Northern Mews, 1 Duplex Ave: 30 Large Suites Steps Off Yonge and Finch

Northern Mews is the kind of building most buyers drive past without noticing: three storeys, 30 suites, tucked onto Duplex Avenue a block off Yonge near Finch. What it offers is rare on this stretch of North York, which is space. The smallest suites start at about the size where most new towers stop. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A low-rise built by an insurance company

The developer on record is unusual. North American Life Assurance Company was a Toronto life insurer founded in 1879 that later merged with Manufacturers Life to form Manulife. In 1984 it opened the North American Life Centre at 5650 and 5700 Yonge Street, on the site where Lester B. Pearson was born, so Northern Mews went up within sight of its owner’s own office complex.

That matters less for construction quality than you might think. An insurer would have hired a builder to do the work, and I could not find who that was or who designed the building. What it does tell you is that this was planned as a long-hold, conservative project, not a fast-flip tower, and the scale reflects that.

You will also see the name written two ways. Condos.ca lists it as “Norhern Mews”, which looks like a typo for Northern Mews. If you are searching listings or ordering documents, try both spellings and use the corporation number, MTCC-788, to be sure you have the right building.

The timing explains a lot. The Globe and Mail’s history of Toronto condos describes the 1980s as a boom with a wave of upscale suites, ending when the market crashed in 1989. Northern Mews was registered in mid-1988, near the top of that cycle, and its generous suite sizes reflect a time when condos were being pitched to people leaving houses rather than to investors buying small units to rent.

Big suites in a building of 30

Condos.ca puts suite sizes at roughly 1,025 to 2,058 square feet. In a neighbourhood where new towers on Yonge sell one-bedrooms under 600 square feet, that is a different product entirely. Even the smallest suites here are in the range of a generous modern two-bedroom.

Large suites in a small, three-storey building tend to attract owner-occupiers who stay for years: downsizers coming out of a house in Willowdale, couples who need a home office and families who want a condo without a tower. When I checked there was one suite for sale and none for rent, which fits that pattern of low turnover.

Low turnover is a strength and a limitation. It usually means a stable, owner-run community. It also means there are very few recent comparable sales, so pricing a suite here takes more judgement than in a 400-suite tower where something trades every month.

What the fee covers, and what it means at this size

Condos.ca lists air conditioning, common elements, heat, building insurance and water in the fee. Having both heating and cooling covered is valuable in large suites, because those are exactly the bills that climb with square footage. Hydro is the main cost not on the list, and parking is not shown as included, so confirm how parking is held and whether there is a separate charge.

Expect the monthly fee to look high in absolute terms. Fees are set by suite share, and big suites carry big shares. The fairer comparison is fee per square foot against what you would pay to heat, cool and insure a house of the same size.

In a 30-suite corporation, every major repair is shared among very few owners. A new roof, window replacement or garage work can be a heavy line item when divided 30 ways. That is why the reserve fund study matters more here than almost anywhere else.

Living a block off Yonge

Duplex Avenue runs parallel to Yonge on the west side, so you are close to everything on the Yonge corridor without living on it. Groceries, restaurants, banks and the cluster of offices at Yonge and Finch are a short walk. The data panel on this page shows the transit options and distances.

The surrounding area is changing. Yonge north of Sheppard has filled in with towers over the last 20 years and more are planned along the corridor. A three-storey building on a side street gives you a quieter daily life than those towers, but expect cranes and construction traffic around you for years to come.

How to think about price here

With 30 suites and very little turnover, I would not lean on a building average at Northern Mews. When I checked, only one suite was listed for sale, so there is no meaningful asking range to quote, and recent sales are thin. The TRREB figures in the panel on this page are the place to start.

The better way to value a suite here is per square foot against other large-format condos and townhouses in Newtonbrook and Willowdale, then adjusted for what the fee includes. Because suites start above 1,000 square feet, the total price can look high next to a tower one-bedroom while the price per square foot is well below new construction on Yonge.

If you want a proper comparison, my building sold report pulls the recent sales for this address and the nearby buildings that compete with it.

Building specifications

Amenities at Northern Mews

This is not an amenity building. There is no gym, pool or concierge on record, which keeps costs focused on the suites and the structure. Condos.ca flags a pet restriction, so read the declaration and rules before you commit if you have a dog or cat.

Jatin’s honest take on Northern Mews

Northern Mews — 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.