Birmingham, 161 Thirteenth St: Daniels Townhomes in New Toronto

Birmingham is for buyers who have outgrown a condo apartment but are not ready to pay for a detached house in south Etobicoke. These are Daniels-built condominium townhomes of about 1,300 to 1,700 square feet, a few blocks from the lake in New Toronto. You get house-sized space at an apartment-style price per square foot, and you take on a few house-style costs in return. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Daniels townhouse complex on former industrial land

Daniels is one of Toronto’s longest-running builders, and in the 1990s and 2000s it was redeveloping a large stretch of New Toronto. A 1998 City of Toronto report describes Daniels’ Lakeshore Village on the former Goodyear plant lands bounded by Lake Shore Boulevard, Twelfth Street and Birmingham Street, and records a change from apartments to townhouses on some parcels.

Birmingham, built by Daniels in 2004 along Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets and Lake Shore, fits that pattern in builder, location and timing. I could not confirm from a primary source that it was one of the Lakeshore Village parcels, so treat that as likely rather than certain.

Either way, the practical point is the same. This is a planned townhouse community from a large builder, not a one-off infill project, and at 82 homes it has enough owners to spread the cost of roofs, roads and landscaping across a reasonable base.

It also explains the mix of housing around you. The first phase of Lakeshore Village was non-profit co-operative housing, and the surrounding blocks combine co-ops, seniors’ buildings, condo townhomes and older freehold houses. For most buyers that is a plus: a settled, mixed neighbourhood rather than a single-product development where every home resells at the same moment.

House-sized homes, condo ownership

Condos.ca lists sizes from about 1,275 to 1,739 square feet. That is the size of a modest semi-detached house, and far beyond what most families can afford in a condo apartment nearby. Sizes in that range usually mean multi-level layouts, so confirm the number of levels and stairs in the unit you see.

The home listed when I checked was a two-bedroom-plus-den; ask the listing agent which other layouts exist in the complex. For a growing family, a den on a separate level often works as a third bedroom or a home office, but check whether it has a window and a closet before you count it as a bedroom.

Parking is in the fee, and the complex has visitor parking. Ask whether each home’s space is a garage, a driveway or a surface spot in a shared lot, because that changes both winter convenience and storage. I could not confirm ceiling heights from a reliable source.

A lean fee, because you pay your own utilities

Condos.ca lists only three things in the fee: common elements, building insurance and parking. Heat, hydro and water are not on that list, which in a townhouse complex usually means each home has its own meters and its own heating and cooling equipment.

That is why fees here look low next to a condo apartment. You will carry your own utility bills, and when the furnace, air conditioner or water heater reaches the end of its life, the replacement is normally your cost, not the corporation’s. Confirm in the declaration exactly who is responsible for what, including windows, doors, roofs and decks.

The fee still has to fund the shared parts of a 20-year-old complex: roofing, exterior walls, paving and landscaping. In townhouse corporations those items come due in large, lumpy amounts, so the reserve fund study is the most important document you will read.

Daily life in New Toronto

New Toronto was planned in 1890 as a factory town, and Goodyear, which opened here in 1916 and closed in 1987, was its largest employer. It sits between Mimico and Long Branch and has changed more slowly than Humber Bay Shores to the east. Lake Shore Boulevard West is its commercial main street, a strip of small shops and restaurants rather than a condo district, with Lake Ontario just to the south.

Homes with frontage on Lake Shore get the most street activity and traffic noise. Homes on Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets are quieter and more residential. If you are sensitive to noise, ask which address the home is on before you book a showing.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, parks and nearby food in detail.

About $580 a square foot for townhouse space

Condos.ca puts Birmingham’s average at about $580 per square foot. That is well below what condo apartments in nearby Mimico and Humber Bay Shores typically trade for per square foot, which is the whole argument for a condo townhouse: more space for the money.

When I checked, there was only one home listed for sale, so I will not quote its price or fee. One listing is not a market. Use the data panel above for what has actually sold, and ask me for a building sold report if you want the recent trades in one place.

To compare this fairly with an apartment, add your own hydro, heat and water bills to Birmingham’s fee, then set aside something each year for the furnace, air conditioner and water heater you will own. Even with those costs added, the price per square foot here is hard to match for family-sized space this close to the lake.

Building specifications

Amenities at Birmingham

There are no shared gyms or party rooms here, and that is part of why the fee stays low. What you get instead is your own front door, room for a barbecue and a parking space, which is what most townhouse buyers are actually paying for.

Jatin’s honest take on Birmingham

Birmingham — frequently asked questions

Looking at Humber Bay Shores, Mimico, the Queensway and central Etobicoke more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.