Skygarden, 2350 Bridletowne Cir: All-Inclusive Fees, Explained

Skygarden at 2350 Bridletowne Circle is the building I use to explain all-inclusive fees to buyers. The monthly number looks high until you notice it covers hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, cable and parking, which most newer condos bill separately. It is a 1980 tower with two pools and big suites, and its age is the thing you have to underwrite. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first of two Skygarden towers

Skygarden was planned as a pair. A Toronto Star archive photo from the period is captioned with the news that the second 23-storey tower at Skygarden had already started rising. That second tower is Sky Garden II at 2330 Bridletowne Circle, finished a year later and registered as its own corporation, MTCC-566.

This matters when you shop. The two towers share a name, a height and a suite count of 269 each, but they are separate condominium corporations with separate boards, budgets and reserve funds. Condos.ca lists Del Property Management here and Crossbridge Condominium Services next door. Do not assume the financial position of one tells you anything about the other.

I could not find a reliable record of the original developer or architect, and I would not repeat one without a source. The building was part of the wave of towers that went up around the Bridlewood housing development, where apartment buildings ring the mall at Warden and Finch.

What an all-inclusive fee really means

Condos.ca lists hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, cable TV, building insurance, parking and common elements as included. That is about as complete as Toronto condo fees get. In a new building you would usually pay hydro, often heat and cooling, internet, and sometimes parking on top of a smaller fee.

So compare total monthly housing cost, not the fee alone. Add a realistic hydro bill, a heating and cooling bill and a parking charge to a newer building’s fee and the gap with Skygarden narrows considerably. For a buyer who wants one predictable payment, especially a retiree on a fixed income, that predictability has real value.

The catch is that the corporation carries the utility risk for everyone. When hydro or gas rates rise, the budget rises, and so do fees. Ask to see the last three budgets and how utility costs have moved, and ask whether the board has looked at energy retrofits or suite metering. Those decisions shape your fees for years.

There is a fairness point too. In an all-inclusive building, an owner who runs the air conditioning all summer pays the same share as one who does not, because fees are set by each suite’s proportion of the common expenses. Most owners accept that trade for the simplicity, but it is worth understanding before you buy.

Suites from a time when condos were big

Suites here run from roughly 770 to 1,722 square feet. Even the smallest is larger than a typical new two-bedroom in Scarborough, and the larger plans are the size of a modest townhouse. Buyers coming out of a detached house often find this is the first condo where their dining table actually fits.

Because the tower is more than 45 years old, interiors range from original to fully renovated. Price the renovation into your offer if the suite is dated, and ask what has been replaced, including windows, the heating and cooling unit, electrical and plumbing. A renovated suite at a slightly higher price often costs less than redoing one yourself.

The range of sizes also gives this tower a broader buyer pool than Sky Garden II next door, where the top end runs past 2,000 square feet. The smaller plans here, around 770 to 900 square feet, are the realistic entry point for a first-time buyer who wants an older building with big rooms.

Daily life around Bridlewood

The building sits on the Bridletowne Circle loop beside Bridlewood Mall, an enclosed mall that UrbanToronto described as having two grocery stores, more than 60 other retailers and a public library. Being able to walk to groceries and a library is the practical heart of living here.

The area has been changing slowly. UrbanToronto reported a proposal for a 12-storey, 242-unit residential building with ground-floor retail on the southwest corner of the mall property, replacing a strip plaza. More infill around the mall is likely over time, so check the City of Toronto development applications map if your view faces the mall lands.

L’Amoreaux is an established part of Scarborough, mostly detached houses and townhomes with a ring of mid- and high-rise buildings, and L’Amoreaux Park with its community centre and tennis centre is part of the neighbourhood’s identity. The transit, school and walkability data for this address are shown in the panel on this page.

Price per square foot, and why the fee needs context

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $396 per square foot, almost the same as Sky Garden II next door at about $398. Both are well below newer Scarborough towers. Large suites, an older building and a high all-inclusive fee all push the per-square-foot figure down.

When I checked, a single suite was listed for sale and none for lease. With one listing, I will not quote its asking price or fee. What I will say is that a high monthly fee is not automatically a bad fee here: work out what it replaces before you rule the building out.

Think about resale as well. Buyers who understand all-inclusive fees will pay for this building; buyers who only look at the fee line will skip it. That narrows the pool somewhat, which is part of why the price per square foot stays low, and part of why patient buyers can find value here.

If you want to see what suites like the one you are considering have actually sold for, I can pull the comparables through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Skygarden

Indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and a security guard are the core of the package. That is a strong set of amenities for the price, but two pools in a building from 1980 are a major reserve fund item, so read how and when they are scheduled for repair.

Jatin’s honest take on Skygarden

Skygarden — 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.