Lonsdale House, 350 Lonsdale Rd: 84 Large Suites in Forest Hill Village

Lonsdale House is the building for buyers who want Forest Hill Village at their front door and a full-size suite behind it. Every suite is over 1,000 square feet, the building is only seven storeys, and there is an indoor pool, a rooftop deck and a concierge. It is also over 50 years old, and that is the part I want you to look at hardest. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Low-rise, big suites, right at the village

Lonsdale House rises seven storeys, about 23.4 metres, on a street lined with low-rise apartment houses. That height keeps it in scale with Lonsdale Road and means you are living in something closer to a large apartment house than a tower.

The suite mix is what sets it apart. Condos.ca lists sizes from about 1,012 to 1,800 square feet, so there are no studios or small one-bedrooms here at all. Almost everything that comes up for sale is a two-bedroom, and the buyers are mostly downsizers and families who want room.

A few doors away is Biaritz Terrace at 335 Lonsdale, a six-storey building from 2010 with much smaller suites. Comparing the two is the clearest way to decide whether you want a newer building or a bigger floor plan.

The history question

Sources do not agree on this building’s history. Condos.ca describes it as a building originally designed in the 1920s by W.C. Charters, the architect behind many of the low-rise apartment houses on Lonsdale Road, and later converted. Other records list it as a 1974 building by Torcan Construction, and the condominium corporation was registered in July 1974.

Both can be partly true: a corporation registration date tells you when the condominium was created, not necessarily when every wall was built. I could not confirm which version is correct, so ask for the building’s history in the status certificate package and look at the reserve fund study, which will describe the structure and the age of its major components.

This matters for more than trivia. A 1920s structure and a 1970s structure age differently, and the reserve fund plan should reflect what you are actually buying into.

Floor plans in a seven-storey building

With 84 suites over seven floors, there are roughly a dozen suites per floor, and the range from about 1,000 to 1,800 square feet means layouts differ a lot from one stack to the next. I could not find published floor plans, so ask the listing agent for the plan and the measured size of the suite itself.

In a low building, exposure decides most of the experience. You are not buying a skyline view; you are buying light, tree canopy and quiet. Suites facing the side streets and the rear tend to be calmer than those facing Lonsdale Road, and upper floors get more sun through the trees.

Expect an older floor plan unless the suite has been renovated: defined rooms, separate dining areas and more wall space for furniture than a new condo gives you. For many downsizers bringing furniture from a house, that is an advantage, not a drawback.

Utilities and parking are in the fee

Condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, cable TV, building insurance, parking and water. In practice, the only household bills left over are your phone and internet.

The three suites listed for sale when I checked carried fees of about $2,240 to $2,280 a month. That reads as expensive until you compare it with a house on the surrounding streets, where property tax, heating, hydro, insurance and upkeep add up to more than that for many owners.

Because the corporation pays for energy, the fee moves with utility costs. Ask how the utility budget has changed recently and whether the building has planned any upgrades to its heating, cooling or windows.

What daily life looks like here

You are living in Forest Hill Village. The shops, cafes, restaurants and grocery on Spadina Road and Lonsdale are a short walk, and the side streets are some of the quietest in central Toronto. For a buyer selling a house nearby, that means the daily routine does not change.

Inside the building, an indoor pool and sauna, a gym and a rooftop deck give you more than most small Forest Hill condos offer. Condos.ca also lists a security guard and a concierge, which matters to owners who travel. The transit, school and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

What Lonsdale House costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,014 per square foot. For a building of this age, that is a strong number, and it tells you what buyers are really paying for: the village address and suite size, not new finishes.

Three two-bedroom suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking between about $1.2 million and $1.5 million. Differences in that range usually come down to size, floor, exposure and how recently the suite was renovated.

On fees, divide by the suite size before you judge. A $2,250 fee on a 1,200 square foot suite is close to $1.90 per square foot, but it includes every utility and parking. Compare it with the all-in cost of a newer building, not its headline fee.

In a building this small, a handful of sales can move the average a long way. My building sold report shows the aggregate sold figures from the MLS system if you want to test the average before making an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Lonsdale House

An indoor pool, sauna, gym and rooftop deck in an 84-suite building is a generous package, and with a concierge on site it works well for owners who travel. Pools are expensive to run and repair, so look for the pool in the reserve fund plan.

Jatin’s honest take on Lonsdale House

Lonsdale House — 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.