The Royalton, 77 Albani St: 14 Townhomes Just Off Mimico’s Lake Shore

The Royalton is about as small as a condominium gets: 14 townhomes on Albani Street, a short walk north of Lake Shore in Mimico. That smallness is both the attraction and the risk. You get a quiet street and a home of up to about 2,374 square feet, and you share every repair bill with only 13 neighbours. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Fourteen homes and one corporation

The Royalton is a cluster of 14 townhomes registered as TSCC-1570. Condos.ca credits Queenscorp Group as the builder, and its overview names the developing company as Queenscorp (Dwight) Inc. It went up in 2003, the same year that Parkside Townhomes, a larger townhouse complex in New Toronto, was registered.

With 14 owners, this corporation behaves more like a small co-ownership than a condo tower. Board meetings are a handful of people around a table, and every owner’s attitude to maintenance matters. A good group keeps things tidy and fees steady. A divided one can stall decisions for years.

That is why, in a building this size, I spend as much time on the board minutes as on the unit itself. You want to see that the owners are making decisions, funding the reserve and keeping records.

Small corporations also depend heavily on their manager. Condos.ca lists Equity ICI Real Estate Services. Ask how long they have managed the complex, how often the board meets, and whether the corporation’s insurance and audit are up to date. In a 14-unit complex, one missed renewal or a late audit is a bigger problem than in a tower with full-time staff.

A wide spread of sizes

Condos.ca lists units from about 951 to 2,374 square feet. That is an unusual range for 14 homes. The smaller end is the size of a large two-bedroom apartment, and the top end is bigger than many detached houses in Mimico.

That range matters for pricing. With so few units and such different sizes, there may be no true comparable for the home you are looking at, and the average price per square foot can mislead you in both directions. I price units here against similar-sized townhomes in the area, not just against the complex.

I could not confirm the number of storeys per unit, ceiling heights or garage arrangements from a published source. Ask for the floor plan, the survey of the unit and the parking schedule, and check whether the unit you want has a garage, a pad or an assigned space.

Fees that include water

The fee covers common elements, building insurance, parking and water, according to condos.ca. Water in the fee is a small but welcome extra for a townhouse, where most complexes leave it to owners. Heat and hydro are not listed, so you pay those yourself.

The bigger question is the reserve fund. In a 14-unit complex, the cost of replacing roofs, the driveway or the waterproofing is split very few ways. A shortfall of a few hundred thousand dollars becomes a large cheque for each owner. Read the most recent reserve fund study, and check when it was last updated.

Condos.ca lists a pet restriction, BBQs and visitor parking. Read the rules for the details, since small corporations often write their own and enforce them closely.

Mimico, on the cusp of change

Mimico was laid out in 1856 and was its own town until 1967. Today its main commercial strips run along Royal York Road north of the rail line and Lake Shore Boulevard West south of it, with independent shops, bakeries and Eastern European delis on the lake side. Albani Street sits just north of that Lake Shore stretch.

The City’s Mimico-by-the-Lake Secondary Plan, which grew out of the Mimico 20/20 study, lays out how this part of Lake Shore is meant to change. It names a Village Heart on Lake Shore between Allen and Albert Avenues, makes Amos Waites Park the main community park, and links the area to the Mimico Waterfront Linear Park and the wider waterfront trail.

For an owner here, that plan means more mid-rise development and more people along Lake Shore over time, and a better-connected waterfront. Ask about any active applications near Albani Street before you buy. Transit and schools are shown in the data panel.

Price per foot, and why it can mislead

Condos.ca puts the Royalton’s average at about $633 per square foot. That is a little above Parkside Townhomes in New Toronto at about $603, and far below the newer towers along Lake Shore and the Old Mill buildings in central Etobicoke, which run above $900.

In a complex of 14 homes, sales are rare, and one or two trades can move the average a lot. The gap between a 951 square foot unit and a 2,374 square foot one also means smaller homes often carry a higher price per foot than larger ones. Do not price a unit off the average alone.

There was nothing listed for sale or rent when I checked. When a Royalton home does come up, I would compare it with freehold townhomes and semis in Mimico as well. For the recorded sales, use the data panel or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Royalton

The Royalton has no shared amenities to speak of, and in a 14-unit complex that keeps the fee focused on the buildings themselves rather than on staff or equipment. For green space you use Mimico’s parks and the waterfront trail.

Jatin’s honest take on The Royalton

The Royalton — 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.