Vogue Condominiums, 7 Bishop Ave: All-Inclusive Fees at Yonge & Finch

Vogue at 7 Bishop Avenue is one of the lowest price-per-square-foot buildings I track at the top of the Yonge corridor, and the reason is not hard to find. It is a 1990 tower with an all-inclusive fee, so you pay less up front and more every month. For the right buyer that trade is a good one, and for others it is a reason to keep looking. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1990 tower, and why that matters here

Vogue went up at the very end of the late-1980s condo wave in North York. It was registered in March 1990 under the old Metropolitan Toronto numbering, MTCC-878, which tells you it predates the 1998 amalgamation that created the TSCC corporations most buyers see on newer buildings.

The builder was Penta-Stolp Corporation. I could not find an architect credited in the sources I checked, and there is very little written about the building’s design. What I can say is that it reflects its era: a single concrete tower with a full recreation floor, larger suites than anything being built today, and a fee structure in which the corporation pays the utilities.

Age cuts both ways. A building of this vintage has a long track record you can actually read, with decades of board minutes and several reserve fund studies. It also means the expensive, once-a-generation work (windows, balcony repairs, garage membrane, elevator modernisation, mechanical plant) is either recently done, under way, or still ahead. Which of those applies is the single most important thing to find out.

Bigger suites than you will find in new towers

Condos.ca gives a suite range of roughly 496 to 1,879 square feet. Even the one-bedroom-plus-dens on the market when I checked sat in the 600 to 800 square foot bands, which is the size of many new two-bedrooms. The larger listings were two-bedroom-plus-den plans, the kind of layout downsizers from nearby houses look for.

In older towers like this, the den is often a real room rather than an alcove, and kitchens are usually enclosed rather than lined up along one wall. I could not verify ceiling heights, but buildings of this generation typically have standard heights rather than the nine-foot ceilings newer towers advertise, so walk the suite before you assume it will feel airy.

Expect a wide spread in condition. Some suites will have been fully renovated and others will be close to original. Price an untouched suite with a realistic renovation budget, and ask whether the corporation has rules on flooring underlay, because hard flooring in older buildings is a common source of noise complaints.

Pool, squash and a security desk

The amenity list is classic late-1980s North York: an indoor pool, a sauna, a squash court, a security guard and a building security system, with an underground garage and BBQs permitted. Condos.ca also flags a pet restriction. I could not find the details of that restriction, so read the declaration and rules before you commit if you have a pet.

A squash court is now rare. Almost no new tower builds one, and if you play, having a court an elevator ride away is a real perk. The pool is the bigger financial question. It is pleasant to have and costly to maintain, and in a 1990 building the pool equipment and finishes have almost certainly been replaced at least once, or will need to be.

Yonge and Finch, day to day

Vogue sits on Bishop Avenue, a side street just north-east of Yonge and Finch. That puts you off the main road, so you are not living above the traffic, but close enough that the Yonge strip is your daily shopping street. Being on a side street is the main quality-of-life advantage over the towers that front Yonge directly.

Yonge and Finch is also the end of Line 1 for now, which makes the intersection a busy bus hub. The Yonge North Subway Extension is planned to carry the line north from Finch into York Region, and that work will affect this stretch of Yonge for years before it opens. The data panel on this page shows the current transit options, schools, parks and food nearby.

A low price per square foot, and the fee that explains it

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $561 per square foot. That is well below newer towers further south, such as Minto Gardens at Yonge and Sheppard at about $721, and Cosmo Two on Bales Avenue at about $831. Age explains part of the gap. The rest is the fee.

Active listings were carrying fees of roughly $1.02 per square foot, with monthly fees across the six suites for sale ranging from about $687 to $1,218. That looks high until you read what it covers: condos.ca lists air conditioning, common elements, heat, hydro, building insurance, parking and water. Hydro included is uncommon, and it removes a bill most condo owners pay separately every month.

When I compare Vogue with a newer building, I add back the hydro, heat and parking that the newer building charges separately. The gap narrows, but in most cases a 1990 all-inclusive fee still costs more each month than a newer fee plus utilities. You are trading a lower purchase price for a higher carrying cost, and lenders count that fee when they qualify you.

Asking prices across the six active listings ranged from about $426,000 to $629,000 when I checked. The data panel on this page shows what suites here have actually sold and leased for.

Building specifications

Amenities at Vogue Condominiums

This is a recreation package built for people who use it: a pool, a sauna and a squash court rather than a lounge and a dog wash. It also adds to the operating budget, which is part of why the fee is where it is.

Jatin’s honest take on Vogue Condominiums

Vogue Condominiums — 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.