Spectrum South Tower, 30 Harrison Garden Blvd: Menkes Tower at Sheppard

Spectrum South Tower is one of the towers that turned the Avondale pocket behind Yonge and Sheppard into a condo neighbourhood. It is a 2002 Menkes building with a wide spread of suite sizes, a full-time concierge and parking in the fee, and it currently prices below the newer towers around it. The fee per square foot is the number I would look at hardest. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Menkes tower from the first wave of Avondale

Harrison Garden Boulevard is a short loop of towers east of Yonge Street and south of Sheppard Avenue. Most of what stands on it went up in the late 1990s and 2000s, and Spectrum is part of that first wave. The South Tower at 30 Harrison Garden was completed in 2002, and a second Menkes tower, Spectrum Condos at 28 Harrison Garden, followed in 2003 as a separate corporation.

The developer was Menkes, one of the larger and longer-established condominium builders in the GTA. I could not find a reliable published source for the architect, so I have left that out of the specifications. If it matters to you, the original disclosure documents are the place to look.

At 27 storeys and 267 suites, this is a mid-sized tower by today’s Yonge and Sheppard standards. Newer buildings around the intersection, such as Hullmark Centre at the corner itself, climb into the 30s and 40s. That difference shows up in the lobby, which is busy but not crowded, and in the elevator wait, which you should test at 8 a.m. before you buy.

From 465-square-foot one-bedrooms to 1,587-square-foot family suites

Condos.ca records suites from about 465 to 1,587 square feet. That is a wider range than most towers of this age, and it means the building serves two very different buyers: investors and first-time buyers in compact one-bedrooms, and families or downsizers in the large two-bedroom-plus-den and three-bedroom plans on the bigger end.

The current listings show how that plays out. They include a one-bedroom under 500 square feet, a one-plus-den in the 600s, and two-bedrooms from the 700s to the 800s and up. If you are looking at the larger suites, ask for the floor plan early; 2002 plans often put more space into dining areas and hallways than a new building would, which is good for furniture and less good for the price per square foot.

Ceiling heights are not published anywhere I could verify. For a tower of this age, expect standard heights rather than the 9-foot ceilings newer buildings advertise, and confirm on the viewing.

What the fee covers, and why I would look at it twice

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, parking and water as included. Heat and hydro are not on that list, so plan to pay your own utilities. Ask how the suite is heated and cooled and how old that equipment is, because in a 2002 tower those systems are reaching the age where owners start replacing them.

Across the current listings, the fee works out to about $0.94 per square foot. That is on the high side for a building whose fee does not include heat or hydro. By comparison, the Mansions of Avondale across the street lists heat, hydro and air conditioning in its fee as well as parking. A higher fee is not automatically a red flag; it can mean a well-funded reserve and a building that is keeping up with repairs. But it is the question to answer before you make an offer.

Ask for the last three years of budgets and the most recent reserve fund study. You want to see whether the fee has risen steadily or jumped, and what large projects are planned over the next decade, such as elevators, windows and balcony doors, the garage and the amenity areas.

The daily reality of the Avondale pocket

Harrison Garden sits on the quieter side of Yonge and Sheppard. The towers face a short internal street rather than Yonge itself, which keeps the front doors off the main road even this close to the intersection, and the Sheppard-Yonge subway interchange is within walking distance. The data panel on this page has the exact transit details.

Groceries just changed. The Whole Foods at Hullmark Centre on the southeast corner of Yonge and Sheppard closed in 2025, and a No Frills opened in the same space in September 2026. A Food Basics is across Yonge, south of Sheppard. For a building like this, a discount grocer at the corner is a practical improvement.

Yonge Street itself may change over the next few years. The City’s Transform Yonge project, approved in 2020 for the stretch from Sheppard to Finch, is being reassessed in a feasibility study, with findings expected in early 2027. Related work, including the Doris Avenue and Beecroft Road extensions, is being advanced first. That work is mostly north of this building, but it will shape the main street you use every day.

Pricing: below the newer towers, with real choice

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $704 per square foot. That is close to the Mansions of Avondale across the street at about $721, and below what newer towers at the corner of Yonge and Sheppard tend to ask. You are paying for a 2002 building, and the discount reflects that.

Six suites were listed at the time of writing, asking from about $440,000 to about $780,000. The two-bedrooms in the 700 to 899 square foot range sit between about $549,000 and $619,000. That spread across suite types is useful; it means there are comparables inside the building rather than just across the street.

Fees on those listings run from about $420 to about $1,100 a month, or roughly $0.94 per square foot, with parking included. When you compare total monthly cost against a newer tower, add back a parking charge there and the gap narrows. When you compare against the Mansions of Avondale, add back heat and hydro here, and it widens.

For a pricing view grounded in what has actually sold rather than what is asked, see the sale data on this page or request my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Spectrum Residences South Tower

The amenity package is the standard one for a 2002 tower: a concierge and security guard at the front, a gym and sauna, a party room and meeting room, and guest suites for visiting family. There is no pool listed, which keeps one large capital cost out of the reserve fund. Condos.ca also tags the building with a pet restriction, so read the rules before you bring a dog.

Jatin’s honest take on Spectrum Residences South Tower

Spectrum Residences South Tower — 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.