Aerodrome Crescent, 50-80 Aerodrome Cres: Stacked Towns on an Old Airfield

Aerodrome Crescent is the kind of complex buyers drive past without noticing: 51 brick stacked townhouses tucked off Eglinton in Leaside, on the ground where Canada’s first airmail flight landed in 1918. For a buyer who wants townhouse living at a condo price north of the Danforth, it deserves a closer look. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The street is named for an airfield

The name is not marketing. From 1917 the Royal Flying Corps trained pilots and mechanics on roughly 220 acres here, between Wicksteed and Eglinton avenues. On 24 June 1918, Captain Brian Peck landed a Curtiss biplane from Montreal carrying 120 letters, the first airmail delivered by air in Canada. An Ontario Heritage plaque near Brentcliffe Road and Broadway Avenue marks the event.

The airfield closed in 1931, reopened briefly as an RCAF radar school during the Second World War, and then gave way to industry. The last hangar was not removed until 1971. When new housing came to this pocket in the 2000s, its streets were named for that history: Aerodrome Crescent, and nearby Brian Peck Crescent.

That history explains the setting. You are on the edge of Leaside’s old industrial and big-box land, not on one of its tree-lined residential streets. The houses of Leaside proper are a walk away, but the immediate surroundings are newer, flatter and more mixed.

Stacked townhouses, not a condo tower

Condos.ca records three storeys and 51 suites, and listings describe the format as stacked condominium townhouses with brick exteriors. Suite numbers run across several street addresses, from 50 up to 80 Aerodrome Crescent, so check exactly which block a suite sits in.

The only suite size condos.ca records is about 912 square feet, so I cannot give you a full range. Recent listings describe two-bedroom, two-bathroom plans of roughly 900 to 1,000 square feet, with an ensuite off the primary bedroom, ensuite laundry, a private terrace and, in at least one case, nine-foot ceilings. Treat those as examples, not a building-wide rule.

In a stacked format, ask whether a suite is the lower or the upper unit. Lower units often have more direct outdoor access; upper units usually have fewer people overhead and a terrace on top. Stairs matter too: confirm how many flights you climb to your front door.

Stacked towns also share walls, floors and ceilings in ways a freehold townhouse does not. When you view, listen for footsteps from above and ask the seller how sound carries between suites. It is the most common complaint I hear from owners in this format, and it varies a lot from block to block.

A short fee list, and your own furnace

Condos.ca lists only common elements and building insurance as included. Listings describe gas forced-air heating and central air conditioning in the suites, which is typical of stacked townhouses: you run your own furnace and air conditioner and pay your own gas and hydro.

That usually makes the monthly fee lower than a tower with bundled utilities. It also means some equipment is yours to replace. Furnaces and air conditioners from 2005 are at or past the age where replacement is common, so ask the seller when theirs was last changed, and read the declaration to see whether the owner or the corporation is responsible.

Parking is underground, per condos.ca and listings. Condos.ca does not list parking as a fee inclusion, so confirm how the spot is owned and whether there is any separate charge or tax for it.

Daily life between Laird and Brentcliffe

Day to day, this pocket works around Laird Drive and Eglinton. Laird has groceries, coffee and services, and the big-box stores on the old aerodrome lands handle the rest. Leaside’s Bayview Avenue shops are a short drive or a longer walk west.

The Don Valley Parkway is close, which is a real advantage for anyone commuting by car. Eglinton is also the corridor for the Crosstown line, and the transit panel on this page has the current station details for this address.

Expect change along Eglinton. Transit corridors attract new mid-rise and tower applications, and some of the older industrial and retail sites nearby are the kind of land that gets proposed for redevelopment. Check the City’s development application map for anything near your block before you buy.

For a family, the area’s real advantage is space at a price that Leaside freeholds cannot match. The school panel on this page shows the zoning for this address, and the parks panel covers the green space nearby.

Pricing at Aerodrome Crescent

Condos.ca does not publish a building average price per square foot here, and the only recorded suite size is about 912 square feet. With 51 suites in a stacked format, sales are steady but not frequent, and each one depends heavily on whether the suite is an upper or lower unit and how much outdoor space it has.

At the time of review, condos.ca showed one suite for sale and one for rent. One listing is not a range, so I am not quoting it. What I can tell you is that this complex competes with other Leaside and East York stacked townhouses, not with condo towers, and that is the comparison set I would use.

If you are weighing a suite here, use the sale data on this page and my building sold report, then adjust for terrace size, parking, and the age of the furnace and air conditioner. A suite with recently replaced mechanicals is worth more than one with original equipment.

Building specifications

Amenities at Aerodrome Crescent

There is no gym, pool or concierge here, and that is typical for stacked townhouses. What you get is underground parking, visitor parking and the right to barbecue on your own terrace, which for most buyers in this format matters more than a party room.

Jatin’s honest take on Aerodrome Crescent

Aerodrome Crescent — 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.