Stradford Park Townhomes, 435 Middlefield Rd: Big Towns, Very Low Fees

Stradford Park Townhomes is where I send families who need three bedrooms, a garage and a basement in Scarborough but cannot or will not pay for a freehold house. It is an 80-unit complex from 2003 in Agincourt North, and the monthly fees are among the lowest I see on any condominium. Low fees are a gift if the corporation is well funded and a warning if it is not, so that is where this review spends its time. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Family-sized townhomes rather than stacked condos

The homes here run from about 1,142 to 1,725 sq ft, which puts them in the size range of a small freehold town rather than a condo apartment. Recent listing descriptions describe two-storey brick homes with an attached garage and a basement, with three bedrooms upstairs and, in some homes, extra space finished below.

Condos.ca records the complex as one floor, which does not match those descriptions. I would treat the listings as the better guide to the format and confirm the layout of any home you are considering in person.

The attached garage matters more than it sounds. It gives you covered parking and storage in a complex where parking is part of the fee, and it is one of the main things that separates a home like this from a stacked townhouse with surface parking.

Basements make a big difference to how these homes live. A finished lower level can work as a family room, a guest room or a home office, and several listings describe a bathroom and laundry there. If the basement in the home you are considering is unfinished, price in the cost of finishing it rather than assuming it is free space.

A numbered-company builder and a professional manager

The builder is listed as 2008569 Ontario Limited. Numbered companies are common for single projects, and it tells you nothing good or bad about quality. After two decades, the builder’s name matters far less than how the corporation has maintained the buildings.

Management is listed as FirstService Residential, one of the larger property managers in the GTA. A large manager usually brings consistent paperwork, reserve fund planning and contractor relationships, which is useful in a complex with 80 homes and a lot of roofs, driveways and exterior walls to look after.

One recent listing mentions a roof replacement in 2023. In a condominium townhouse, roofs are often a common element, so ask whether that was part of a complex-wide program, what remains to be done and how it was paid for.

Agincourt North for a family

The complex sits in Agincourt North near the Finch and McCowan area, where Woodside Square is the local shopping centre. Woodside has a Food Basics, a Shoppers Drug Mart, a food court and a public library branch, which covers a lot of weekly errands for a family.

Woodside Square is close enough to be part of everyday life, which in north Scarborough is not something every townhouse can offer. Scarborough Town Centre is a short drive south for bigger shopping trips and the cinema.

Woodside Square has also been under a planning review since 2019 that looks at adding housing and parkland while keeping the mall. If that goes ahead over the coming years, expect more density and construction nearby, along with new amenities.

For commuters, Highway 401 is close, and the Line 2 extension under construction will end at Sheppard and McCowan, with opening expected around 2029 to 2030. That is not on the doorstep, but it will shorten trips for residents along the McCowan corridor. The panel on this page shows today’s transit options.

Why the fees are so low, and what that means

Fees on current listings run about $175 to $212 a month. For homes of 1,142 sq ft and up, that is well under 20 cents a square foot. A comparable condo apartment in Scarborough commonly carries several times that.

Part of the explanation is simple: there is no pool, gym or concierge to run, and the fee does not include utilities. Part of it may be that owners look after more of their own homes than they would in an apartment. The question is whether the reserve fund is still on track to pay for roofs, windows, driveways and private roads as the complex ages. A fee that has been kept low for too long eventually catches up.

Pricing at Stradford Park

Condos.ca puts the average at about $511 per square foot, which on a 1,400 sq ft home works out to roughly $715,000. At the time I checked, two homes were listed for sale, asking from $699,000 to $999,999, and two were listed for rent.

That asking range is wide. The difference between the smallest and largest plans, basement finishes and renovation level can easily account for it, but the top of the range is ambitious for a condo townhouse in this area. Price against recent sales here and in neighbouring complexes rather than the asking range.

For a family, the useful comparison is a freehold semi or town nearby. You will pay less here and carry a monthly fee, and in exchange you share exterior costs. Run the numbers both ways with my building sold report before you decide.

Building specifications

Amenities at Stradford Park Townhomes

There are no shared recreation facilities here, and that is the point. Your amenities are your own garage, basement and back door, while Woodside Square and the parks around Agincourt North do the rest. With no shared facilities, nearly all of the fee goes to insurance, grounds and the reserve fund, which is part of why it can stay this low, and why the reserve fund deserves a careful read.

Jatin’s honest take on Stradford Park Townhomes

Stradford Park Townhomes — 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.