Argento Condos, 18 Graydon Hall Dr: A Tridel Tower Above the Don Valley

Argento is the building I show buyers who want a Tridel name and a ravine-edge setting without paying Yonge Street prices. It sits on Graydon Hall Drive, a quiet pocket between York Mills and Don Mills that most people only know from the Parkway exit signs. The trade-off is that you will drive more than you walk, and I want you to know that going in. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Tridel building on the Graydon Hall plateau

UrbanToronto describes the site as a raised plateau above the Don River ravine. The area was farmland, and a grist mill once stood on the river where the Donalda Club golf course is today. That history explains the setting: the land around you is golf course, ravine and older apartment towers, not a retail strip.

The street takes its name from Graydon Hall, a Georgian-style manor built in 1936 for the financier Henry Rupert Bain, now a well-known wedding and event venue. The 1865 David Duncan House, now a restaurant, is also close by. It is one of the few corners of North York where the backdrop is genuinely green rather than parking lots.

Tridel built Argento as infill on underused open land inside an older tower-in-the-park community, according to UrbanToronto. Rafael + Bigauskas Architects designed it, with interiors and amenity spaces by Hefele Makowka and landscaping by NAK Design Group. Del Property Management, Tridel’s sister company, is listed as manager, which in my experience usually means a manager that already knows the building’s systems.

The numbers don’t agree, so check them

Here is something I want buyers to see before they read a single listing. Condos.ca lists 29 storeys and 319 suites with registration in November 2018. UrbanToronto lists 24 storeys and 275 suites, about 74 metres tall, and reported first residents moving in during late 2015. It also mentions 12 townhouses at street level, without saying whether they are counted in the 275.

Floor counts sometimes include mechanical or amenity levels, and the townhouses may explain part of the suite gap, but I cannot confirm either. The declaration for TSCC-2690 settles it. The three-year gap between first occupancy and the 2018 registration is also worth noting: ask whether any early-years warranty items were dealt with, and how the first reserve fund study was set.

Layouts: efficient one- and two-bedroom plans

Condos.ca puts suites at about 525 to 1,396 square feet. Most of what comes to market is a one-bedroom, a one-plus-den or a two-bedroom in the 500 to 800 square foot range, which is typical of a 2010s Tridel tower aimed at first buyers and downsizers.

The larger plans at the top of the range are much rarer. If you are downsizing from a house in Don Mills or Parkwoods and need a real dining area and a second bathroom, expect to wait for the right suite rather than choose from several.

The raised site is the hidden feature. UrbanToronto noted that the downtown skyline is visible from as low as the second floor. Even so, ask which side a suite faces, valley and golf course or the neighbouring towers, because that is often where the price difference between two similar plans comes from.

UrbanToronto reported 12 townhouses at street level beneath the tower. Grade-level suites with their own front doors are a different product from the tower suites: more privacy and outdoor space, but often higher fees and more exposure to the street and to landscaping work.

If you are considering one of the townhouses, ask how it is treated in the declaration. Check which parts of the terrace, the front entry and any private outdoor space are exclusive-use common elements, and who pays to maintain them.

Daily life on Graydon Hall Drive

This is a car-first location. The Don Valley Parkway and York Mills Road are close, which makes downtown and the 401 straightforward by car, but daily errands usually mean a short drive to the plazas on Don Mills Road or to Shops at Don Mills.

What you get in return is quiet. Graydon Hall Drive is a residential street of apartment towers rather than a commercial strip, and the ravine and golf lands limit how much can be built on parts of the edge. The transit, school and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

Pricing: about $724 a foot, with fees near $1.00

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $724 per square foot. That is well below the Yonge corridor at York Mills and in line with other newer towers near Don Mills and Eglinton, which is the comparison I would make for a buyer weighing a Tridel name against location.

Across the current listings asking prices ranged from $409,900 to $635,000 and monthly fees from about $543 to $816. Active fees work out to roughly $1.00 per square foot, which is on the higher side for a building of this age.

Because condos.ca does not list what the fee covers, I cannot tell you whether heat, water or parking are bundled. Get the fee breakdown from the status certificate before you compare Argento with a neighbour, and ask me for a building sold report to see what similar suites have actually traded for.

Building specifications

Amenities at Argento Condos

Condos.ca lists a concierge, a gym, a party room and visitor parking, and UrbanToronto adds a theatre, a yoga studio, steam rooms, a guest suite and a ground-floor terrace of about 4,000 square feet with barbecues. There is no pool, which keeps operating costs down, and the terrace is the space owners actually use in summer.

Jatin’s honest take on Argento Condos

Argento Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at York Mills, Don Mills, Lawrence Park, Bathurst Manor and midtown-north Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.