Wedgewood Grove, 30 Thunder Grove: All-In Fees Beside Woodside Square

Wedgewood Grove is a building I show buyers who want a two-bedroom-size suite for well under $500,000 and do not want to drive for groceries. It is a 1987 tower off Sandhurst Circle, close to Woodside Square, and condos.ca lists hydro, heat, air conditioning and parking in the fee. Five suites were for sale when I checked, which gives a buyer real choice and some leverage. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The Woodside Square location

Thunder Grove is a short street off Sandhurst Circle, the same loop road Woodside Square sits on. The mall sits at the northwest corner of Finch Avenue East and McCowan Road and has been there since 1977, with a Food Basics, a Shoppers Drug Mart and a Toronto Public Library branch inside, according to its Wikipedia entry.

That is the daily advantage of this building. Groceries, a pharmacy and a library within a short walk are things most buyers in north Scarborough towers have to drive for. For a retiree, a student or a household with one car, that matters more than any amenity in the lobby.

Woodside Square is also changing. A City planning review that began in 2019 looked at adding housing and parkland around the mall while keeping the mall itself. Expect construction nearby at some point, and choose your suite’s exposure with that in mind.

Suites, and what the fee covers

Condos.ca lists suites from about 786 to 1,331 square feet, so the smallest plan is roughly the size of a new two-bedroom. Current listings are two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den plans, which is what this building mostly offers. Expect 1980s layouts with enclosed kitchens and separate dining areas.

Those den plans are useful. A two-bedroom-plus-den of 1,200 square feet or so gives a family a home office or a third sleeping space without paying townhouse prices, and that is the suite type most buyers here are after.

The fee list is broad: common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, parking, cable TV and building insurance. With hydro and heat both in, very little lands on a separate bill apart from internet and contents insurance.

On current listings the fees run from about $957 to $1,359 a month. Against the suite sizes here, that works out to roughly $1 or more per square foot, which looks steep next to a newer tower until you add back a newer building’s hydro, gas and parking charges. Compare total monthly cost, not the fee alone.

The catch with an all-inclusive fee is that utility increases reach everyone together. Ask how the last two budgets handled energy costs, and whether the bulk cable contract is still in place.

Pool, tennis and a management question

Condos.ca lists an indoor pool, a sauna, a tennis court, a security guard and a security system, and REW adds a gym and a hot tub. An indoor pool and a tennis court in a 243-suite building is a package newer towers rarely offer, and for families it is a real reason to choose this one.

The sources do not agree on who runs the building. Condos.ca lists Duka Property Management; REW lists Comfield Property Management. Management firms change, so this may simply be one source out of date, but find out who the current manager is and how long they have been in place.

The two sources also describe pets differently. Condos.ca lists a pet restriction, while REW says cats and dogs are allowed. Both can be true, since many buildings allow pets with limits, but read the declaration and rules before you bring one home.

What a 1987 building asks of an owner

Wedgewood Grove is close to 40 years old, and buildings this age go through a predictable cycle. Windows and balcony doors, balcony slabs, the parking garage membrane, elevators and the central heating and cooling plant all reach the end of their first life around now, and each is a large bill for the corporation.

None of that is a reason to avoid the building. It is a reason to read the reserve fund study and see whether those items are planned and funded, or whether the fees have been held down and the work deferred. A corporation that has already done its windows or its garage is a very different purchase from one that has not.

Ask the manager what has been done in the last ten years and what is scheduled for the next five. Those two answers, plus the reserve fund balance, will tell you more about this building than any listing photo.

What Wedgewood Grove costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $450 per square foot. That is in line with other 1980s towers in north Scarborough with all-inclusive fees, such as Trillium on Bamburgh Circle at about $461, and well below newer buildings in the wider Agincourt area, such as Legends at Tam O’Shanter at about $607.

Five suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking from $419,900 to $499,000. None were listed for lease. Five listings in a 243-suite building is a lot at once, and it means a buyer can compare plans, floors and condition directly and negotiate with less pressure.

Before you treat that as a bargain signal, ask why several owners are selling at the same time. Often it is just the market, but read the status certificate and recent board minutes for any upcoming project, fee increase or special levy, and check the reserve fund study against the building’s age.

The data panel on this page shows what has actually traded here over the last twelve months, in aggregate. Use it to judge how far below asking suites tend to sell.

Building specifications

Amenities at Wedgewood Grove

An indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and tennis court cover most of what a family or an active retiree wants without a club membership. In a building nearly 40 years old, they are also items to find by name in the reserve fund study.

Jatin’s honest take on Wedgewood Grove

Wedgewood Grove — 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.