Empire Midtown, 1603 Eglinton Ave W: A 2020 Tower on the Crosstown

Empire Midtown is a bet on Eglinton West that has already partly paid off. It is a 2020 Empire tower at Oakwood, designed by Richmond Architects, with a row of two-storey townhomes tucked behind it on Lanark Avenue, and it was built for the Crosstown long before the trains ran. The question now is what you pay for being early to the corridor. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built for the Crosstown, years ahead of it

Empire first marketed this site in 2014, when UrbanToronto covered it as The HUB at Oakwood and Eglinton: 16 storeys, roughly 220 suites, Richmond Architects. The pitch then was the coming Eglinton Crosstown. Construction coverage later described it as Empire Midtown, with 219 suites, seven townhomes, retail at grade and three levels of underground parking.

That history explains the building. It is a mid-sized tower on an arterial that was a construction zone for most of a decade, sold on what the street would become. Owners who bought early lived through that disruption; buyers today get the finished street and the line in service. The building also has a track record now: six years of budgets, board minutes and resale data that did not exist when it was sold off a floor plan, and that record is what you should be buying on, not the brochure.

Construction coverage names Empire as its own general contractor here. Interiors were by Tanner Hill Associates and the landscape by Alexander Budrevics & Associates, both names you see across many GTA projects.

The Lanark Avenue townhomes are a different product

The addresses at 66 to 78 Lanark Avenue belong to the townhome portion. In the 2014 launch Empire described seven two-storey, two-bedroom-plus-den townhomes starting at about 1,257 square feet, with private outdoor space and nine-foot ceilings.

Those units face a residential side street rather than Eglinton, which changes the noise, the light and the sense of arrival completely. They also share the tower’s amenities and fee structure, so you get a house-like front door with a concierge and a gym behind it.

There are only seven of them. If that format is what you want, expect to wait, and price them against freehold semis in the area rather than against the tower’s one-bedrooms.

Layouts in the tower

Tower suites run from about 513 to 1,341 square feet, according to condos.ca. That is a typical 2020 range: compact one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens at the bottom, a smaller number of two-bedroom and larger corner plans at the top.

At this size, layout beats square footage. Look for a den with a door or a window if you plan to work from home, and walk away from plans where the bedroom only borrows light from the living room. Ask whether the suite comes with parking and a locker, since parking is not in the fee here and not every unit has it.

Beanfield Fibre is available in the building, which is a real advantage for anyone working remotely.

Sixteen storeys is a comfortable scale. Upper floors facing north or south get open views over the low houses on either side of Eglinton, and that openness may not last forever, so ask what has been proposed on neighbouring lots before you pay a premium for a view.

What daily life looks like at Oakwood and Eglinton

The building sits in the stretch of Eglinton West where Oakwood Village meets the Little Jamaica strip. The street has independent restaurants, Caribbean bakeries, barbers and small grocers rather than chains, and it is still rebuilding after the long Crosstown construction period.

That is both the appeal and the caveat. The retail mix is changing, the corridor is planned for more height now that the line is running, and you should expect more towers and more construction around you over the next decade. If you want a finished, settled neighbourhood, this is not it yet.

South of Eglinton the streets turn quickly into the houses of Oakwood-Vaughan, and north is the Fairbank and Briar Hill area. Transit, walkability and nearby parks are covered in the data panel on this page.

Pricing against the corridor

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $740 per square foot. For a 2020 tower with the Crosstown in service, that sits in a moderate range for midtown, and it reflects the location’s history as well as its future. Eglinton West has always priced below the Yonge and Eglinton core, and the gap is the opportunity buyers here are betting on.

Fees include heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water as well as common elements, which is a fuller list than many buildings this age. Parking is not included, and hydro is on your own meter. When you compare, add those back.

The retail at grade is part of the same building. Ask the status certificate how retail and residential costs are shared, because that split affects your fee for as long as you own.

There were no active sale listings at the time of writing, so I cannot give you a current asking range. That means any purchase here should be anchored on recent sales of the same suite type. You can request a sold report for the building.

Building specifications

Amenities at Empire Midtown

The package is the standard 2020 set, a gym, a party room with dining space, an outdoor terrace, guest suites and a concierge. Guest suites are the one most owners end up using, because family visits are easier when nobody sleeps on your sofa. The 2014 marketing also promised a bike repair space and electric vehicle charging; confirm what was actually delivered and how charging is billed.

Jatin’s honest take on Empire Midtown

Empire Midtown — 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.