270 Timberbank Townhouses, Timberbank Blvd: 148 Homes From 1974

270 Timberbank Townhouses is one of the first generation of condominium townhouse complexes in Scarborough, and it is the size of a small neighbourhood: 148 homes under one corporation, registered in 1974. Buyers come here for a house-sized home in L’Amoreaux at a price a detached house on the same streets will not match. What you are really buying, though, is a share of a 50-year-old complex, and that is where my advice starts. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1974 complex with 148 owners

The YCC prefix tells you a lot. York Condominium Corporations were registered in the old Metropolitan Toronto before amalgamation, and number 170 places this complex among the early wave of condominium townhouses built in Scarborough in the early 1970s, when the condo form of ownership was still new in Ontario.

At 148 units it is a large townhouse corporation. That matters in two ways. Every roof, window, paving or fence program is divided among 148 owners rather than 40 or 50, which softens the cost of each project. It also means the board is managing a sizeable budget and a long list of buildings, so how well it is run shows up quickly in the documents.

The naming is confusing, and you should know that before you search. The corporation is commonly called 270 Timberbank Townhouses and many listings use 270 Timberbank Boulevard with a unit number, while condos.ca indexes the complex at 306-310 Timberbank Blvd. Confirm the exact municipal and legal description of the unit you are buying in the agreement and the status certificate.

What fifty years means for a townhouse complex

A complex registered in 1974 has already been through at least one full cycle of roofs and most likely windows, doors and paving as well. The question is not whether those items will need replacement, but where each one sits in its life today and whether the reserve fund is sized for it.

Read the reserve fund study for the big-ticket items: roofing, windows and patio doors, exterior cladding and brick, fencing, private roads and walkways, site drainage and any underground services. Then read the last two years of board minutes to see whether those projects are moving on schedule or being pushed back.

Inside the unit, the house is mostly yours to run. In townhouse corporations the furnace, air conditioner and water heater usually belong to the owner, but the declaration decides. Ask what the seller has replaced, whether the water heater is owned or rented, and what type of wiring the home has, since some homes of this era used aluminum branch wiring that insurers ask about.

Living near Finch and Warden

Timberbank Boulevard sits in the residential pocket north of Finch Avenue East and east of Warden Avenue. For most owners, daily errands centre on Bridlewood Mall at 2900 Warden, a neighbourhood mall opened in 1975 with a Metro, a Shoppers Drug Mart, a Dollarama and an Asian supermarket. One unusual detail: a pioneer Methodist cemetery from the 1840s still sits inside the mall’s parking lot.

This is an established area that has seen proposals for change without much construction. The City approved a redevelopment of the Bridlewood Mall lands in 2010 that has not been built, an 11-storey condo at the north end of the property was shelved, and in 2016 a 12-storey building with about 242 units was proposed at the southwest corner of the mall site at Finch and Bridletowne Circle. If any of these move forward, expect more retail and more neighbours, not a change in the low-rise streets around Timberbank.

The data panel on this page shows transit, schools and parks in detail. Finch and Warden are both major bus corridors, which is how most owners without a car get to the subway.

Who actually buys here

The buyers I see for complexes like this are families moving up from a condo apartment, multigenerational households who need more bedrooms than an apartment offers, and buyers who have been priced out of semis and detached homes in L’Amoreaux and Agincourt. A townhouse with its own front door and a patch of outdoor space is the draw.

Investors also look at older Scarborough townhouses because they rent well to families. If you are buying to live in, ask the property manager what share of units are rented, because the mix affects how the complex is cared for and who sits on the board.

What 270 Timberbank Townhouses costs

There were no active listings at the complex when I checked condos.ca, and it does not publish an average price per square foot or a fee range for this corporation. The data panel on this page shows what has traded in aggregate over the past twelve months.

With 148 units, this complex trades more often than the small corporations nearby, which gives you more comparables to work with. Compare recent sales here against similar condo townhouses near Finch and Warden, and adjust for condition: in a 1974 complex, an updated kitchen, bathrooms and mechanical systems can account for a large share of the price gap between two otherwise similar units.

When you weigh the fee, ask exactly what it pays for. Condos.ca does not list the inclusions here, and in townhouse corporations heat and hydro are usually on the owner. A fee that looks low may be low because the reserve fund is thin, and a fee that looks high may be funding a roof or window program you would otherwise pay for through a special assessment. The status certificate answers that question.

Building specifications

Amenities at 270 Timberbank Townhouses

Condos.ca does not list shared amenities for this complex, and that is typical of 1970s townhouse corporations: there is no gym, pool or concierge to fund. The fee mostly goes to the outside of the buildings, the grounds and the reserve fund, while your own front door and outdoor space do the work an amenity floor does in a tower.

Jatin’s honest take on 270 Timberbank Townhouses

270 Timberbank Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Agincourt, L’Amoreaux, Milliken, Dorset Park and Wexford in Scarborough more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.