The Riverstone, 40-50 Old Mill Rd: 18 Large Suites by the Humber

The Riverstone is one of the smallest and quietest condo buildings in the west end: 18 suites on Old Mill Road, next to the Humber valley, and almost every one of them the size of a house. It is more than 40 years old, it has no pool and no gym, and that is exactly why some buyers want it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Eighteen suites, and that is the point

Most condo buildings ask you to share a lobby with hundreds of people. The Riverstone has 18 suites over five storeys, spread across two street addresses, 40 and 50 Old Mill Road, under one condominium corporation. You will know everyone in the building within a year.

Condos.ca lists suite sizes from about 1,355 to 2,964 square feet. There is nothing small here. Even the smallest suites are larger than a typical new two-bedroom, and the largest are bigger than many detached houses in the surrounding streets.

The building was developed by Herbertz Haeuser Limited and registered in 1983, which makes it older than most condominiums in this part of Etobicoke. Its scale, five storeys on a residential road, keeps it in line with the houses around it rather than the towers going up elsewhere in the west end.

Living next to the Old Mill and the Humber

Old Mill Road runs down from Bloor Street to the Humber River and the Old Mill Inn. The Riverstone sits on that stretch, next to Riverhouse at the Old Mill at number 30. The river valley, its parkland and its trails are the backdrop to daily life here.

For shopping and restaurants, you head up to Bloor. The Kingsway village shops are to the west and Bloor West Village is across the river to the east. The setting is green and quiet, but the walk back is uphill, and that is worth testing if you are planning to age in place.

Very little around you is likely to change. The surrounding streets are mostly houses, the valley is parkland, and the one large new building nearby, Riverhouse, was finished in 2014. Unlike The Queensway or Islington and Kipling, you are not moving into a construction zone.

What a 1983 building means for you

A building of this age has been through at least one, and possibly two, cycles of major repairs. That can be good news: windows, roofs, elevators and garage work may already have been done and paid for. It can also mean a large project is coming. The only way to know is to read the reserve fund study, the status certificate and recent board minutes.

In a building with only 18 owners, the cost of every repair is split among very few people. A garage or window project that would barely move fees in a 300-suite tower is a meaningful amount per owner here. That is not a reason to avoid the building, but it is a reason to understand the reserve fund before you make an offer.

Suites in older luxury buildings are often renovated to very different standards. Two units with the same floor plan can feel like different buildings. Look at the age of the kitchen, bathrooms, windows and heating and cooling equipment in the specific suite, not just the size.

How to shop a building this small

With only 18 suites, listings here are infrequent, and there may be long stretches with nothing for sale at all. If you want to live here, the practical approach is to decide in advance what you need, such as floor, exposure, parking and the minimum size, and be ready to move quickly when a suite that matches appears.

Do your building homework before a suite comes up. Ask your agent to request a recent status certificate from a past sale, look at the fee history, and learn who sits on the board. When the right suite lists, you will have days, not weeks, and you do not want to be reading a reserve fund study for the first time with an offer deadline in front of you.

Finally, value the suite on its own merits. Renovation level, view and parking matter more here than in a large tower, because there are so few comparable sales to lean on.

Pricing: few sales, big suites

With 18 suites, sales are rare, and condos.ca does not publish a building average per square foot. Any single sale here tells you about that suite’s size, view and renovation more than about the building. I would compare carefully against nearby Riverhouse at the Old Mill, which condos.ca puts at about $1,313 per square foot, and 4 The Kingsway at about $1,091, while allowing for The Riverstone’s age.

The fee covers common elements, building insurance, parking and water, according to condos.ca. Heat and hydro are not listed, so ask how the suite is heated and cooled and what recent utility bills look like. In large suites, those costs are significant.

There was one active listing when I checked, which is not enough to quote a range. Fees in a building this small, with suites this large, are high in dollar terms, so compare them on a per-square-foot basis and against what they include before reacting to the monthly figure.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Riverstone

Condos.ca lists a party room, visitor parking, a security system and an enterphone entry. There is no pool, gym or concierge, which keeps operating costs down and suits owners who would rather pay for space than for facilities they will not use.

Jatin’s honest take on The Riverstone

The Riverstone — 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.