Woodbine Mews, 155 Woodbine Ave: 10 Brick Townhomes Near Woodbine Beach

Woodbine Mews is about as close to a freehold house as a condo gets: ten brick townhomes from 1980, tucked onto a quiet lane off Woodbine Avenue south of Queen, a short walk from Toronto’s largest beach. The homes are large and the corporation is tiny, and both facts drive everything I would tell you to check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Ten homes, one corporation

With ten homes, YCC-527 is one of the smallest condominium corporations I have written about. That shapes ownership more than anything else. Every repair to a shared roof, the parking garage, the paving or the grounds is split ten ways, and the board is drawn from a handful of neighbours.

Small corporations like this can work very well. Owners tend to stay for years, know each other and look after the place. But there is no cushion. One large repair can mean a big jump in fees or a special assessment, and if one owner falls behind on fees, that is a tenth of the budget.

Condos.ca lists City Sites Property Management, so the corporation appears to have professional management, which helps with record-keeping and the status certificate. I could not find a developer, an architect or any press coverage of the original project. The declaration will name the original declarant.

Large, house-like homes

Condos.ca records a single storey, which is how it counts low-rise projects. A recent listing described something quite different: an all-brick townhome over three storeys plus a basement, with an open main floor, a double-height living room opening to a private patio, three bedrooms and roughly 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. That is the size of many Beaches semis. I would not assume every home matches it; ask for the plan of the home you are considering.

Because the homes are this large, they are often bought by families who would otherwise be shopping for a freehold house. The appeal is the house-like layout and outdoor space, with shared maintenance on the lane, the garage and, depending on the declaration, parts of the exterior.

Ask for the declaration’s schedule of responsibilities before you assume what the corporation covers. In a complex this small, owners sometimes handle more of their own exterior than in a larger corporation, and that changes what the fee is buying.

Garages, visitor parking and the fee

Condos.ca lists a parking garage and visitor parking, and a recent listing described a private garage plus a surface space with the home. Two spaces, if your home has them, are rare south of Queen in the Beaches, where street parking is tight in summer. Confirm the parking that comes with the specific home and whether it is owned or exclusive-use.

Condos.ca does not publish a fee inclusion list for YCC-527, and with one home listed when I prepared this page, I will not quote a fee. In a townhouse complex of this era, owners usually pay their own heat and hydro. Ask for the budget, the status certificate and a year of utility bills.

Look at how fees have moved over the last five years and how the reserve fund compares with the next 10 years of planned work. In a ten-home corporation, that table tells you more about future costs than the fee you see today.

South of Queen, near the beach

The complex sits on a quiet, tree-lined lane off Woodbine Avenue, south of Queen Street East. Queen’s shops, cafes and pubs are a short walk north. To the south is Woodbine Beach, at 15.2 hectares the largest beach in Toronto, with the boardwalk, the Martin Goodman Trail and the Donald D. Summerville Olympic outdoor pool beside it. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks with distances.

Living this close to the lake means a busy summer. Woodbine Beach and Ashbridge’s Bay draw big crowds on warm weekends and for events such as the Victoria Day fireworks. Visit on a summer Saturday before you commit, so you know what the traffic and parking pressure feel like.

Woodbine Avenue is a busy road, so ask how close the home you are considering is to it, and listen from the bedrooms.

The Queen and Woodbine area has been through a lot of change over the past 30 years, with the former racetrack lands to the west long since rebuilt as homes and parkland. Today it is a settled, family neighbourhood, and the south side of Queen between Woodbine and the lake is one of the most sought-after pockets of the Beaches.

Pricing a condo that competes with houses

Condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot for Woodbine Mews, and with ten homes, sales are rare. One home was listed for sale at the time of writing, which is not enough for a range. Use the 12-month sold figures in the data panel above, and expect long gaps between listings.

I price homes here against freehold semis and row houses in the south Beaches more than against condos. At around 1,800 square feet with a garage, a home here competes with a house. It should come in below a comparable freehold home to reflect the fee and shared decisions, but the gap is narrower than for a smaller condo townhouse.

For recent trades in the area, ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Woodbine Mews

Condos.ca lists a parking garage, visitor parking and barbecues as permitted. The real amenities are outside the gate: the beach, the boardwalk and the Olympic pool are all within a short walk. In a ten-home complex, skipping shared facilities is a strength: nothing on the budget pays for rooms that few owners would use.

Jatin’s honest take on Woodbine Mews

Woodbine Mews — 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.