Parkside Townhomes, 3000 Lake Shore Blvd W: Condo Townhouses in New Toronto

Parkside Townhomes is what I show buyers who want a house-sized home in south Etobicoke but cannot stretch to a freehold. It is a 2003 complex of 82 condo townhouses on Lake Shore Boulevard West at Tenth Street, with homes of roughly 1,275 to 1,739 square feet and parking in the fee. The trade-off is that you are buying into a corporation, not a lot, and that changes what you need to check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A townhouse complex, not a tower

Most of what sells as a condo along Lake Shore West is an apartment in a tower. Parkside is different: it is a complex of townhouses spread across a Lake Shore frontage and the houses along Tenth Street, under one condominium corporation, TSCC-1561. You get your own front door and multiple levels, and you share the roads, landscaping and building insurance with 81 neighbours.

That format suits people who are leaving an apartment because they need more room, and people who are leaving a house because they no longer want to deal with a whole lot and roof on their own. It is a middle step, and in New Toronto there are not many of them in this size range.

Condos.ca does not name the developer, and I could not find a reliable source that does. If the builder matters to you, the original declaration in the status certificate will name the declarant.

Family-sized floor plans

Condos.ca puts units at about 1,275 to 1,739 square feet. That is the size of a small semi, and it is far more space than most one- and two-bedroom suites in the nearby towers. The narrow range also tells you the plans are fairly consistent, so comparables within the complex are more useful than they are in a mixed tower.

Townhouses spread that space across several floors, and the stairs are the main thing to think about. For a young family, separate floors for bedrooms and living space are a plus. For a buyer planning to stay into retirement, I would walk the stairs a few times before deciding.

I could not confirm ceiling heights, the number of storeys per unit, or whether garages are attached or underground from a published source. Check the floor plan and the parking schedule in the status certificate for the specific unit you are looking at, because in townhouse complexes parking arrangements often differ from one block of units to the next.

What the fee covers, and what it does not

Condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, building insurance and parking. Heat, hydro and water are not on that list, so expect to pay your own utilities as you would in a house. That is normal for townhouse condos and it keeps the shared budget simpler than in a tower with a central plant.

What I want you to understand is how the corporation shares the big-ticket items. In many townhouse corporations, roofs, windows, doors and decks are common elements replaced on a schedule out of the reserve fund. In others, owners carry some of those costs directly. The declaration decides it, and it makes a big difference to your long-term costs in a complex that is now more than 20 years old.

Condos.ca also lists pets, BBQs, a security system and visitor parking among the features. Rules can change, so confirm the current pet and BBQ rules in the status certificate before you rely on them.

Living in New Toronto

New Toronto was laid out in 1890 as a planned industrial town and was its own municipality from 1913 until it was folded into the Borough of Etobicoke in 1967. Its numbered streets running north from the lake are the legacy of that plan. Parkside sits on Tenth Street, in the stretch of Lake Shore that is the area’s main shopping street.

Next to this complex, between Ninth and Thirteenth Streets north of Lake Shore, is Lakeshore Village, a co-operative housing community that Daniels built on the former Goodyear plant site. The industrial lands to the north have been changing for decades, and Colonel Samuel Smith Park on the lake is a short trip west.

Day to day, this is a quieter, more local stretch of Lake Shore than Humber Bay Shores or Mimico’s busier blocks. Transit, schools and Walk Score are in the data panel on this page.

Townhouse space at a tower discount

Condos.ca puts the average at about $603 per square foot. For comparison, the boutique Royalton townhomes on Albani Street in Mimico average about $633, and the Old Mill buildings in central Etobicoke run well above $900. Townhouses here trade on space rather than finishes or views, and the per-square-foot figure shows it.

That low figure is the main appeal. A buyer pricing a 1,500 square foot home pays a fraction of the per-foot price of a new tower suite, and gets a front door and more than one floor in return. The catch is that age and condition swing values within the complex, so a renovated unit and an original one of the same size can be far apart.

There were no units listed for sale or rent when I checked, so I cannot give you an asking range. Supply in an 82-unit complex comes in waves. For the recent sale record, see the data panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Parkside Townhomes

There is no gym, pool or concierge here, and that is the point: with no amenity staff or equipment to fund, more of the fee can go into the roofs, roads and reserve fund. Your amenities are your own floors and the lake.

Jatin’s honest take on Parkside Townhomes

Parkside Townhomes — 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.