The Brownstones, 220 McRae Dr: Eight 4-Storey Executive Towns in Leaside

The Brownstones is the smallest condominium I write about in Leaside, and the homes are among the largest. There are only eight of them, each four storeys and around 2,800 square feet, with a private rooftop patio, on the corner of McRae and Sutherland. You are buying a house-sized home with a condo’s shared costs, and a market of almost no comparables. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Eight homes on a former service-station corner

The Brownstones replaced an auto service centre at the corner of McRae Drive and Sutherland Drive, a short walk west of Laird Drive. That is a typical Leaside story: a small commercial lot on a mixed block turned into family housing, at a time when most new supply in midtown was towers.

Impressions Group, a Richmond Hill developer, launched the project in 2016 as a limited collection of eight executive townhomes. It was a long road from launch to registration. UrbanToronto shows the project complete in 2022, and the condominium corporation was registered in November 2023, which is when condos.ca dates the building.

Eight homes is about as small as a condominium gets. Every decision, from snow clearing to a roof repair, is shared among eight owners. That keeps the community tight and the meetings short, but it also means each owner carries an eighth of any major bill.

Four storeys and about 2,800 square feet

Peter Higgins Architect designed the homes as four-storey townhouses, about 48 feet tall. Plans are three- and four-bedroom models of up to about 2,900 square feet, and condos.ca lists a size of about 2,835 square feet. That is the space of a detached Leaside house, arranged vertically.

Each home has a private rooftop patio, and the marketing showed it with wood finishes looking out over the neighbourhood’s tree canopy. The main living level opens onto a balcony. In a part of Leaside where most freehold houses have yards but few have a roof deck, that is a real difference.

The original interiors featured marble on the kitchen backsplash and a waterfall island, stainless steel appliances, and bathrooms with marble-pattern floors, a glass shower and a soaker tub. Finishes will now vary by owner, but the base standard was set for the executive buyer the name suggests.

Four floors means stairs, and a lot of them. Ask whether the home you are looking at has an elevator or the rough-in for one, because that decides whether it suits you for the next twenty years or only the next five.

The Laird and Sutherland pocket of Leaside

McRae and Sutherland sit in the part of Leaside close to Laird Drive, a mixed block of houses and commercial uses. Laird is the shopping and service street for this side of the neighbourhood, and the quiet residential streets of Leaside start a block or two away.

The bigger change nearby is the Eglinton Crosstown line, which runs along Eglinton to the north. UrbanToronto noted when the project launched that new density was planned along the Crosstown corridor, and that is still the direction of travel. Expect more mid-rise and tower development near Eglinton and Laird over the life of your ownership.

For a family, the daily reality here is house-style living with condo-style upkeep. Parks, schools and transit details are in the panel beside this review.

What it means to own one of eight

In a corporation this small, the board is effectively most of the owners. Someone has to chair meetings, approve the budget and deal with the property manager, and with eight homes that someone may be you. Ask the seller how often the board meets and how decisions get made.

The reserve fund is also small in absolute terms. A roof or membrane repair across a four-storey row of eight homes is shared by eight households, so a healthy fund matters more here than in a large building. Ask when the first reserve fund study was done, what it projects for the next ten years, and whether the contribution has been set realistically.

Insurance is the other piece. Find out what the corporation’s policy covers, where the line falls between common elements and your own home, and what you need to insure yourself. In a townhouse condo, roofs, exterior walls and rooftop patios can sit on either side of that line depending on the declaration.

Pricing eight homes against the Leaside house market

Condos.ca shows a building average of about $687 per square foot. That looks low next to Leaside condo apartments, but it is the wrong comparison. At roughly 2,800 square feet, these homes compete with Leaside semis and detached houses, not with one-bedroom condos.

When the project launched in 2016, pricing started at about $1.5 million. Leaside values have moved a great deal since then, so treat that only as history. With eight homes, there may be no resale at all in a given year, and any single sale says little about the next one.

On fees, ask for the current budget and the fee for the specific home. Condos.ca does not list what it includes, and in an eight-home complex the fee mainly funds insurance, the reserve fund, management and shared exterior upkeep. A low fee is only good news if the reserve fund study supports it.

Price it against nearby freehold houses of similar size, adjusting for the yard you give up and the rooftop and lower upkeep you gain. There were no active listings in the data I reviewed. I can put together a building sold report that sets the available sales here against Leaside freehold trades.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Brownstones of Leaside

There is no shared amenity floor, and condos.ca’s amenity list for this complex, which includes coin laundry and a dining room, does not match an eight-home townhouse development, so I would treat it as a data error. The real amenities are private: your own rooftop patio, balcony and storage.

Jatin’s honest take on The Brownstones of Leaside

The Brownstones of Leaside — 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.