Residences of the Madison Centre: Big 1988 Suites at Yonge and Sheppard

Residences of the Madison Centre is for the buyer who wants to live right at Yonge and Sheppard but refuses to squeeze into a 550-square-foot box. This 1988 Edilcan tower has no suite under about 940 square feet, and the fee covers hydro, heat, cable and parking. You are paying for space and location, and you are accepting an older building to get them. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Living beside an office complex

The building takes its name from the Madison Centre, the office and retail complex at 4950 Yonge Street on the west side of Yonge just north of Sheppard. Europro, which bought the office building in 2021, describes it as about 445,000 square feet with ground-floor and below-grade retail, a GoodLife Fitness club and direct access to Sheppard-Yonge station.

For a resident, that means the gym, food court and subway connection of a commercial building are next door. I would not assume a private indoor link between the residential tower and the office complex without seeing it, so walk the route yourself and ask the property manager what access residents actually have.

The other side of living beside a business district is that the area is busiest on weekdays. Upper Madison is a short side street rather than Yonge itself, which helps, but expect office traffic, deliveries and lunchtime crowds around the base.

A commercial neighbour also tends to protect the street. Office land is less likely to sit vacant, and the services that office workers support, from coffee shops to dry cleaners and clinics, are useful to residents too. Just check whether any part of the complex is planned for redevelopment, because a long construction project next door would change daily life here.

No small suites

Condos.ca puts the suite range at about 941 to 2,356 square feet. In other words, the smallest suite here is larger than many two-bedrooms in towers built in the last decade around Yonge and Sheppard.

Late-1980s plans usually mean separate kitchens, defined dining rooms, generous bedrooms and real storage. If you are moving from a house and keeping your furniture, that matters more than a sleek finish package. The upper end of the range, past 2,000 square feet, is closer to a bungalow than a condo.

Unrenovated suites will show their age in kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and windows. Budget for that, and look carefully at how the heating and cooling works in the suite you are considering, because replacement costs for in-suite units fall on owners in many buildings.

Ceiling heights in buildings of this era are typically standard rather than lofty, and I could not find a reliable source for the exact figure here. If high ceilings matter to you, measure during the showing rather than relying on a listing description.

An all-inclusive fee, cable included

The fee here includes hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance, parking and even cable TV. That is about as inclusive as Toronto condo fees get, and it is typical of buildings registered in the 1980s.

It makes the monthly number look high. On the two suites listed when I checked, fees were about $832 to $959 a month. Spread over suites that start at about 940 square feet, that is around a dollar a square foot or less, with almost every utility inside it.

The comparison that matters is total monthly cost. In a newer tower at Yonge and Sheppard you would pay a lower fee, then add hydro, internet or cable, and often parking. Do that math for the suite you are considering before deciding this building is expensive to carry.

Squash, an outdoor pool and the Yonge and Sheppard reality

The amenity list is classic 1980s: a squash court, an outdoor pool and a sauna, with a security guard and security system. An outdoor pool is seasonal, so do not buy here expecting year-round swimming; for that, the GoodLife next door or the community centres in North York are the fallback.

Yonge and Sheppard is one of the most connected corners in North York, where Line 1 meets Line 4 Sheppard. Shops and services in the surrounding blocks cover daily needs, and North York Centre is a short trip north. The panel beside this review shows the exact walks.

The area keeps densifying, with tall towers proposed and under way on many blocks near the intersection. Check the City of Toronto development applications map for anything near Upper Madison before you buy, especially if the view from your suite is part of the price.

What the Madison Centre residences cost

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $619 per square foot. That is well below newer towers at Yonge and Sheppard, and it reflects the building’s age, its fee level and the cost of updating original suites. In exchange, you get space that new buildings here rarely offer at any price.

When I checked, two suites were for sale, asking between $698,800 and $749,000, and none were listed for rent. For what has actually sold here, see my building sold report.

Put that figure next to new construction and the gap is wide. Newer towers at Yonge and Sheppard regularly ask far more per square foot for suites a fraction of this size. You give up modern finishes, newer mechanical systems and a fresh warranty, and you gain floor area, an established reserve fund history you can examine, and a track record of resales to price against.

With only a couple of listings at a time, it pays to be patient. If you know which exposure and size you want, I can watch the building for you rather than settling for whatever is available this month.

Building specifications

Amenities at Residences of the Madison Centre

The squash court and outdoor pool are genuine perks for an active owner, though the pool is a summer amenity only. With a full commercial gym in the Madison Centre next door, many residents may not need a large in-building fitness room.

Jatin’s honest take on Residences of the Madison Centre

Residences of the Madison Centre — 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.