Legacy at Heron’s Hill, 30 Heron’s Hill Way: Compact Suites by the 404

Legacy is where the Heron’s Hill community started. It was the first of three Monarch towers built on old strip-plaza and industrial land at Sheppard Avenue East and Highway 404, and it is the smallest of the three. That makes it a building of compact, efficient suites at an entry-level price, with a fee that covers more than you might expect. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first phase of a three-tower community

Heron’s Hill is a three-phase Monarch project designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects. UrbanToronto described Legacy at 25 storeys as phase one, followed by Ultra at 38 storeys and Yorkland at 30 storeys. Buyers began moving into Legacy in spring 2011.

The site was a brownfield. UrbanToronto reported that the towers replaced obsolete strip plazas and industrial buildings at the corner where Highway 404 meets Sheppard. It is a good example of how North York has grown: not on fresh land, but by rebuilding tired commercial corners near highways and transit.

Each tower is its own corporation. Legacy is TSCC-2162, so its budget, reserve fund and board are separate from Ultra and Yorkland, even though the three share a site and a courtyard formed by the podiums. Ask what is shared between the corporations, and how those shared costs are split, before you buy.

A podium on Sheppard, a tower behind it

Legacy has two parts. A five-storey podium arm runs along Sheppard Avenue East, with retail at street level, and the 25-storey tower rises behind it. That is why the building carries two addresses, 30 Heron’s Hill Way and 2035 Sheppard Avenue East.

The podium and tower are different products. Lower podium suites tend to face the street or the courtyard and sit closer to traffic noise, while upper tower suites get the open views. UrbanToronto noted that Fairview Mall is visible across the 404 from the tower. Decide which you want before you start comparing prices.

The retail at the base of the podium is a real plus on a corner that was built around cars. It puts some everyday needs at the foot of the building, and it gives the Sheppard frontage more life than a blank garage wall would. Ask which units are leased and to whom, because commercial tenants in a mixed-use podium can affect noise, garbage handling and loading.

Behind the podium, the Ultra and Yorkland podiums close off the site to form a shared courtyard. That inner space is quieter than the Sheppard side, so courtyard-facing suites can be worth a small premium if traffic noise bothers you.

Suites from 402 to 991 square feet

Condos.ca lists suites from about 402 to 991 square feet. That range is small by North York standards, and it tells you who the building was designed for: first-time buyers, singles, couples and investors, rather than families or downsizers.

At the small end, a 400-square-foot suite is essentially a studio, and it lives very differently from a 600-square-foot one-bedroom with a separate bedroom door. Look at the plan, not only the bedroom count.

Small suites have a resale implication. When the market is soft, investor-heavy buildings can see several similar units listed at once, and they compete with each other on price. If you might sell in the next couple of years, watch how many comparable suites are on the market before you list.

If you need more space, look at Ultra and Yorkland on the same site, which add more storeys and suites, or at older buildings nearby with larger plans. The panel shows what is selling here, so compare like with like.

Living at Sheppard and the 404

For drivers, this is one of the best-connected corners in North York. Highway 404 and the Don Valley Parkway run alongside, and Highway 401 is just to the south. Fairview Mall sits across the highway, and Don Mills station, the eastern end of Line 4, serves the area. The panel beside this review shows the exact transit and walking details.

The trade-off is that the immediate surroundings are a highway interchange and office parks along Yorkland Road and Consumers Road, so this is not a stroll-to-the-café neighbourhood. Most daily errands mean the mall or a short drive. If you work in the office parks nearby or commute downtown by subway, that trade-off is easy to live with.

Price per square foot and what is asking now

Condos.ca puts Legacy’s average at about $773 per square foot. That is a high per-foot figure for a 2011 building on a highway corner, but it is typical of small suites, which always cost more per foot than large ones. Compare it against other compact suites, not against the building average of a block of two-bedrooms.

Two suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking between $359,000 and $474,990, and one suite was listed for lease. That puts Legacy among the more affordable ways to own a condo near a subway station in North York.

Fees on current listings work out to about $0.94 per square foot, and they include heat, air conditioning, water and parking. That last item matters: many compact suites in newer towers come without parking, or charge for it separately. For actual sale results, see the panel or request my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Legacy at Heron’s Hill

Condos.ca lists a concierge, party and meeting rooms, guest suites, a sauna and visitor parking. Ask which facilities belong to Legacy and which are shared with Ultra and Yorkland, because that affects both what you can use and what you pay for.

Jatin’s honest take on Legacy at Heron’s Hill

Legacy at Heron’s Hill — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.