The Paramount, 39 Pemberton Ave: Hydro and Heat Included at Yonge & Finch

The Paramount is one of the few buildings in this part of North York where the fee covers almost every utility, hydro included. That makes the monthly number look high, and it is the reason I tell buyers to do the arithmetic before they dismiss it. It is a 1997 mid-rise on a quiet side street off Yonge, and its twin, The Plaza, stands right beside it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Pemberton Avenue: a street of 1990s condos

Pemberton Avenue is lined with condominiums built in a short burst in the late 1990s. The Park Palace buildings at 8, 18 and 28 Pemberton date from 1996, The Paramount and The Plaza at 39 and 29 Pemberton from 1997, and the two Park Lane towers at 1 and 3 Pemberton from 1999.

The Paramount and The Plaza are clearly a pair. They were registered three days apart in October 1997 as consecutive corporations, MTCC-1164 and MTCC-1165, and they share the same property manager and the same fee structure. Condos.ca credits The Plaza to Pemberton Group but does not name a developer for The Paramount, so I am not going to state one as fact.

Being a block off Yonge rather than on it makes the street calmer than its location suggests. You are close to one of the busiest intersections in the north end of the city, but not facing it.

Larger suites than its twin

The two buildings look alike from the street, but they are built for different buyers. Condos.ca lists suites at The Paramount from about 587 to 1,570 square feet, while The Plaza tops out at about 982. The Paramount is the one with the larger two-bedroom and two-plus-den plans.

That difference shows in the price per square foot. Larger suites usually sell for less per square foot than small ones, which is a big part of why The Paramount averages well below The Plaza, even though they share a birth year and a fee package.

Suites from this era often have separate kitchens and defined dining areas rather than the open, compact plans of a new tower. Buyers moving from a house often find that easier to live with, but check each floor plan.

What an all-inclusive fee really means

Condos.ca lists air conditioning, common elements, heat, hydro, building insurance, parking and water as included. Hydro in particular is rare. In most buildings near Yonge and Finch, hydro is metered to each suite and paid separately, so a lower fee elsewhere is not the bargain it seems.

The catch is that you do not control those costs. When the building’s electricity or gas bill rises, the corporation’s budget rises, and so does your fee. Ask how the fee has changed over the last few years, and look at the utility line in the budget in the status certificate.

Bulk-metered buildings also have no direct price signal for each suite, so usage across the building affects everyone. Some older corporations have looked at sub-metering to deal with that; ask whether this board has discussed it.

Buying in an older building with bulk utilities

When the fee covers heat and hydro, the corporation’s budget carries the energy bill for every suite, including the ones that leave their air conditioning running all summer. That shared cost is part of what you are buying, and it is why fee history matters more here than in a building where each suite pays its own way.

Before you make an offer, ask for the last three years of the corporation’s budget and look at three things: the utility line, the reserve fund contribution and the fee change from year to year. If the reserve contribution has been held down to keep fees flat, that is a warning sign. If it has been rising steadily, that is usually a sign of a board planning ahead.

None of this is unusual for a building from 1997. It simply means the paperwork deserves an hour of your time before you fall in love with the floor plan.

Yonge and Finch is about to change

The bigger change on the horizon is the Yonge North Subway Extension. Metrolinx is extending Line 1 north from Finch Station by about eight kilometres into York Region, and early works at Finch began in 2023. Expect construction activity around the station for years, and a busier transit hub when it opens.

For an owner on Pemberton, that probably means more investment and more density on Yonge over time. The transit, schools and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

About $598 a square foot, and a fee that replaces your bills

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $598 per square foot, a little above Park Palace at 8 Pemberton at about $585 and well below The Plaza next door at about $738 and Park Lane at about $714. The low figure here reflects the larger suites as much as anything else.

There was only one suite listed for sale when I checked, so there is no meaningful asking range to quote. Four suites were listed for rent. Use the recorded sales in the data panel rather than a single listing to judge value.

When you compare fees, add hydro, heat and air conditioning costs back onto any building that does not include them. Once you do that, the fee here often looks a lot more reasonable than the headline number.

If you are comparing The Paramount with The Plaza next door, remember that the fee packages are the same but the suite sizes are not. On a price-per-square-foot basis The Paramount is cheaper, but on total price a small suite at The Plaza may still be the lower entry point.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Paramount

The amenity list is practical rather than flashy: a concierge, a security guard, a gym, bike storage and visitor parking. Most of the value here is in the fee package and the suite sizes, not in the amenity floor.

Jatin’s honest take on The Paramount

The Paramount — 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.