Red Hot Condos, 120 Dallimore Cir: Small Suites, Big Fee Inclusions

Red Hot Condos is the building I point first-time buyers to when they want a real Don Mills address without paying Shops at Don Mills money. It is a 2010 mid-rise on a tucked-away circle between the Don Valley Parkway and a rail corridor, with small, efficient suites and one of the more generous fee structures I see at this price point. The name promises more drama than the building delivers, and for a lot of buyers that is fine. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A hidden pocket, not a main-street building

The first thing to understand about 120 Dallimore Circle is where it sits. This is not a building on Don Mills Road or Eglinton. It is set back on a single access road, with the Don Valley Parkway on one side and a CN freight line close by, and it is mostly hidden from the highway even though you can see it from parts of it.

That location cuts both ways. Owners get a quiet, residential feel with almost no through traffic, which is rare this close to a highway interchange. The trade-off is that you are not stepping out of the lobby onto a shopping street, so most errands start with a short drive or a bus ride.

Posters on the UrbanToronto forum mentioned freight traffic on the nearby rail line. I have not seen a published train count I trust, so before you buy, visit at a couple of different times of day and listen, especially if the suite you like faces the tracks.

Who built it, and why the numbers do not quite match

Condos.ca credits Camrost-Felcorp as the developer, the same firm behind several of the Camelot buildings along Wynford Drive. A 2009 Daily Commercial News report, quoted in the UrbanToronto thread, named Toddglen Construction as the builder and Atkins Architects Inc. as the architect, with Y + V Engineering on structure and CBM Engineering Group on mechanical and electrical.

The counts differ by source. Condos.ca lists 10 storeys and 224 suites. The 2009 report described nine storeys and 200 units, and forum posters at the time said the first phase was occupied with a second to follow. My reading is that the published figures reflect different stages of a phased project, but the declaration and the status certificate are the documents that settle it.

On looks, nobody on the forum was impressed. The exterior is plain, and there is nothing especially red or hot about it. I do not think that matters much at this price. What matters is whether the building has been run well for the 15-plus years since, and that is a status certificate question, not an architecture one.

Compact suites built for one or two people

Suites here run from about 450 to 760 square feet, so this is a one-bedroom and one-plus-den building with a smaller number of compact two-bedroom-plus-den layouts. There are no large family suites. If you need a real second bedroom with a door and a window, check the floor plan carefully, because some dens are open nooks rather than rooms.

The small range is also what keeps prices accessible. A buyer who is priced out of newer towers near Don Mills and Eglinton can often get into this building with a smaller down payment, and still have heat and cooling covered in the monthly fee.

For investors, the appeal is the low entry price, but do not assume a rent figure. The automatic panel on this page shows the recent lease data, and I would lean on those figures rather than any rule of thumb.

What daily life looks like here

Day to day, this is a car-friendly location. The Don Valley Parkway is right there, which makes the commute downtown or north to the 401 straightforward outside rush hour. Transit details are in the data panel on this page.

The amenity package is modest but practical: a concierge, a party room, a media room, a meeting room, guest suites and visitor parking, with barbecues permitted. The 2009 construction report also mentioned a fitness room, pool and library. Condos.ca’s amenity list does not show a pool, so confirm what is actually operating before you count on it.

If you work from home, the meeting room and guest suites are the amenities you will actually use. The quiet setting helps too. If you want restaurants and nightlife on your doorstep, this is the wrong building, and I will tell you that on the first call.

What it costs, and why the fee looks high

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $763 per square foot. That is a reasonable figure for a 15-year-old mid-rise in this part of North York, and in my experience new construction in Don Mills generally asks more per foot, with parking and utilities extra.

When I checked, three suites were listed for sale, asking between $359,900 and $565,000, with monthly fees between about $584 and $774. One suite was listed for lease. That works out to roughly $1.06 per square foot in fees across the active listings, which looks expensive at first glance.

It is less expensive than it looks. The fee covers heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance, common elements and parking. In many newer buildings, heating and cooling are on your own meter and parking is extra. Small suites also always show a higher fee per square foot, because the fixed costs of running a building are spread over less floor area.

The right comparison is total monthly cost: fee, plus hydro, plus parking, plus heating and cooling, against the same total in the building next door. Done that way, I usually find Red Hot holds up well for a single buyer or a couple.

Building specifications

Amenities at Red Hot Condos

This is a practical package rather than a resort one: a staffed front desk, rooms you can book for a meeting or a family dinner, and guest suites for visiting relatives. Ask the property manager whether the fitness room and pool described in the original construction report are part of this building and open.

Jatin’s honest take on Red Hot Condos

Red Hot 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.