and grocery stores along Yonge, Empress Walk and Mel Lastman Square, and the street itself is quieter than Yonge.

Across the street is a cluster of newer towers by The Conservatory Group, including Platinum at 23 Hollywood. More development is filling in along Yonge between Sheppard and Finch, so expect construction nearby for some time. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

What you get in return for living a block off Yonge is a more settled setting. Listings for this tower describe landscaped grounds and a proper entrance, and the complex has had three decades to grow in. For many buyers coming from a house, that feels closer to home than a tower lobby facing Yonge Street.

What Hollywood Plaza II costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $546 per square foot. That is a little below 18 Hollywood, at about $572, and well below Platinum across the street, at about $742. Bigger suites tend to sell for less per square foot, and this tower has larger minimum sizes, which helps explain the gap.

When I checked there were four suites listed, asking from $458,000 to $889,000 across one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den plans. Fees on those listings ran from about $1,013 to $1,788 a month. Fees are set by suite size, so a wide fee range within a similar price bracket is a sign that suite sizes, and therefore value per square foot, differ more than the asking prices suggest.

If you are weighing this tower against 18 Hollywood, the honest answer is that the suite matters more than the building. Both are similar in age, amenities and fee structure. Compare the two reserve fund studies and the last few years of fee increases, then choose the better suite at the better price per square foot.

That is exactly why I compare suites here on total monthly cost and price per square foot, not on asking price alone. For recent closed results, use the sold data on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Hollywood Plaza II

The indoor pool and sauna are the standouts, backed by a gym, a library, guest suites and a 24-hour concierge. It is a full package for a 145-suite building, and it is part of what your fee pays for, so check the reserve fund for the pool.

Jatin’s honest take on Hollywood Plaza II

Hollywood Plaza II — 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.