Village Gate II, 19 Lower Village Gate: Forest Hill, Fees Cover All

Village Gate II at 19 Lower Village Gate is one of two matching seven-storey buildings set behind a gatehouse in Forest Hill South, a few minutes on foot from Forest Hill Village. The suites start at around 1,050 square feet, the fee covers nearly every utility, and there is an outdoor pool. It is a buyer’s building for people leaving a house, and the questions are mostly about age and cost. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two buildings, one gated complex

Village Gate is a pair of seven-storey buildings. Village Gate I is at 18 Lower Village Gate and Village Gate II is next to it at 19. Both list the same outdoor pool, gatehouse security and grounds, and they are marketed as one complex, but each is its own condominium corporation with its own board and budget.

That split is worth understanding. Village Gate II is MTCC-769, registered in March 1988 and managed by FirstService Residential, according to condos.ca. Village Gate I is MTCC-785, registered a few months later in June 1988, with Crossbridge Condominium Services listed as manager. So the building called II actually registered first.

Shared facilities are usually governed by a shared-facilities agreement between the two corporations. Ask for it with the status certificate, because it sets how the cost of the pool, gatehouse and grounds is split and who decides when they are replaced.

Sources disagree on the basic numbers

Condos.ca records Village Gate II as built in 1988 with 82 suites, and describes the complex as two seven-storey buildings with 164 suites between them. A local agent’s page on the complex lists both buildings as built in 1986 with 86 units each.

The registration dates support the 1988 figure for when the condominium was created, though construction may have started earlier. For the suite count, rely on the declaration in the status certificate rather than any listing site, including this one.

Either way, this is a low-density building. With seven storeys and about 80 suites, you share elevators and amenities with far fewer people than in a midtown tower, and the grounds feel more like a private enclave than a condo lobby. A smaller owner group also tends to mean a board where residents know one another, which cuts both ways when decisions get made.

Big suites for people leaving a house

Suite sizes run from about 1,048 to 2,017 square feet, according to condos.ca. There are no small units here. The same agent’s page describes one- and two-bedroom plans with large kitchens, generous living rooms and bedrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows and large balconies or patios.

That profile suits downsizers from Forest Hill and the surrounding neighbourhoods who want to stay in the area, keep their furniture and give up the stairs and the snow shovel. A one-bedroom of more than 1,000 square feet is a very different proposition from a new midtown one-bedroom.

Many suites will have been renovated at least once in more than 35 years, and some will be close to original. The difference in price between the two can be large, so look closely at what has been done, when, and whether permits or board approvals were needed for the work.

Parking is included in the fee, and one source mentions large storage lockers. Confirm how many spaces and lockers come with the suite, since buyers moving out of a house often need both and they are hard to add later.

Life off Heath Street West

Lower Village Gate is a short street near Heath Street West and Walmer Road, close to the shops and restaurants of Forest Hill Village on Spadina Road. You get a quiet, residential setting with the village’s cafes, grocers and services close by.

This part of Forest Hill South is also close to green space, including Wells Hill Park, Winston Churchill Park and the Nordheimer and Cedarvale ravines. For a downsizer who walks every day, that is a big part of the appeal.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability. Forest Hill South itself is a settled, low-rise area, but there are newer condo proposals along St. Clair and nearby streets, so check what is planned near your view before you buy.

What Village Gate II costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $913 per square foot. That is a premium over many older buildings in midtown, and it reflects the Forest Hill address, the gated grounds and the very large suites. Condos.ca shows Village Gate I next door averaging about $884 per square foot, a little lower. Two buildings on the same grounds can differ in fees, reserve funds and suite condition, so compare them side by side if you are open to either.

There were no suites listed for sale when I checked, which is common in an 82-suite building where owners tend to stay a long time. With few sales, each one carries more weight, and the size of the suites means the dollar gap between a renovated and an original suite can be wide.

For recent closed results, use the sold data on this page or ask me for a building sold report. When you compare costs, note that the fee here includes hydro, heat, cooling, water, cable and parking, so your monthly utility bills will be low compared with a house or a newer building.

Building specifications

Amenities at Village Gate II

The package is built around the grounds: a gatehouse, landscaped gardens, an outdoor pool (described by one source as saltwater) and a clubhouse, with an exercise room, sauna and library inside. It is a quiet, social setting rather than a resort-style tower, and much of it appears to be shared with Village Gate I.

Jatin’s honest take on Village Gate II

Village Gate 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.