The Grange, 551 The West Mall: An All-Inclusive 1970 Condo, Hydro Included

The Grange at 551 The West Mall is one of the oldest condominium buildings in Toronto, and you can tell from the corporation number alone. You get a large suite for the price of a one-bedroom in a new tower, and almost every utility is in the fee. In exchange you take on a 56-year-old building, and that changes what you need to check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Corporation number 26

Ontario’s first condominium legislation came into force in the late 1960s, and The Grange was registered in December 1970 as York Condominium Corporation No. 26. Only a few dozen condominium corporations in the old Metro Toronto area are older. This building was part of the first wave of people owning, rather than renting, an apartment in a tower.

That matters in two ways. The building was designed when apartments were expected to replace a house for a family, so the suites are large. And it has more than half a century of maintenance history, board decisions and reserve fund studies behind it, all of which you can read before you buy.

With 305 suites over 15 storeys, this is a mid-sized community by today’s standards. That is large enough to spread the cost of big repairs across many owners, and small enough that a well-run board can know the building closely.

The builder is recorded as Grozbord, King & Associates. I could not find an architect credit or any published history of the design, so I have left that out rather than guess.

Big suites, built for families

The suites that trade here are large. Condos.ca’s size data runs from about 1,012 to 1,132 square feet, and current listings are a two-bedroom of 900 to 1,000 square feet and a three-bedroom. Few buildings completed in the last 20 years offer a three-bedroom at anything like this size.

Expect the layouts of the period: a separate kitchen rather than an open one, a defined dining area, generous closets and a long hallway to the bedrooms. Many suites here will have been renovated at least once, and some will be close to original. The price gap between the two is often less than the cost of the renovation.

Before you plan a renovation, ask management about the rules on flooring, plumbing and electrical work. Buildings of this age often require board approval and acoustic underlay for hard floors, and some restrict moving kitchens and bathrooms because of the original risers.

An amenity list built for daily use

The amenities are practical rather than flashy: a concierge, a party room, a meeting room, an indoor children’s play area, visitor parking, a car wash bay and permission to barbecue. The children’s play area tells you who the building was designed for, and it still suits families today.

Parking is also in the fee, which is less common than it sounds. In many newer buildings a parking space is a separate purchase with its own monthly charge; here it is part of the suite cost and the fee. Confirm on the status certificate whether your space is owned, exclusive-use or assigned by management, because older corporations handle this in different ways.

There is no pool or gym on the condos.ca list. If that matters, look at Queenscourt on The East Mall, which has both, or plan on a membership elsewhere.

Condos.ca also flags pet restrictions. I could not confirm the exact rule, so read the declaration and rules in the status certificate if you have a pet, and ask management for the current limits on size and number before you make an offer.

Life on The West Mall

The West Mall is an established corridor of apartment towers and plazas alongside Highway 427. It grew up after Etobicoke moved its municipal offices to a new complex beside Highway 427 in 1958, and it is still a car-first corridor. It is mostly built out, so you are not living next to a construction site.

That is starting to change. UrbanToronto reports that the current Etobicoke Civic Centre at Burnhamthorpe and The West Mall will be redeveloped for housing by CreateTO once the new civic centre at Bloor and Kipling opens. Over time, that should bring new housing and more services to this stretch. The panel on this page shows the transit and school details.

Low price per foot, high fee, and what the fee covers

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $417 per square foot. That is among the lowest figures I see in Etobicoke, and roughly half of what newer buildings on the Queensway and in Humber Bay Shores trade for.

Two active listings ask between about $410,000 and $599,000. Fees on those listings run from about $940 to $1,070 a month, which works out close to $1.00 per square foot. Two listings is a thin sample, so before setting an offer I would look at the last 12 months of sales in the data panel on this page, not just at what is for sale today.

That fee looks high, but it covers heat, hydro, water, parking, cable and building insurance on top of the common elements. Even so, a fee near $1,000 is a large fixed cost, and it tends to rise as an older building’s reserve contributions go up. Factor that into your carrying cost before you compare prices.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Grange

These are the amenities a family uses in an ordinary week, not the ones that sell suites in a brochure. With no pool to maintain, more of the fee goes to the building itself.

Jatin’s honest take on The Grange

The Grange — 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.