28 Cosburn Ave: A 1976 12-Suite Condo on a Street About to Change

28 Cosburn Avenue is a 50-year-old, 12-suite low-rise that most buyers have never heard of, on a stretch of Cosburn that is about to get a lot more attention. Heat and hydro are in the fee, the Danforth is close by, and next door a much taller building has been proposed. That combination is the whole story here. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An old East York corporation

28 Cosburn was registered as York Condominium Corporation 284 in November 1976, which makes it one of the older condominiums in this part of the city. Ontario’s condominium legislation was still young in the 1970s, and the corporation has now been operating for nearly half a century. A building that has run that long has a track record you can read, if you ask for it.

Condos.ca lists three storeys, 12 suites and Solid Estates as the builder. That is a walk-up scale building in a part of East York better known for single-family homes and rental apartment buildings than for condos.

There is very little published about the building itself: condos.ca does not record suite sizes or a price per square foot, and listings are rare. That means you will be doing more of your own homework here than at a larger, better-documented building.

Start with the suite itself. Measure it or ask for a floor plan, because without a published size range you cannot judge price per square foot. Then ask about the building systems of its era: some Ontario buildings from the late 1960s and 1970s used aluminium branch wiring, and insurers and lenders often ask about it, so find out whether any remains and whether it has been remediated.

Heat and hydro in the fee

The inclusions are the most unusual thing on paper. Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, hydro, building insurance and water as covered by the fee. Hydro inclusion is uncommon in Toronto condos; it usually means the building runs on a single bulk meter.

That has two sides. Your monthly cost is predictable, with no separate electricity bill. But every owner shares the building’s total usage, so one suite running space heaters all winter raises everyone’s costs, and rising utility rates feed straight into the fee. Ask how the corporation has handled utility increases and whether sub-metering has ever been discussed.

Parking is not on the inclusions list. Condos.ca lists visitor parking as an amenity, but whether a given suite has its own space, and on what terms, is something to confirm in the status certificate.

A street in transition

The biggest factor at 28 Cosburn is what is happening around it. UrbanToronto lists a proposed 25-storey condominium by KingSett Capital at 16 to 26 Cosburn Avenue, the neighbouring addresses on the same side of the street, in pre-construction. A few doors further west, Trolleybus Urban Development proposed a 15-storey condominium at 5 to 19 Cosburn and 8 to 40 Gowan Avenue in 2021, stepping down to eight storeys toward Gowan.

UrbanToronto ties that wave of applications to the Ontario Line, which is now under construction and includes a station at Cosburn and Pape. For an owner here, that means years of nearby construction if the projects proceed, and possibly a very different streetscape afterwards.

Construction next door is not a small thing in a three-storey building. Expect noise, trucks, crane swings and dust during working hours, and possibly shadowing once a tower is up. Ask the board whether the corporation has been notified of the application, whether it has commented, and whether any construction or crane-swing agreements have been discussed with the developer.

It can also mean opportunity. Redevelopment pressure on a street sometimes brings developers to small, older buildings with an offer. I would not buy here on that expectation, because a sale of a whole condominium needs most owners to agree and is never guaranteed, but it is worth knowing the pressure exists.

Daily life near Broadview and the Danforth

This is the Broadview North end of old East York, close to Broadview Avenue and a short trip south to the Danforth’s restaurants and shops. The Don Valley is to the west. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks.

The street itself is a mix. UrbanToronto describes this end of Cosburn as low-rise houses and apartment buildings, with a 22-storey tower-in-the-park rental building nearby and detached and semi-detached homes behind. It is a residential, practical street rather than a destination, which is exactly why some buyers like it: you get quiet evenings and the Danforth when you want it.

Day to day, the trade-off is between a quiet low-rise today and a busier street tomorrow. If you are buying for the long term, visit the planning applications on the City’s website and read what is proposed before you make an offer.

What 28 Cosburn costs to own

Condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot or a size range for this building, and there were no suites for sale or for rent at the time of writing. With 12 suites, sales are rare.

To price a suite here, I compare it against other older low-rise and mid-rise condos in Broadview North and around Pape and the Danforth, then adjust for the fee inclusions, the building’s age and the uncertainty next door. Remember to credit the fee for heat and hydro: a higher-looking fee that covers electricity is not directly comparable to one that doesn’t.

For the actual recorded sales at this address, ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 28 Cosburn Avenue Condos

Visitor parking is the only amenity listed, so this is a building you live in for the location and the low-key scale, not for shared facilities. The fee is paying for heat, hydro, water and upkeep rather than for a gym or a party room.

Jatin’s honest take on 28 Cosburn Avenue Condos

28 Cosburn Avenue Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Leslieville, Riverdale, the Beaches, Danforth and Leaside more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.