The East Yorker, 280 Donlands Ave: A Non-Profit Condo at Cosburn

The East Yorker was not built to make a developer rich. A non-profit put up this 105-suite building at Donlands and Cosburn with a down-payment assistance program aimed at first-time buyers, and handed its ground floor to a community agency. That origin still shapes who lives here and what you should check before buying. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built by a non-profit, for first-time buyers

The developer was Neighbourhood Concepts, a non-profit corporation, with Home Ownership Alternatives as lead investor. The project announcement described it as their first partnership and set out who it was for: buyers earning under about $50,000 a year, helped with a down payment in the form of a second mortgage that carried no principal or interest payments until the suite was resold.

That is unusual in a Toronto condo, and it matters on resale. Some original owners may still have that second mortgage registered against their suite, which is normally repaid out of the sale proceeds. As a buyer, that is the seller’s obligation, but your lawyer should confirm it is discharged on closing.

I also ask whether any affordability conditions, resale restrictions or rights of first refusal were written into the declaration or registered on title. I have not seen any reported for this building, and I am not suggesting they exist. On a building with this history, it is simply the first thing I want answered in writing.

WoodGreen on the ground floor

The base of the building holds a community space of about 6,000 square feet for WoodGreen Community Services; the original release tied it to WoodGreen’s East York Rotary Neighbourhood House. So the street level here is a community agency rather than shops or a lobby café.

For residents, that means daytime activity at the corner and programs for the neighbourhood, and quieter evenings once the space closes. It also means the building is mixed-use. Ask how the non-residential space is held, who pays for what in shared systems such as the roof, garage and mechanical equipment, and whether a shared facilities agreement governs it.

The site plan application covered 272 to 280 Donlands and two lots on Cosburn, and a forum discussion at the time described the old frontage as a 1950s commercial building. To the south sits Blair Court, a seniors’ supportive housing building from the mid-1980s on the former Donlands Dairy site, so this is a block with a long community-housing character.

Smaller suites, and some numbers that don’t agree

Condos.ca lists suites from about 535 to 988 square feet; UrbanToronto gives roughly 500 to 900. Either way, this is a building of one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and compact two-bedrooms. If you need a true family-size suite, you will find very little here.

The published figures also disagree on height. Condos.ca lists 11 storeys, UrbanToronto and the marketing material say 12, and the original application described an 11-storey building that the developer’s release called ten and a half. The early application also proposed 134 units before the final count settled at 105. None of this changes what you buy, but it explains why listings describe the building differently.

The exterior is glass and precast panels, contemporary but modest, which is how the developer pitched it. The 2010 site plan called for 105 parking spaces, 99 of them on two levels below grade, which lines up with parking being included in the fee.

Daily life at Donlands and Cosburn

This is East York, not the Danforth strip. Cosburn is a residential and small-office corridor, with the daycare, schools and local hospital the original marketing pointed to, and the shops and restaurants of the Danforth a short trip south. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and distances.

Change is coming in small doses rather than towers. In 2021 Busta Ventures applied to replace the Beer Store at Donlands and O’Connor with a seven-storey, 73-unit mixed-use building designed by TACT Architecture. That is the scale East York is growing at along its main roads, which tends to protect the low-rise feel of the side streets.

For an owner here, that has two sides. Your views are less likely to be blocked by a tower next door, and the streets around you stay house-lined and family-oriented. But mid-rise projects along Donlands and O’Connor will add new suites that compete with yours on resale, often with newer finishes. Check what is proposed within a few blocks before you buy, and expect your suite’s appeal to rest on its fee structure, its parking and its price rather than on being the newest thing on the street.

What the East Yorker trades at

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $716 per square foot. That sits below newer condos closer to the Danforth and the Bloor-Danforth line, which is what you would expect for a ten-year-old mid-size building on Cosburn with compact suites.

There were no suites listed for sale or lease when I prepared this page, so I cannot give a current asking range or a fee per square foot from live listings. What I can say is that the fee covers heat, air conditioning, water and parking, with hydro on your own bill. Compare it against buildings that charge separately for parking and heat before you decide it is high or low.

With a small building and few listings at any time, timing matters. Ask me for the building sold report to see recent trades as aggregates before you make an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at The East Yorker

There is no pool or concierge, and that keeps the fee focused on the basics. The rooftop deck with barbecues is the amenity people actually use here; the party, rec and meeting rooms are useful for a building of this size without being a reason to buy.

Jatin’s honest take on The East Yorker

The East Yorker — 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.