St. Gabriel Terraces, 650 Sheppard Ave E: Baghai Mid-Rise by the Church

St. Gabriel Terraces is the low building in front of the towers at Bayview and Sheppard, and that is exactly why some of my buyers like it. It is a seven-storey Shane Baghai mid-rise from 2009, part of a master plan that paid for a new parish church, and it gives you a quieter, smaller-building life two minutes from Bayview Village. The catch is the monthly fee, and I will walk you through whether it is worth it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A condo that paid for a church

The backstory matters here. The Passionist fathers at St. Gabriel’s owned roughly three hectares at Bayview and Sheppard, and to fund a new church they sold most of the land to Shane Baghai, according to The Globe and Mail’s coverage of the project. The new church, designed by Larkin Architect, went up on the northern part of the site, and the condominiums went up along Sheppard.

Baghai built the site in phases. UrbanToronto and SkyriseCities forum records describe St. Gabriel Terraces as Building A, alongside the two St. Gabriel Village towers, the eight-storey St. Gabriel Manor as the final phase, and the St. Gabriel Lanes townhouses behind. So when you buy here, you are buying into one planned community rather than a lone building on an arterial road.

The design is traditional, with a beige, precast look that forum members have argued about for years. Some find it dated; others point to the balcony details and the landscaping. Fifteen years on, visitors to those threads describe the exteriors as well maintained, which is the part that actually matters at resale.

Why seven storeys changes daily life

With 169 suites on seven floors, this is a much smaller community than the towers next door. You share the lobby, the elevators and the rooftop with far fewer people, and the building feels calmer than most of the newer Sheppard East towers. For buyers downsizing from a house nearby, that scale is usually the attraction.

The suites cover a wide range, from about 430 sq ft at the small end to about 1,350 sq ft. That spread means you can find a compact one-bedroom for a first purchase, a one-bedroom plus den, two-bedrooms, and at least some three-bedroom plans. The top floor is marketed as penthouse level, though on a seven-storey building that means a better view of the neighbourhood, not a skyline.

The trade-off of a mid-rise on Sheppard is that the suites facing the street hear Sheppard. If you are sensitive to traffic noise, ask for a suite on the quieter side of the building, and visit at rush hour before you commit.

The fee question, honestly

This is the building’s sore point. When I checked, the active listings showed fees around $1.38 per square foot, which is high for North York, and buyers on the UrbanToronto thread raised the fee level years ago. A small mid-rise spreads the cost of staff, the roof, the garage and the elevators across fewer owners, and that shows up on every monthly statement.

The fee does cover more than many newer buildings: common elements, heat, building insurance, parking and water. In a newer tower, parking is often a separate monthly charge and heat runs on your own meter, so before you compare, add those back onto the cheaper-looking building. The gap narrows, but in my view it does not close entirely here.

Hydro is not listed as an inclusion, so plan for your own electricity bill. And because fees here are already high, I want to know how they have moved over the last five years and what the reserve fund study says about the next ten.

Living at Bayview and Sheppard

The daily appeal is simple: Bayview Village Shopping Centre, with its grocery store, restaurants and shops, is a short walk west, and the established houses of Bayview Village sit just beyond. The Sheppard line runs under this stretch; the panel beside this review shows the nearest station and walking time.

Sheppard East has filled in with towers over the past two decades, and more applications keep coming along the corridor. If you are buying a suite with an open view, check the City of Toronto’s development applications map first, because the next building on the strip can change your light.

Because the Terraces shares a site with the church and three other Baghai buildings, the land behind the Sheppard frontage is a church, its grounds and a lane of townhouses rather than more towers. That is a planned, settled block, and it is unlikely to be redeveloped in the way an open parking lot next door could be.

What St. Gabriel Terraces costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $729 per square foot. That sits below most of the newer towers on Sheppard East, which is what I would expect for a 2009 mid-rise with traditional finishes and high fees. The fee load is part of why the price per square foot is lower: buyers price the monthly cost in.

When I checked, five suites were for sale and none for lease. Asking prices across those listings ran from $489,000 to roughly $900,000, rising with size. Monthly fees on those listings ran from about $830 to about $1,770.

For what has actually sold, look at my building sold report rather than relying on asking prices. With a building this size, a handful of trades a year is normal, so compare per square foot and adjust for the floor and the direction the suite faces.

Building specifications

Amenities at St. Gabriel Terraces

The amenity package is modest and suits the building: a concierge, a rooftop deck, a party room and meeting room, and a sauna. You are not paying for a pool or a big fitness floor here, so if those matter to you, look at the larger towers on the same strip.

Jatin’s honest take on St. Gabriel Terraces

St. Gabriel Terraces — 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.