The Rushton, 743 St Clair Ave W: A Boutique Nine-Storey on St Clair West

The Rushton is one of the smallest condominiums on St Clair West, and that is the whole point of it. Nine storeys, a few dozen suites and a retro-styled lobby on the corner of Rushton Road, from the same Goldman Group team behind the Bathurst towers to the east. Buyers who want a boutique building on the streetcar line should know it exists, because listings here are rare. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A corner lot turned into a boutique building

The Rushton stands on the corner of St Clair West and Rushton Road, on a lot that held a gas station until around 2008. Early plans for the site went through several versions, including rental options, before the owner settled on condominiums. The result is a nine-storey building with retail at street level.

The Goldman Group developed it, with E.I. Richmond Architects as architect and Javlee Construction as construction manager. That is the same developer and architect pairing behind the two towers at 500 and 530 St Clair West, near Bathurst. Here, the scale is much smaller, which suits the low-rise character of this stretch of St Clair.

Sources differ on the suite count. Construction-era coverage in the Daily Commercial News described 35 units, while condos.ca lists 27. Suites may have been combined during sales, so confirm the registered count and the size of any suite you consider from the status certificate.

Small building, big trade-offs

A building with a few dozen suites behaves very differently from a tower. You get to know your neighbours, the lobby is quiet, and the elevator is rarely busy. Decisions are made by a small group of owners, which can be a strength when the board is engaged.

The trade-off is cost sharing. Every repair, from the roof to the garage, is split among very few owners, so a large project lands harder on each one. That is why the reserve fund study matters even more here than in a 300-suite tower.

Small buildings also trade rarely. When I checked, nothing was listed for sale. If The Rushton is on your list, set an alert and have financing and a lawyer ready, because the chance may not come twice in a year.

Board quality matters more in a small building, too. With so few owners, two or three engaged people can keep things running well, and two or three disengaged ones can let maintenance slide. Read several sets of board minutes, not just the latest, to see how decisions get made and how quickly problems are dealt with.

Suites, finishes and the fee

Condos.ca records suites from about 420 to 1,276 square feet, so the building covers compact one-bedrooms through to larger family-sized plans. Listing descriptions consistently point to a retro, mid-century-inspired lobby with white oak, mirrors and statement lighting, which sets it apart from the usual glass-and-granite entrance.

The fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water. Parking is not on the condos.ca list. Construction records show one level of underground parking, so ask whether a space comes with the suite you want, whether it is owned or exclusive-use, and what it costs.

Retail at grade brings a commercial unit into the building’s life. Ask how the commercial space shares costs with the residential suites, what kind of tenant occupies it, and whether any change of use is planned, because a busy restaurant and a quiet office are very different neighbours.

Condos.ca also flags a pet restriction. I would not rely on a summary for that: read the declaration and rules for the exact terms before you buy, especially if you have a dog.

St Clair West at Rushton, day to day

This is a main-street location. The St Clair streetcar runs in its own lane out front, and the panel beside this review shows the nearest subway station and walking times. Along St Clair you have cafés, restaurants, groceries and services, and just off it the quiet residential streets of Wychwood and Bracondale Hill.

The building’s scale matches the street. At nine storeys, it reads as part of the avenue rather than a tower above it. St Clair West is one of the city’s avenue corridors, so expect further mid-rise development along this stretch, which brings construction nearby but also more shops and services over time.

If you drive, the Rushton Road side gives the building a quieter frontage than St Clair itself, and the streetcar lane means you cannot simply stop a car at the curb out front. Ask how move-ins and deliveries are handled before you book a truck.

Pricing: a premium for being small

The building averages about $929 per square foot. That is above the Goldman and Lash towers at Bathurst, where the averages run roughly $784 to $870, and it reflects the boutique scale, the retail-lined corner and the scarcity of listings.

With nothing listed for sale when I checked, there is no current asking range to quote. In a building this small, a single sale can move the average a lot, so read the 12-month sold summary on this page with that in mind.

For a comparison with other St Clair West buildings and the nearby towers, request my building sold report. On carrying costs, remember that heat and cooling are in the fee, which helps when you compare with newer buildings on separate meters.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Rushton

For a building this small, the package is reasonable: a gym, a party room, a media room and a meeting room. There is no concierge on the condos.ca list, so ask how parcels and deliveries are handled before you buy.

Jatin’s honest take on The Rushton

The Rushton — 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.