1275 Markham Rd: 64 Large Suites Near Markham Road and Progress

1275 Markham Road is for the buyer who wants the floor area of a house and the simplicity of a condo. Every suite recorded here is over 1,300 square feet, in a 64-suite building from 1974 with an outdoor pool and a fee that covers heat, hydro and even cable. It is old, it rarely has anything for sale, and you need to read its paperwork closely. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Few suites, all of them large

The most unusual thing about this building is its arithmetic. Sixty-four suites over 13 storeys works out to only about five suites per floor, and the suites recorded on condos.ca range from roughly 1,345 to 1,562 square feet. There are no small units here at all.

That makes it a very different product from a typical Scarborough tower. You are buying something closer to a bungalow in floor area, with room for two or three bedrooms, separate living and dining space, and the kind of room count you would otherwise need a townhouse for.

Five suites per floor also means more corner and dual-exposure suites than usual and fewer neighbours sharing your hallway. Ask which way the suite faces and what is across from it, because the views on this stretch of Markham Road range from open sky to commercial roofs.

Large suites in a 1970s building also tend to come with features new buildings dropped: separate entry halls, walk-in closets, generous kitchens with windows, and storage rooms inside the suite. Not every plan here will have all of them, so walk through the floor plan with the listing agent rather than relying on the square footage.

A 1974 building with a short corporation number

YCC-178 is an early corporation number, registered in November 1974, when condominium ownership was still new in Ontario. Condos.ca does not name the original developer, and I could not confirm one from other sources, so I won’t guess.

A building of this age is now on its second or third cycle of major repairs. Windows, balcony slabs and railings, the roof, the garage, elevators and the heating and cooling plant all have finite lives, and a 52-year-old building has met most of them at least once. That is not a reason to avoid it, but it is the reason the status certificate matters more here than at a newer building.

The flip side is that an older corporation has a long, readable history. You can see from the reserve fund study and past minutes what has already been replaced, what is coming, and whether owners were asked for special contributions in the past.

An outdoor pool and a very inclusive fee

Condos.ca lists an outdoor pool, a sauna, a gym, a games room, a security system and an underground garage, and notes that barbecues are permitted. For a 64-suite building, that is a generous list, and the outdoor pool and barbecues suit owners who have come from houses with yards.

The fee covers common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, cable TV, building insurance, parking and water. That is close to the most inclusive arrangement you will find, and it means your monthly cost is largely one number. It also means you share the building’s energy bill, so ask how fees have moved over recent years.

With so few owners, every shared cost is split 64 ways. A pool repair or a garage project costs each owner more than it would in a 300-suite tower, which is the main structural risk of a small, older building with amenities.

Living near Markham Road and Progress Avenue

The building sits on Markham Road near Progress Avenue, in an area that mixes residential towers, employment land and retail plazas. Centennial College’s Progress Campus at 941 Progress Avenue is nearby, with its business, hospitality and culinary programs, library and athletics centre.

Most residents here will drive for daily errands, with bus service on Markham Road and Progress Avenue. The panel on this page shows the transit routes, schools, parks and food options near the address.

Further west, the Line 2 subway extension is under construction, with a station planned at Scarborough Centre. That will matter more to commuters than to anyone walking, but it is a meaningful long-term improvement for this part of the city.

Pricing a building that rarely lists

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $307 per square foot, which is very low for Toronto. Part of that is age and location, and part is simply the size of the suites: large units almost always sell for less per foot than small ones.

There were no suites for sale when I checked, so I can’t give a current asking range or a fee per square foot from live listings. In a 64-suite building, a year can pass with only a handful of sales, and any average can be pulled around by one renovated or one dated suite.

Because the fee includes hydro, heat and cable, be careful comparing it with the fee at a newer building. A large suite here can carry a monthly fee that looks steep in dollars, but once you add back the utility bills you would pay elsewhere, the monthly cost per square foot is often competitive.

If you want to buy here, compare against other large-suite Scarborough buildings of the same era with all-inclusive fees, then adjust for condition. My building sold report shows the aggregate record of what has actually traded at 1275 Markham Road.

Building specifications

Amenities at 1275 Markham Road Condos

An outdoor pool, sauna, gym and games room give a small building more to do than you would expect, and permitted barbecues are a real plus for people downsizing from a house. Remember that 64 owners fund all of it between them. A security system and an underground garage round out the package.

Jatin’s honest take on 1275 Markham Road Condos

1275 Markham Road Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.