Trillium, 225 Bamburgh Cir: Two Pools, Hydro and Parking in the Fee

Trillium is one of the most all-inclusive fees I see in Scarborough. Condos.ca lists hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, parking and cable TV in it, and the building has both an indoor and an outdoor pool. It is a 1987 tower with suites of about 876 square feet and up, so this is a buy for space and predictability, not for finishes. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Bamburgh Circle tower with a twin next door

Bamburgh Circle is a loop of condo towers built in the mid to late 1980s: Bridlewoode Place I, II and III, Monterey, Skypark, Vista and Trillium among them. Trillium and Vista, at 225 and 275, are a close pair. Both were registered in 1987, both have 223 suites, both are managed by Del Property Management and both list indoor and outdoor pools, according to condos.ca.

They are separate corporations, though. Trillium is MTCC-741 and Vista is MTCC-726, so each has its own board, budget and reserve fund. Two near-identical buildings on one street are useful to a buyer, because the sales at one are a fair check on prices at the other.

I could not confirm the original developer, and condos.ca does not list one. The declaration in the status certificate will name it if that matters to you.

A cluster this size also means steady supply. With several towers of similar age and suite sizes on one loop, there is usually something for sale somewhere on Bamburgh Circle, which gives buyers time to be selective and keeps any one building from pricing far above the rest.

One thing I could not pin down: the height

Condos.ca lists Trillium as two storeys and 223 suites, and also calls it a high-rise. Those figures do not fit together, and suite numbers in the 1100s appear in listings for this address, so the building is clearly much taller than two storeys.

I could not find a reliable public source for the exact storey count. If floor height or view matters to your decision, ask the manager or check the condominium plan, and ask which floors and exposures look over open space rather than a neighbouring tower.

On a street of similar towers, exposure is what separates one suite from another. A high floor facing away from the next building is worth more than the same plan looking straight into a neighbour’s balconies.

Big suites and an everything-in fee

Condos.ca lists suites from about 876 to 1,644 square feet. Even the smallest plan is close to the size of a new two-bedroom, and the top end is larger than many townhouses. Expect 1980s layouts, with enclosed kitchens and separate dining areas, and budget for renovation if the suite has not been updated.

The fee list is long: common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, parking, cable TV and building insurance. Hydro and heat together are the two biggest variable costs a condo owner usually faces, and in a suite of this size they add up.

That makes the fee look high next to a newer building, and in raw dollars it is. The fair comparison is total monthly cost: this fee plus tax, against a newer building’s fee plus parking, hydro and gas. Also understand that rising energy prices land on every owner through the fee, so ask how the last two budgets handled utility increases.

Two pools and the rest of the package

Condos.ca lists an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a sauna, a security guard, a security system and a parking garage. Two pools in one building is almost unheard of in anything built since 2000, and it is a large part of what you are paying for.

It is also a large part of what the corporation has to maintain. Pools, their mechanical rooms and the surrounding decks are some of the more expensive items in an older building’s reserve fund study, so look for them by name.

Ask, too, how the pools are run day to day: hours, whether the outdoor pool has a lifeguard or is swim-at-your-own-risk, and when each was last refinished. Those answers tell you a lot about how the corporation looks after its shared spaces.

Bamburgh Circle is a quiet residential loop, and most errands will start with a short drive or a bus. The data panel on this page covers the transit, schools, shops and parks around the building; read it with a visit at the times you would actually be coming and going.

What Trillium costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $461 per square foot. That is at the top of Bamburgh Circle: it lists Vista at about $432, Bridlewoode Place II at about $434, Bridlewoode Place III at about $428, Monterey at about $420, Bridlewoode Place I at about $393 and Skypark at about $367.

Part of that premium is the fee. With hydro and parking both included, a buyer can justify paying a little more up front for a lower total monthly cost, and the market appears to do so.

There was one suite for sale and none for lease when I checked. A single listing is not a range, so I will not quote it; the data panel on this page shows aggregate sales and rents over the last twelve months, and recent trades at Vista next door are a reasonable cross-check.

When you compare, do it on carrying cost rather than price alone. Take the fee and property tax here, then set that against a neighbouring tower’s fee, tax and any hydro or parking it bills separately. In an all-inclusive building, that test often closes most of the gap in price per square foot.

Building specifications

Amenities at Trillium

An indoor pool for winter and an outdoor pool for summer is a resort-style package from another era of condo building. It is the reason to choose Trillium, and the first thing to look for in the reserve fund study.

Jatin’s honest take on Trillium

Trillium — 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.